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Coronation Street fans ‘solve’ reason for Lucy lashing out – and how Rachel really died

Coronation Street newcomer Lucy, played by actress Anya Dewin, has been lashing out after her dad Richie murdered her mum Rachel, but fans are predicting a twist

Coronation Street spoilers reveal ANOTHER murder as Tim and Sally left reeling

Coronation Street‘s Lucy is sparking concern with her scary behaviour after a traumatic plot played out.

Lucy’s dad Richie has been arrested for the murder of his wife, Lucy’s mother, Rachel. Tim Metcalfe found Rachel dead at the house, with Richie having blood on his shirt.

Tim has taken Lucy in, and Lucy isn’t allowed to see her dad. Richie claims he killed Rachel in self-defence, with Lucy backing this.

Lucy told Sally and Tim about Rachel apparently tormenting her dad for a while, hitting him too. She claimed Richie acted in self-defence after Rachel tried to hurt him again.

Lucy has been lashing out in the fallout, while we have also seen her traumatised and experiencing nightmares and sleepwalking. While some fans think Lucy is traumatised after potentially witnessing Richie killing her mum, others have an even darker theory.

Some fans think the reason for her behaviour is because she killed Rachel, and that her dad is taking the blame. A fan said: “Anyone else already thinking Lucy did it and Richie is just covering for her?

“That’s quite a temper she has there.” Another fan agreed: “How do we know she didn’t kill her mum? Quite a temper she’s got there.”

A third fan wrote: “Did Lucy kill her mum and the dad is covering by taking the blame.” A fourth said: “My guess is Lucy killed her mum and her Dad is taking the blame.”

Another added: “I’m thinking Lucy killed her mum to stop her hurting her dad, but he’s taking the blame for it.” A final post read: “After last nights #Corrie i am convinced that Lucy killed her mum.”

Others pointed out that the trauma would make her lash out. A fan said: “Richie killed Rachel and Lucy may have seen it. A big fight must have happened when he immediately got back.

“Lucy is having sleep terrors and also sleeping walking due to the trauma. It was proper heartbreaking to hear her cry like that, and t comforting her.

“So Lucy claims that her mum attacked her dad first with a knife, and Richie had to hit her with the doorstop in defence.” Another fan said: “Did Lucy see her abusive mum push her dad over the edge?”

It comes as Corrie fans were left convinced one cast member had leaked a massive spoiler on social media this week. Not only that, but some were convinced it gave away the ending of a major storyline currently airing on the show.

As the future of one character remains up in the air after a murder twist, fans questioned if a social media post ruled out at an exit. Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany Platt on the soap, posted something on her Instagram this week.

It was a lovely snap of her and her co-star Tina O’Brien, who plays her onscreen mother Sarah Platt. In recent scenes, Sarah confessed to accidentally killing villain Theo Silverton.

She was arrested and charged, and she now faces a court case, with her currently in prison. So when Lucy posted the picture of her and Tina on the set of the ITV soap, fans immediately speculated what it might mean.

Some fans decided it had to mean Sarah was out of prison in a matter of weeks. But this photo is not likely to be a spoiler, and it doesn’t actually mean Sarah’s fate is revealed at all.

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .



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Coronation Street Kacey’s sinister plan for Sarah revealed as concerned fans proved right

Coronation Street’s Sarah Platt needs to watch out, as new prison pal Kacey has a secret agenda behind her protecting her – with spoilers giving away her real plan

Coronation Street Kacey’s real plan for Sarah exposed

Coronation Street‘s Kacey is not to be trusted, as she’s about to target Sarah Platt.

On Friday she was being all nice to a terrified Sarah, who is in prison for murdering Theo Silverton. Kacey took Sarah under her wing, vowing to protect her after an attack.

When Bethany Platt went to visit her mum, Sarah sang Kacey’s praises. It was clear Bethany wasn’t sold, but Sarah claimed Kacey had saved her, and was looking out for her.

But fans didn’t buy it, just like Bethany. They were quick to suggest the prisoner could not be trusted and it turns out they are correct.

According to spoilers for next week’s episodes, Kacey’s real intentions come to light. Sarah will be left terrified when the threats start, and there’s violence too.

Kacey enters Sarah’s cell in tears and informs her that her son has been arrested for armed robbery. Kacey begs Sarah to speak to her ex Kit Green, who is a detective.

Having just dumped Kit, she refuses. Kacey shares her hopes that Kit can help her son, but Sarah says she cannot get involved and won’t be speaking to Kit.

But things take a turn when a furious Kacey threatens her. Sarah still refuses to speak to Kit, even after her pal Todd Grimshaw finds out about the threat and tells her to do what Kacey says.

Kit is soon contacted, but he tells a desperate Sarah that if he were to help Kacey, he could lose his job. Kit also reminds her that she dumped him to stop him from ruining said career.

With Kit avoiding the plea, Kacey later turns violent with Sarah. She also warns Sarah that if anything happens to her son, it’ll be on her.

Fans had called it with Kacey from the moment they met her, with one writing on social media: “I want to trust that Kacey, but I don’t.” Another sad: “Bethany seems worried as well about Kacey helping her mum out.

“It’s definitely giving Kacey thinks she possibly can get Sarah as her property.” A third said: “Kacey already knowing that Kit is a cop, and wanting to help Sarah out if she has any trouble from that. That is a tad suspicious in my opinion.”

It comes as Corrie fans were left convinced one cast member had leaked a massive spoiler on social media this week. Not only that, but some were convinced it gave away the ending of a major storyline currently airing on the show.

Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany on the soap, posted a snap of her and her co-star Tina O’Brien, who plays her onscreen mother, on Instagram.

Some fans decided it had to mean Sarah was out of prison in a matter of weeks. But this photo is not likely to be a spoiler, and it doesn’t actually mean Sarah’s fate is revealed at all.

Some viewers pointed out that the prison set is close to where they were, so there’s every chance Sarah is in prison. Then there’s the fact that some of the cast and crew were on set on Wednesday, when the selfie was posted online, enjoying the solar eclipse together. So it doesn’t even mean the pair were filming, they could have just been hanging out.

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .



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Coronation Street star Beverley Callard reveals she’s ‘quite badly burnt’ from breast cancer treatment in health update

CORONATION Street legend Beverley Callard revealed she’s ‘quite badly burnt’ from breast cancer treatment – amid sharing a new health update.

Liz McDonald actress Beverley, 69, first revealed in February that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Appearing on The Six O’Clock Show, Beverley Callard shared a health update about her breast cancer battle Credit: sixoclockshow/ Instagram
The actress first revealed in February that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer Credit: Getty

Appearing on Irish chat show The Six O’Clock Show, the star has opened up about her current condition.

Beverley explained how the side effects of radiotherapy began to affect her after a few days.

She said: “Nausea, really tired and just wiped out a little bit.

“And I’m quite badly burnt. But I’m coping really well, actually.”

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This came after Beverley revealed she finished radiotherapy only a couple of weeks earlier.

She continued: “I got through it amazingly well. I didn’t have any time off work.

“I didn’t miss a day. So I was really sort of proud of myself for that.”

Beverley confirmed she was back on set and filming her current role Credit: sixoclockshow/ Instagram
Beverley is best known for her long-running role as Liz McDonald on Coronation Street Credit: ITV

Beverley confirmed she was “back at work” and filming once again, referring to her current role as Lily Patterson on Fair City.

She concluded: “I don’t know the actual prognosis yet, I see my oncologist again in two weeks time. So I’ll know more then, but I’m doing well.”

The actress also shared how other people said to her: “You shouldn’t be working, you should be at home.”

She elaborated: “But if you are, you just sit and feel sorry for yourself.

“Believe me, I’ve done that as well, as we all do. But I need my mind to be occupied.

“If I’ve got lines to learn, it really helps. And believe me, I’ve had loads to learn, so it’s been good.”

Bev has been open with fans about the gruelling side effects as she battles cancer, and last week revealed her treatment had left her “sore and tired”.

The star told her followers: “I’ve got to speak to the hospital tomorrow.

“I’m not sure that I’m healing as well as I should be. But I’m so burnt and it’s just driving me mad.

“Also, incredibly nauseous.”

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End of Oak Street film review: This overcomplicated action-horror movie combines ET with Jurassic Park

END OF OAK STREET

(12A) 99mins

★★★☆☆

The Platt family find themselves in a parallel universe in End of Oak Street Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

SINCE the explosive success of Stranger Things, the style of Spielberg’s Eighties sci-fi films is trendy – and this film leans into that nostalgia.

You know — the American small town where kids play out on the street and strange goings-on happen while the parents are too busy to notice.

That is certainly the feel of this action-horror movie, which combines ET with Jurassic Park.

It follows the Platt family, who are living in American suburbia in the Eighties — a more innocent time when neighbours had street barbecues and teens spent hours on their Walkmans.

Dad Greg (Ewan McGregor) and mum Denise (Anne Hathaway) appear to be a perfect union, but behind closed doors they are discussing divorce.

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Their kids, Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery) are concerned, but the foursome paper over the cracks by eating pizza and chatting about their naughty dog, Starbuck.

Soon though, their home life is thrown into disarray when a mysterious cosmic event rips through the neighbourhood and surrounds it with time before the Big Bang.

This brings tropical temperatures, terrifying water levels and lashings of really hungry dinosaurs that couldn’t care less if you own a gun.

The family have to stick together to work out how they can transport themselves out of this seemingly broken time machine — while avoiding being chomped on by a T-Rex.

There are a few jumpy moments early on and, like many “mysterious goings-on” films, it’s scarier when you don’t see the enemy.

But the build-up is intriguing and there are some nice, nostalgic Eighties moments thrown in for the millennials to enjoy.

Sadly, it’s a lacklustre performance from McGregor in a bad wig, who looks like he would rather become dino-feed than be in this film, as he has zero chemistry with the rest of the family.

While Hathaway is more watchable, she appears so distractingly young, she could swap roles with the actress playing her daughter.

Director David Robert Mitchell does a decent job showing his commitment to the genre and gives a few nods to Spielberg’s camera techniques for film geeks.

But, while perfectly entertaining, the story gets a ­little overcomplicated and the characters are not engaging enough for it to join the ranks of a truly great monster movie.

LADY

(15) 95mins

★★★★☆

Lady Isabella (Fleabag’s Sian Clifford) stars in a bizarre and brilliant mockumentary

KOOKY characters in film can quickly become tiresome, but not so in this bizarre and brilliant mockumentary about a flamboyant lady of the manor.

Lady Isabella (Fleabag’s Sian Clifford) rattles around with her housekeeper in the vast Ravenhyde Hall, until she becomes the subject of a documentary, allegedly for Netflix, calling herself “aristocracy’s answer to the Kardashians”.

Going at high octane all the time, she is in truth achingly lonely – one companion is a raven called Ricky.

This changes with the arrival of a camera crew led by director Sam (Laurie Kynaston), a trendy filmmaker.

But he is soon put in his place by the hilarious Isabella, who ignores his directions, calls “cut” regularly and even tries to seduce him with some milk when he is lactose intolerant.

The madcap satire soon turns into a study filled with em­pathy and intriguing, unconventional relationships.

Clifford gives a cracking performance, never pushing into caricature, and Kynaston is the perfect juxtaposition as the seemingly sane but hugely insecure director.

Surreal, sweet and seriously funny.

TONY

(15) 106mins

★★☆☆☆

Tony fails to give a true insight into how celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain became a culinary icon Credit: A24 All Rights Reserved

IT’S not easy to make movies about real-life figures who have a cult following, which puts pressure on this story of how celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain became a culinary icon.

So instead of getting into the film about Bourdain becoming the great man the world knew, it’s more of a coming-of-age story that could be about anyone.

Tony (Dominic Sessa) has flunked school and travels to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to chase Nancy (Emilia Jones), a crush he barely knows.

Skint and with nowhere to live, he soon finds himself washing dishes in the ­restaurant of a local chef (Antonio Banderas) and sleeping in his hammock.

Working alongside him is drug-loving ladies’ man Sal (Leo Woodall), who regularly vomits in a bin on shift. Tony apparently becomes inspired.

Tony spends a really long time staring at things in a daze and not saying much.

When he does speak, it’s pretty infuriating.

With no real direction, this becomes more of a buddy movie than an insight into how the now sadly deceased great man became such a hit around the world.

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Coronation Street favourite ‘to return’ after almost 15 years as fans ‘work out’ twist

One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Weatherfield, more than a decade after she departed the ITV soap, and fans have “worked out” how

One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Coronation Street – almost 15 years on from her departure. Fans are convinced Amber Kalirai is making a comeback.

In the latest scenes on the ITV soap, Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) has decided to sell her share of the Speed Daal restaurant, leaving her colleague Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) a little surprised to say the least. Leanne’s new boyfriend Idris, who turned up as Alya’s long-lost cousin before hastily announcing he was in fact her long-lost uncle, seems determined to get his hands on it.

But now, fans have claimed that they would like to see Amber Kalirai, the daughter of shopkeeper Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), make a comeback and snap up the business for herself.

One fan wrote on X:”Totally random Amber Devs daughter should be the new speed daal owner,” and the idea quickly spread across social media.

Taking to Facebook, one fan said: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the new co owner of speed daal was Devs daughter Amber,” and another said: “Be good to see her back, she is never mentioned.”

A third wrote: “Great little actress. I would love to see her back in Corrie!” and a fourth said: “Loved her-underrated character-stood up to Dev.” A fifth simply demanded: “Bring Amber back!”

Amber was played by actress Nikki Patel, 36, who made her debut on Coronation Street in 2005 and stayed with the programme for four years.

In the summer of 2011, Amber made a comeback and stayed for just under a year, bowing out in March 2012. During her final few months on the cobbles, Amber made friends with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) and Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), who fell for her in what was a case of unrequited love.

In the end, though, unable to mend her already-tricky relationship with stepmother Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati), she got a job in London and has not been seen since.

When Sunita was killed off after being trapped in the fire at the Rovers Return in 2013, Amber was informed but was unable to attend the funeral as she was travelling with her new boyfriend.

Away from Coronation Street, Nikki has appeared in Waterloo Road, Holy City and Call The Midwife but has also performed in numerous plays, and, earlier this year, announced that she had written a new BBC sitcom titled The Patels, which, if commissioned, will focus on two Gurajti women who must put their difference aside for the sake of their sons.

Speaking to Female Pilot Club, she explained: “There are some heavy issues that they’re talking about but they do it in such an accessible, beautiful way, with a normalised family, which could be difficult. And that’s kind of presented in a dramatic setting.

“I just want to be part of a conversation with that community, potentially help people, [because] there are families going through this right now now where the kids are afraid to be and show who they really are.

“And I think it’s so sad and it’s crazy to me … so I kind of want to be part of a change. Maybe that’s really big wishful thinking. But like I said, comedy is a way to try and do that.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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Coronation Street spoilers for next week reveal death news and Richie targets Tim

Coronation Street spoilers for next week reveal death news and Richie targets Tim – The Mirror


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Hill Street Blues star Jon Cypher dies age 94: Icon who starred in Cinderella with Julie Andrews dies with wife by side

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Cirque du Soleil Performance

JON Cypher, the actor who played Prince Charming in the original TV production of Cinderella, has died at the age of 94.

A family announcement said the thespian died at his home in Central Point, Oregon, on August 3.

Jon Cypher, seen here in 1992, has died at his home in Central Point, Oregon Credit: Getty
Jon, centre, played Chief Fletcher Daniels in the long-running Hill Street Blues Credit: Getty

His wife of 40 years Carol Rosin was by his side.

The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Jon will perhaps be well-known as the ambitious police chief Fletcher Daniels on the long-running Hill Street Blues.

He appeared throughout the acclaimed TV drama.

Jon, seen here in 1992, had an illustrious TV career Credit: Getty
Jon played alongside Dolph Lundgren in 1987’s Masters of the Universe Credit: Alamy

Jon also had a prominent role as General March Craig on Major Dad.

He, though, had a long list of credits including Dynasty, Knots Landing, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, As the World Turns, Santa Barbara and JAG.

Jon first appeared on the small screen alongside Julie Andrews in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s live 1957 CBS broadcast of Cinderella.

At the time, Jon was a virtual unknown,

Most read in Entertainment

The big-budget production aired live and in color on CBS in March 1957.

It attracted an audience of more than 107million, more than 60 per cent of US households tuning in.

He went on to play Man-At-Arms in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe.

Jon also made regular appearances on Broadway, with credits including Man of La Mancha, The Great White Hope, Big, Coco and 1776.

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Bass’ Inside Safe teams went to these places. But so did the homeless

Abigail Aguirre has been sleeping terribly.

Too many times, she said, residents of a nearby homeless encampment have partied late into the night — sometimes yelling, sometimes blasting music. The noise is especially hard on her husband, who frequently leaves for his job before 5 a.m.

“Oh my God, they don’t let us sleep,” said Aguirre, whose home sits just east of the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles. “They do drugs in there. They play the loud music. They don’t care.”

Three years ago, workers with Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program moved dozens of homeless people from Aguirre’s neighborhood into nearby hotels and motels. Sanitation crews cleared the streets and sidewalks of trash.

But more people, and their tents, kept arriving, not just near Aguirre’s home but on many of the east-west streets that pass over the 110 south of downtown: 43rd, 49th, 51st and Vernon Avenue, to name a few.

About This Story

The Times’ reporting on Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program was undertaken as part of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2025 Data Fellowship.

Unsheltered homelessness — people living on the street or in their vehicles — went up nearly 8% citywide in this year’s homeless count, dealing a setback to Bass, who is running for reelection and has made homelessness a core part of her agenda.

The streets that line the 110 Freeway between 42nd and 58th are a potent symbol of the challenges facing Bass and her program. According to records obtained by The Times, outreach workers carried out Inside Safe operations 25 times on that one-mile stretch during her first three years as mayor, returning again and again to bring people indoors.

A homeless man wears a hat that reads Hollywood and L.A.

Frank Gordon, 51, has been living on Cahuenga Boulevard at the 101 Freeway in Hollywood. Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program has moved people indoors from that location several times since 2022.

During one operation, Inside Safe brought 42 people inside. A month later, 54 more people came indoors. On other occasions, progress was measured in single digits: two people during one visit, five on another, eight on the next.

Despite those efforts, many of the overpasses and side streets still have encampments. Things have been especially grim on the 51st Street overpass, where tents, makeshift structures and huge mounds of trash lined the sidewalks. In the street, a refrigerator missing a door was on its back, overflowing with garbage.

Joel Galarza, who lives in a house nearby, said the encampment has brought crime, fires, prostitution, open-air drug use and other problems. In May, a man was found stabbed on the overpass.

Galarza said his family has called the city and the LAPD many times, only to see the situation get worse.

“It feels like there’s no more hope, that your voice doesn’t matter,” he said.

Since taking office, Bass has made the removal of street encampments a top priority, arguing that they are unsafe both for unhoused residents and for the neighbors. She said early on that Angelenos will not view her work as a success until their communities are free of tents.

Inside Safe, her signature homeless program, has moved more than 6,200 people into hotels, motels and other interim housing. But by June 30, 43% of them were back on the street, with some getting kicked out and others walking away.

Los Angeles City Council Member Traci Park and residents of Venice applaud Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, left, and residents of Venice thank Mayor Karen Bass in 2023 for overseeing efforts to move more than 100 people into temporary housing from sidewalks in Venice.

Bass, in an interview, said she understands the frustration of people who live near the encampments. She said she hopes to overhaul the city’s approach to the crisis in the coming months by securing greater control over services such as medical care, addiction treatment and case management.

At the same time, she contends that her administration has made major strides, keeping about 80% of the locations visited by Inside Safe free of tents in recent weeks.

“Inside Safe has been a success in terms of getting people off the streets and clearing encampments,” Bass said. “What Inside Safe has not been able to do is reach the scale that is needed.”

Bass said Inside Safe has conducted 137 encampment operations so far, when many more are needed. To expand the program’s reach, the city will need to move away from expensive hotels and motels and toward high-quality homeless shelters, the mayor said.

1

A man sits with his some of his belongings on Cahuenga Boulevard under the 101 Freeway.

2

A torn notice announcing a clean-up of homeless encampments hangs from a stop sign on Grand Avenue at 51st Street.

1. A man sits with his belongings on Cahuenga Boulevard under the 101 freeway in Hollywood. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 2. A torn copy of a notice announcing a cleanup of homeless encampments hangs from a stop sign along Grand Avenue at 51st Street in South Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

The repopulation issues have not been limited to the 110 corridor. By December, the end of Bass’ third year, 23 Inside Safe areas across the city — about a fifth of the total at that time — had received at least five visits from the mayor’s outreach team, records show.

Inside Safe went to a handful of streets just east of MacArthur Park 10 times over two years. In Hollywood, around Franklin and Argyle avenues, the program conducted eight operations over 18 months.

By the fourth quarter of 2025, 80% of Inside Safe encampment operations — 36 out of 45 — involved areas that had repopulated, records show. Nine were new to the program.

City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running for mayor against Bass, said Inside Safe is ineffective and too expensive, forcing taxpayers to pay a premium to “shuffle people around rather than get them housed for good.”

“When 40% of the people who participated in the program return to homelessness, and some locations need repeat outreach visits five, 10, even 25 times, it tells us that something is wrong,” she said in a statement.

Bass and her team said many of the most problem-plagued Inside Safe locations are at freeway overpasses, which are attractive to homeless people because they provide shelter from scorching summer sun and the winter’s pouring rain. Freeways and industrial areas are also popular because they provide some degree of privacy, they said.

In some cases, people move to an Inside Safe location hoping to be offered housing, just as previous residents were, Bass said.

In other cases, she said, people have returned to the street because they need intensive care, such as a psychiatric bed. Those beds, which are provided by L.A. County, are not always available, Bass said.

Estela Lopez, head of the Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District, which represents businesses in Skid Row, said repopulation happens for a simple reason: a lack of enforcement. Once an encampment is cleared and people are moved indoors, police should be allowed to enforce city laws and make sure an area stays clear, she said.

A pedestrian walks into the street to get around a homeless encampment on Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles.

A pedestrian walks into the street to get around a homeless encampment on Alameda Street. The Inside Safe program went to that area 12 times over a single year.

Lopez said she regularly receives complaints about a row of encampments on Alameda Street between 4th and 6th streets. Inside Safe visited that two-block stretch 12 times last year, records show.

Last month, the area had about a dozen tents, which forced pedestrians to leave the sidewalk and walk on Alameda, where large trucks travel to and from nearby industrial businesses.

Lopez offered another reason that homeless people keep coming back.

“That’s where the drugs are,” she said. “It’s Skid Row, and Skid Row is where the drugs are, and has the fewest consequences for open-air drug use and sales.”

Bass’ first Inside Safe operation, more than three years ago, hit a stretch of Cahuenga Boulevard under the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, an area represented by Raman.

Inside Safe went to Cahuenga and the 101 six times over 18 months, according to the city’s records. Two blocks south, the program made five separate visits to Franklin and Cahuenga.

Frank Gordon said that he and his girlfriend lived in an RV on Cahuenga next to the 101 during the COVID era, when the streets were lined with encampments. Outreach workers eventually moved them into the Stuart Hotel in Westlake, he said.

From there, the couple relocated to the Highland Gardens, a hotel in Raman’s district converted into homeless housing. Gordon said they left the facility after one of their rooms was destroyed in a fire, going to yet another interim housing site.

Last month, they were back at Cahuenga and the 101. He called it “familiar ground.”

Sanitation crews gather belongings from a homeless encampment during an Inside Safe operation in North Hollywood in March.

Sanitation crews remove belongings from a homeless encampment during an Inside Safe operation on Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood in March.

Kevin Paz, who has been sleeping on the 51st Street overpass in South L.A., said he used to live a few blocks away. He still has friends in the area, including high school classmates.

“It made more sense to stay here than to live anywhere else,” he said.

Seated on the overpass on a swelteringly hot day, the 32-year-old said he picked his particular strip of sidewalk for the shade it gets from the elevated 110 Freeway carpool lane. He said he would accept a motel room if offered one.

“Honestly, nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Hey, I wanna go live on that street,’” he said.

Bass’ team has highlighted the scores of locations where encampments have not returned. They pointed to the success of an Inside Safe operation at 6th and Fairfax, where the sidewalk was later narrowed and new landscaping was planted, making it difficult to camp there.

West of downtown, streets and sidewalks also remain clear around Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, where 48 people were brought indoors in April 2025. To keep people from living in their cars at that location, city crews turned a stretch of Washington Boulevard into a no-parking zone, Bass’ team said.

Even some places that had severe repopulation issues are now clear of tents.

In Harbor City, Inside Safe went to the same intersection a dozen times between 2023 and 2025. That location has been free of encampments for 17 months, said Councilmember Tim McOsker, who represents the area.

McOsker credited the mayor’s team, as well as his staff, for going to the location over and over to offer interim housing to new arrivals. He also asked a group that delivers glass pipes and clean hypodermic needles to relocate, saying the service was attracting newcomers to an area that had been cleared.

In Baldwin Hills, Inside Safe workers went to Jim Gilliam Park 14 times over three years. Last week, encampments no longer occupied the grassy area around the tennis courts on La Brea Avenue or the sidewalks along the nearby Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex.

Johnnie Raines III, who serves on the local neighborhood council, knows some of the people Inside Safe brought indoors. He said the program has been “life-changing” for them.

Still, Raines, 79, has no illusions about the challenges the city faces.

“If you house these three people that are in this space today, three more will show up,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that you were not successful in housing the first three people. That just means that three more people come.”

Elmer Roldan, who lives in South Los Angeles, shows a spot where a man set fire to a vine on a freeway soundwall.

Elmer Roldan, who lives in South Los Angeles, points out the spot where an encampment burned on Grand Avenue near 54th Street.

In the neighborhoods that abut the 110 in South L.A., some residents have lost patience.

Elmer Roldan, who lives on 55th Street, said some of his homeless neighbors have been causing fires — sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. Earlier this year, he called 911 after seeing a man set fire to vines hanging from the freeway’s sound wall.

Roldan, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in June, said he sees plenty of people living in their vehicles, but fewer tents. Still, he said, it’s been demoralizing to have so many come back.

“I certainly don’t want it to get worse,” he said.

Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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10 suitcases currently on sale on the high street including Dunelm and Argos

IF YOU are going on holiday, there is one item you can’t travel without.

Well, two if you include your passport.

Tonnes of high street brands have suitcases in the sale at the moment Credit: PA

Finding an affordable suitcase can often feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But thankfully, loads are on sale at the moment so here are the best discounted suitcases available at the moment from high street shops.

Vienna 4 Wheel Hard Shell Medium Suitcase

M&S has a medium suitcase for just £28 Credit: M&S

This hard-shell medium sized suitcase from M&S boasts four wheels making it easier to drag around the airport.

It has both side and top grab handles, as well as a zip around divider.

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It is nice and lightweight as well, weighing just 3.2kg and can store up to 70L.

As for size, it measures 67 x 45.5 x 27.5 cm.

Character Wheel Case

Sports Direct has Trunki-style ride on suitcases in the sale Credit: Sports Direct

Looking for a kids option? Well, head to Sports Direct and pick up one of their Trunki-style character wheel cases.

Available in Elsa from Frozen, Spider-Man or Minnie Mouse, these cases are both practical and fun for kids as you can even ride on it.

Even more practical with bouncing kids, the suitcase features a hard shell helping to protect the contents of the case.

The case has four wheels and measures 48 x 31 x 25cm.

Linea Adults Open Front Hard Suitcase

Sports Direct sells this hard hell suitcase with a handy front pocket Credit: Sports Direct

This 56cm hard shell suitcase has a handy front opening pocket, to give you easy access to your essentials.

You can also get the case in medium and large for a few extra quid.

The case also has four wheels, a TSA-approved lock and is waterproof as well.

Inside the case, there is a large pocket too, ideal for separating your items out.

Slazenger Trolley Suitcase Nest 5pc

If you need suitcases for the entire family, you can get a set of five for less than £80 Credit: Sports Direct

Looking for a cheap answer for the entire family? Then look no further than this five-piece suitcase set from Slazenger at Sports Direct.

These basic black soft shell suitcases have pockets for separating items out as well as handles on both top and sides.

Perfect for a family, each case even has a card name on the back to help you identify it is your bag when collecting from the luggage belt.

From smallest to largest the cases measure:

  • 47 x 31 x 22cm (can be expanded to become 20 per cent bigger)
  • 54 x 35.5 x 23cm (can be expanded to become 20 per cent bigger)
  • 64 x 40 x 22cm
  • 74 x 45 x 25cm
  • 84 x 49.5 x 28cm

Rock Luggage Santiago Seagrass 2 Piece Suitcase Set

If you fancy something more stylish you could pick up this duo from Dunelm Credit: Dunelm

If you fancy something a little more stylish, you can opt for this two piece suitcase set, which includes a cabin bag and a large suitcase.

Each case has a combination lock and is in the colour ‘seagrass’.

The cases are also covered by a 15-year guarantee.

The cabin case measures 54 x 36 x 22cm and the large suitcase measures 74 x 45.5 x 30cm.

Constellation Skyline Hard Shell Suitcase

Dunelm also has large hard shell suitcases for just £31.50 Credit: Dunelm

If you are looking for a new large suitcase, then this option is great with a hard shell, four wheels and gel grip handles.

The large case measures 76.5 x 52.5 x 29.5cm but you can also get it in a cabin size and medium size.

Featherstone 4 Wheel Hard Cabin-Size Suitcase

Argos has the cheapest suitcase, costing just £12 for a cabin bag Credit: Argos

The cheapest on this list cost just £12 for a cabin case, which you can pick up from Argos.

This plain black, hard shell case boasts four 360-degree wheels for easy maneuvering.

It also has top and side handles.

The case measures 55 x 35 x 20.5cm and has a five-year warranty.

it Luggage Children’s Brick 4 Wheel Hard Cabin Suitcase

Another option for kids is this it Luggage case that comes with a 10-year warranty Credit: Argos

Another great children’s option is this it Luggage cabin suitcase.

Designed to look like a brick, the case is hard shell and has four wheels.

On the inside it splits into two packing zones and has a 10-year warranty as well.

The case is suitable for kids aged three and older and measure 46 x 29 x 21.5cm.

2 Piece Soft 2 Wheeled Luggage Set

A cheap set of two suitcases from Argos costs less than £35 Credit: Argos

Another set of luggage, this time from Argos, include two soft shell suitcases each with two wheels.

The cases come with a 10-year warranty and measure 54.5 x 35 x 16.5cm and 75.5 x 44.5 x 21cm.

Set of 3 Geneva 4 Wheel Soft Suitcases

You could get a matching set of suitcases for £120 Credit: M&S

Going on a big trip? Then this is the set for you.

Not one or two, but three soft shell suitcases from M&S – a cabin bag, medium suitcase and large suitcase.

All of the suitcases can be expanded and feature four wheels.

Inside there are pockets as well for separating out your stuff and on the outside of each case there is a TSA lock.

The cabin bag measures 56 x 34.5 x 24cm, the medium case measures 67 x 39.5 x 27cm and the large measures 79 x 46 x 31cm.

The cases can store 40L, 68L and 106L respectively.

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10 L.A. neighbors making the big city feel less lonely

When I moved into my Leimert Park apartment about two years ago, an older woman rushed downstairs to greet me.

“I’m so excited,” she said, introducing herself as Cassandra. She had lived in the tight-knit apartment building for more than 20 years and watched plenty of people come and go. “I was worried about getting a crazy neighbor, but you seem great,” she added, hugging me tightly and handing me a tray of sandwiches to share with my friends who were helping with the move.

Over the next few days, I met my other neighbors, including Miss Rosita and Mr. Art. After a few shared meals, long conversations and traded favors, all of them became more than just the people next door — they became family.

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There’s a quiet comfort in knowing your neighbors, especially in a sprawling, sometimes lonely city like Los Angeles. That kind of connection is fading. A study by the Stanford Center on Longevity showed that the percentage of Americans who frequently interact with their neighbors — meaning they spend time with or talk to their neighbors more than once a week — declined among all age groups from 2017 to 2023.

We wanted to find people who are bucking the trend, so we asked readers to nominate the neighbors who make their corners of Southern California feel like home. The stories that folks shared are poignant, inspiring and might just make you want to walk over to the porch next door (or welcome mat across the hall) and introduce yourself immediately.

One of my favorite neighbors, Mr. Art, died last fall. He was a sweet retiree who’d tell me about his weekly fishing adventures and close my garage whenever I was in a hurry and would forget. Another neighbor called me the day he died, and we cried together, sharing our favorite memories of him. I’ll always be grateful to Mr. Art, who made my life better all because he once took the time to meet his new new neighbor.

Here are some of our favorite reader responses, edited for length and clarity. Each of the neighbors featured in this story will receive an L.A.’s Most Neighborly Neighbor certificate, illustrated by Cristina Spanó, whose art is shown above. Do you have a neighbor who goes above and beyond? Download and print your own certificate (PDF) and share it as a token of your appreciation.

He’s saved us from many, many parking tickets. She hosts the sweetest front porch chats.

Bill and Linda Melber.

Bill and Linda Melber.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Neighbor: Bill and Linda Melber

Nominated by: Corrinne Harol

When were you neighbors? 1994 to now

What neighborhood did you live in? Santa Monica

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Corrinne, on how Bill and Linda show up as neighbors:

Linda and Bill are the most generous neighbors imaginable. Bill has taken out my trash bins for decades. It started when I was living in Canada for most of the year, but he still insists on doing it. He makes it his personal mission that no one gets a parking ticket for street cleaning on our block, going up and down the block twice a week to remind anyone who forgot. One time he called me about my car, but I was too far away to get back to move it. Bill had a key to my house, but the gate was locked. He climbed over the fence, got my car keys and moved my car for me! He also makes children’s toys that he distributes to any children on the block or that he encounters out and about.

His wife, Linda, is equally neighborly, hosting regular chat sessions on their lovely front porch and checking in on me whenever I have been ill, as she does to anyone in her orbit. They are truly a gift to the neighborhood.

He made me feel welcome when I was in culture shock

Tommy Bui and Hector Chavez.

Tommy Bui and Hector Chavez.

(Tommy Bui)

Neighbor: Hector Chavez

Nominated by: Tommy Bui

When were you neighbors? 1996 to 2022

What neighborhood did you live in? Pacoima

Tommy, on how Hector has shown up as a neighbor:
The greatest neighbor I ever had was my childhood friend, Hector. I’m the child of Vietnamese refugees, and when they claimed asylum in Los Angeles, we were plonked into the cultural collision that was Spanish-speaking Pacoima. I was seemingly the only Asian child in a five-mile radius. I certainly stood out among the perfectly creased khaki pants and palm combs and top-buttoned flannels contrasted with my clueless bowl haircut and Ninja Turtle suspenders.

Confounding the astronomical unlikeliness, we got along like two peas in a pod. I got a crash course on Angeleno aesthetics and the ins and outs of the rough and tumble San Fernando Valley hurly-burly. I was a regular staple at his welcoming household. Simpatico and simply siblings by circumstance. Sunday dinners and holidays and “Sandlot”-like weekend street shenanigans. My youth was alarmingly idyllic with the hopped fences, bicycle slaloms through traffic and occasional near-misdemeanor mischief. Shoulder to shoulder alongside Hector, I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it.

Though no longer neighbors, we’re still navigating life’s milestones in our own corners of Los Angeles. We’re both new fathers and hurtling toward middle age completely agog at how quickly the time gallops by.

She gave me a gold turtle to make me feel better after my breakup

Fatine Ait-Haddou and Raynette Syfu.

Fatine Ait-Haddou and Raynette Syfu.

(Fatine Ait-Haddou)

Neighbor: Raynette Syfu

Nominated by: Fatine Ait-Haddou

When were you neighbors? Since 2021

What neighborhood did you live in? Historic Filipinotown

Fatine, on how Raynette has shown up as a neighbor:

I had just moved into my new apartment after breaking up with a long-term ex. I was sobbing every single day. During my first intro with Raynette, she gave me a little gold turtle and said it would bring me safety, luck and calmness. I named it Lucky and I still have it. Raynette brings me meals all the time and checks on me whenever she hasn’t seen me for a few days. She even gave me a huge bag of her vintage clothes. One of the most insane things she’s done for me is give me a fake baby, one that was heavy and realistic. She said that because I lived alone and didn’t live near family, it could be nice to have additional family. [Laughs] Honestly, it was a very “her” move. She’s truly amazing and looks out for me. I couldn’t be more grateful.

He taught me new chess strategies — and life lessons

Ali Ras and Jemimah Yamamoto.

Ali Ras and Jemimah Yamamoto.

(Jemimah Yamamoto)

Neighbor: Ali Ras (born Fitz Albert Thomas)

Nominated by: Jemimah Yamamoto

When were you neighbors? From 2021 until his death in 2025

What neighborhood did you live in? Arlington Heights

Jemimah, on how Ali showed up as a neighbor:
I moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2021. I was in my late 20s, and I was a bit unsure of my move. Even more so, I was unsure of the neighborhood I ended up in thanks to Facebook Marketplace. But as fate would have it, it revealed to me that I was destined to be there. I’d see an old man with his gray dreads and sing-songy voice as I would walk from parking my car on the street. One day, he introduced himself and over time we developed a relationship. Him, as my chess teacher, and me as his eager student. I’d bring over my chessboard and we’d play for hours on his porch. He’d always say I was too aggressive with my pawns and that I wasn’t afraid to lose them. He’d play slowly and deliberately. I never won a single game against him. I’d like to think that that itself was a lesson.

During my Saturn return, I was depressed and felt a bit lost. On days that felt the darkest, he would call. He would ask me how I was doing, and it would cut through all the facade of “I’m good.” It was the tone of his voice that made you want to be honest. His way of caring felt like a miracle because you don’t even have to explain anything to him, he would just know. At the time, his presence was exactly what I needed.

He was the only person I gladly let walk into my house unannounced

Eric Pendleton

Eric Pendleton

(Kim Quitzon)

Neighbor: Eric Pendleton

Nominated by: Kim Quitzon

How long were you neighbors? More than 20 years

What neighborhood did you live in? San Fernando

Kim, on how Eric showed up as a neighbor:
“Uncle Eric” was more than just a neighbor; he was family. Walking through the door unannounced yelling “Hi, family!” across the living room. “I came to check on the backyard.” Every week he would mow the yards after he lost his job and took pride in landscaping the grass, but that was just the surface of what he meant to us. On the popular street of Orange Grove in San Fernando where crowds line up during Halloween, Uncle Eric was our honorary neighborhood watch. Rolling up and down the street on a new bike every day, checking in on every neighbor that would give him the time of day.

From watching the dogs when we were away to helping set up family parties, he was one of us. He just happened to live three doors down. Unfortunately, Eric passed away from cancer last year. The whole block was devastated, and we all held a potluck in his honor. We will miss him, and he truly is the epitome of an amazing neighbor.

She sat with me after my mom died while I cried

Pamela Yeh and Hilah Johnson.

Pamela Yeh and Hilah Johnson.

(Pamela Yeh)

Neighbor: Hilah Johnson

Nominated by: Pamela Yeh

When were you neighbors? From 2017 until mid-2020 when she and her family moved to Austin, Texas. Over the years, we’d become close friends, so I was gutted by their move. The most amazing thing happened, though. In 2022, they moved back to L.A., just a few blocks away from us. They live about 10 minutes away from us now, but we still see each other all the time.

What neighborhood did you live in? West L.A.

Pamela, on how Hilah has shown up as a neighbor:
Hilah has shown up for me and my family in hundreds of ways over the years, but I want to tell you this one story. In September 2025, my mom, who had been living in an ADU we built in our backyard, died. She was my heart, and I was utterly crushed. I lived in a fog of grief and shock. Hilah came over and just sat with me while I cried and cried. She made the video montage of my mom for her memorial, which was extra difficult because a family member had all sorts of unreasonable demands. Eventually, she got me to go to a dance class, and we’re still dancing, one step at a time, at the wonderful local Flow Motion.

He’s the beloved ‘Fairy-Car-Father’ on our street

Rodrigo Mangrobang

Rodrigo Mangrobang

(Leigh Ann Jackson)

Neighbor: Rodrigo Mangrobang

Nominated by: Leigh-Ann Jackson

How long have you been neighbors? Since I moved to Northeast L.A. 15 years ago

What neighborhood did you live in? Northeast L.A.

Leigh-Ann, on how Rodrigo has shown up as a neighbor:
Rod, as most of the block calls him, is a retiree who lives with his wife across the street from me. He spends a lot of time outside gardening and working on his cars and can seemingly sense whenever a neighbor is having car trouble. He’ll stop what he’s doing, bring over his tools and get to work, no questions asked. He’s not very chatty, but he speaks auto fluently! He saw me pull out of my driveway once and flagged me down to tell me I was headed for a blowout soon. He then instructed me to pull back into the driveway and patched the tire for me on the spot. I even watched him go outside to help a stranger whose car had broken down in the middle of the road. He’s our street’s Fairy-Car-Father.

She had the best local recs. Yelp couldn’t come close.

Sofie Ringold and Eileen Ogle

Sofie Ringold and Eileen Ogle

(Sofie Ringold)

Neighbor: Eileen Ogle

Nominated by: Sofie Ringold

When were you neighbors? From 2020 to 2025

What neighborhood did you live in? Sherman Oaks

Sofie, on how Eileen showed up as a neighbor:
When my husband and I bought our first home, the COVID vaccine hadn’t been released yet, and we didn’t meet any of our neighbors. A few days later, an older woman wearing a mask knocked at our door. She said that a package had been delivered and she didn’t want it to get stolen. The package had arrived only minutes earlier, so it was pretty clear she wanted to scope out her new neighbors, and during a time of social distancing, this was the perfect excuse. She introduced herself as Eileen. She lived next door with her partner, Judith. We exchanged numbers and said a friendly goodbye.

As the world slowly became more comfortable with social interaction, Eileen began introducing us to everyone on the block. Soon, while we were walking our dog around the neighborhood, people would stop us and ask if we were new. When we told them we lived next to Eileen and Judith, their eyes lit up. It was clear they were local legends. Like all first-time homeowners, we quickly ran into our share of problems. But who needs Yelp when you have neighbors who have already vetted every home service you could possibly need? Need a gardener? Call Eileen. HVAC needs maintenance? Call Eileen. Going away for the weekend and need someone to check on your cats? Call Eileen.

Sadly, Eileen passed away in December. A cloud hung over our street for weeks. Then on Christmas morning, the sun broke through and a rainbow appeared. My husband took it as a sign from Eileen.

He went from my flirty neighbor to my husband of 16 years

Brett Boyd and Sara Mortimer-Boyd.

Brett Boyd and Sara Mortimer-Boyd.

(Sara Mortimer-Boyd)

Neighbor: Bretton Boyd

Nominated by: Sara Mortimer-Boyd

When were you neighbors? We became neighbors in 1996 until 1997, when we moved in together

What neighborhood did you live in? Silver Lake

Sara, on how Bretton has shown up as a neighbor:
Bretton would come to my door asking for things (cigarettes, food, etc.) while trying to flirt. I was very intrigued by him, but I didn’t think he was “my type” at the time. It was confusing at first. One day, he invited me upstairs to his apartment for coffee and breakfast, which became a regular thing. He got me addicted to coffee and to his amazing cooking. He started coming over to my apartment more and we became really close friends before becoming romantic. I remember one time he left for a few weeks to visit his parents, and I realized in his absence that I loved him and wanted to spend every day with him. We moved in together in 1997, got engaged in 2002 and have been happily married with children for the last 16 years. He still cooks dinner for our family every night at our home in Highland Park.

He helped organize a food train when my son was diagnosed with leukemia

Scott Marshall-Miller

Scott Marshall-Miller

(Scott Marshall-Miller)

Neighbor: Scott Marshall-Miller

Nominated by: Mev Blount

When were you neighbors? From 2006 to 2017

What neighborhood did you live in? Studio City

Mev, on how Scott has shown up as a neighbor:
My husband and I moved next to Scott and his husband when I was pregnant with our first child. Scott welcomed home his daughter nine months after mine was born, so we were new stay-at-home parents together. His husband is an incredible baker, and he and Scott were always bringing over plates of deliciousness. The chocolate croissant bread pudding is legendary! I was raised that you never return a plate empty so I’d bake something or add some homegrown veggies to the plate. That plate went back and forth through the hedges between our houses for years.

Both of our husbands traveled for work a lot, so Scott and I spent hours together, especially before bedtime and during the “witching hour” with our little ones. We’d sit on my front lawn, nursing half-glasses of Trader Joe’s finest Two Buck Chuck wine while his daughter and my two kiddos rolled around, wearing themselves out. Scott and I would knock on each other’s doors when the parenting was too much. He and I would always answer the door with an “Oh, it’s you. Come in. No one else can see me as a hot mess.”

When my youngest got leukemia at 7, Scott was part of my core group who ignored me when I said we didn’t need help. They organized a food train, and Scott was the one who set up a cooler on my front porch and insisted people drop food without knocking, knowing we were overwhelmed. He was always there when I needed to laugh or cry, and he made our L.A. suburb feel like the small Ohio town where I grew up. I still find glitter ground into our kitchen tiles from the Halloween when he made his daughter a purple witch costume. Sadly, Scott died suddenly in his sleep a few years ago. Tiny bits of glitter are embedded in our tiles, a bright reminder of Scott and the beauty and joy he brought to even the most mundane tasks. He made L.A. feel like home.

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Coronation Street affair ‘confirmed’ for Bethany and Kit as baby twist ‘sealed’

Coronation Street fans are convinced an affair and a baby twist is on the way for Kit Green and Bethany Platt after Kit was dumped by his partner Sarah Platt on the ITV soap

Coronation Street spoilers reveal ANOTHER murder as Tim and Sally left reeling

Fans of Coronation Street think the signs are all there that Bethany Platt and Kit Green will have an affair.

Not only that but a baby twist could also be on the way. After Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany, told the Mirror earlier this year about a plot on the way that fans would hate, viewers now think they’ve worked it out.

Recent scenes saw Bethany’s mother Sarah Platt dump her partner Kit, after her arrest. She’s currently in prison over Theo Silverton’s murder, and Kit wants to help get her out.

His hatred of Gary Windass, who helped Sarah initially cover up the crime, has led to him looking for evidence to implicate him. On Wednesday we saw Bethany roped in to Kit’s plans, with her also wanting to get her mum out of prison.

With Kit and Bethany teaming up and actress Lucy’s hints about what’s ahead, some fans can’t shake the feeling that an affair is on the way. They have wondered if Kit and Bethany will grow closer and end up sleeping together.

Some fans even wondered if it will lead to a baby twist for Bethany. Taking to social media one fan guessed: “Seeing as Bethany has a big storyline coming up, will it be having an affair with Kit after they bond taking care of Harry?”

Another fan posted: “If Sarah gets out, perhaps both Sarah and Bethany pregnant by Kit.” A third fan added: “Is the Bethany/Kit affair a FOR SURE thing or just a rumour?”

A fourth theory commented: “I also think maybe Kit and Bethany will work to get Sarah out of prison and maybe end up sleeping together.” A further post read: “Oh the tension between Kit & Bethany?! I am SORRY it is happening!”

One fan said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens between Bethany and Kit.” As a fan then questioned if “another affair” was being planned, a viewer replied: “I thought to myself exactly this yesterday.”

It comes after what Lucy told the Mirror about the future for Bethany, in April. She said: “She does [have a big storyline coming up]. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s not going to be great. I don’t think people are going to be happy about it.

“This one is low-key her fault. Everyone is going to be like, ‘She is a d**k.’ Which is fine.” But Lucy isn’t bothered about taking on controversial storylines on one condition. Lucy says as long as the plot “is good” she’s happy to get her teeth stuck into it.

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .



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L.A. is actually bikeable — and one cyclist is riding every street to prove it

It’s a few minutes after 10 a.m. on a recent morning and the thermometer is closing in on 95 degrees, but Marc Papas isn’t fazed. “The heat doesn’t bother me much,” he said, unloading his bicycle — a blue and yellow 1989 Trek 400 — from the trunk of his car on a side street in Reseda. “I just keep going.”

Papas adjusted the heart monitor underneath his T-shirt, checked the bike computer attached to his handlebars, then set off on the day’s ride; he’s taken it upon himself to bike every public street in Los Angeles. The Phoenix native has completed over 78% (about 5,840 miles) after two years. He calls it “The Project,” and says there’s about 7,516.07 miles in total, when you include various enclaves and adjacent cities like Beverly Hills or Burbank. Today he’s headed toward the longest continuous bike lane in Southern California — a stretch of Reseda Boulevard. It’s an unexpected amenity in a part of the city that seems otherwise hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, but one Papas wants incorporated around more of Los Angeles.

“Somebody once asked me on a Reddit Ask Me Anything what is one street you think needs a bike lane,” he said. “I wrote him a whole essay in response, because I can’t just say one street.”

Marc Papas riding in Elysian Park

Marc Papas estimates he covers about 75 new, unique miles each week, putting him on track to complete the entire city after nearly three years of riding.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Marc Papas sets his blue and yellow 1989 Trek 400 near a graffiti post along the Los Angeles River.

Marc Papas sets his blue and yellow 1989 Trek 400 near a graffiti post along the Los Angeles River.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

After a few blocks on Reseda, Papas turned back into the neighborhood centered around Etiwanda and started tracing loops across the blocks. It’s his standard pattern for covering any area he rides for the Project. “I base my routes on a math theory called the Eulerian Path,” said Papas, a mechanical engineer by training. Each new segment of the city he rides is generally a rectangle bound by major streets. “Then, I start with loops around the edges and work my way in,” he continued. “It’s the most efficient way to cover an area without overlapping.”

Today’s ride would yield eight new miles for Papas. “So, I’ll be about 12 miles away from 80%,” he calculated.

Papas started his biking project almost by accident. He moved to Los Angeles in late 2020 after finishing his PhD at Georgia Tech. He had taken up biking around Atlanta as part of triathlon training and worried he wouldn’t be able to continue once arriving in L.A.

“I remember having a sort of fear around it,” said Papas. “I’d heard it’s just so car-filled and dangerous to be on the roads.” But riding along the beach and around much of the Westside quickly changed his mind. With perfect weather year-round and a mostly flat topography, why wasn’t everyone in L.A. riding bikes?

He was soon cycling to work in Monrovia from his apartment in Pasadena, and biking more than he ever had in his life. “Sometimes friends would be surprised to learn I have a car,” he said. “They thought I bike everywhere because I don’t drive.”

Then, on Dec. 31, 2023, Papas decided to get in one last bike ride for the year. He rode a section of San Marino that he and friends refer to as “The Mitochondria” for the shape the streets make when viewed in the tracking app Strava. After riding the Mitochondria, he decided to keep going — making a path up each street and block — until he was satisfied. It gave him the idea to ride every mile of street in San Marino. “It’s only 60 miles total,” said Papas. “That seemed doable.”

Marc Papas cycles past graffiti

“There are beautiful pieces of art on the walls that you wouldn’t imagine,” says Marc Papas, who has spotted murals throughout the city.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Marc Papas cruises along the Los Angeles River bike path.

Marc Papas cruises along the Los Angeles River bike path.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Finishing the 60 miles of San Marino led to completing the 400 miles of Pasadena. He next found himself taking detours to cover new streets in Northeast Los Angeles as he’d ride to and from Koreatown Run Club meet-ups at Los Angeles Community College. But it wasn’t clear to himself, or anyone else, what he was doing. “Friends were seeing my Strava activities and texting me like, ‘What the heck are you doing, man?,’” Papas recalled. One friend jokingly asked if he was drawing the Nazca lines across the city, but Papas wrote it off as just trying to clock extra mileage. “There’s a level of self-deception, because riding the whole city of Los Angeles seemed impossible to do,” he said. Still, his treks around Northeast L.A., East Hollywood and Los Feliz were starting to build up mileage — he had completed about 18% of the city.

When Papas drove out to North Hollywood in November 2024 specifically to track new mileage, he realized he had crossed the Rubicon. “At that point, I can’t lie to myself anymore about what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m driving out to these places to get miles more efficiently. When that happened, I was like, all right, I’m in it for the long haul.”

 Marc Papas along L.A. River

“Biking is like a superpower to gain familiarity with your neighborhood,” says Marc Papas.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

As Papas covered more and more of the city, he began growing an appreciation for various architecturally-significant neighborhoods as well as the many murals across large swaths of South and East L.A. “There are beautiful pieces of art on the walls that you wouldn’t imagine,” he said. “I want to take people to these places and do a mural tour.” He was especially moved when he was riding in Pacoima and saw a Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens mural that memorializes the tragic plane crash that killed both Holly and Valens. “So many of these murals are commemorating people and events that are culturally important to those specific areas,” he added.

The bike rides were connecting him to his city in ways he never expected. “I’m not necessarily saying that everybody needs to go out and ride their bikes,” said Papas, though he’d certainly love it if more Angelenos did. Instead, he hopes his biking project is showing people what’s possible — in the most extreme way. Yes, you can bike in Los Angeles, as many Angelenos often do out of necessity. It’s even enjoyable. And yes, you can do it across every single mile of the city, even if the cycling infrastructure isn’t perfect yet. “I think to me, success would be if people just go out and explore their own neighborhood,” he said. He views cycling as a form of civic engagement and a way to see things otherwise invisible when speeding by in a car. For beginners, Papas recommends sticking to bike paths and joining cycling groups. More experienced riders should venture out into new areas, said Papas. “Biking is like a superpower to gain familiarity with your neighborhood, but it just needs to be unleashed.”

 Marc Papas at night.

“At this point, I can’t lie to myself anymore … I’m in it for the long haul,” says Marc Papas. He’s already clocked thousands of miles on his mission to cover every street in L.A.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Last September, Papas passed the 50% mark of his project and estimates he’s been covering an additional 1% (or about 75 new, unique miles) every week since. That puts him on pace to finish sometime around mid-December — should everything go smoothly — nearly three years after he first began. Does he know what his final mile will be? “Eldred Street in Mount Washington,” he said. He notes it’s one of the steepest streets in the entire country.

“It’’s a fitting end, like a final boss [in a video game], just one last all-out hard effort to completely finish things off,” Papas said. “It gives me goosebumps to think that would be the time and place that this years-long project would be done.” Of course, there’s always the rest of Los Angeles County to conquer.

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Oil rebounds as markets trade mixed following Wall Street rally

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In addition to earnings reports this week, investors were also still weighing the impact from last week’s joint US-Japan currency intervention, analysts said.


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Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 63,585.58, as the US dollar inched up to 157.51 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1511, little changed from $1.1514. The dollar was trading at 160-yen levels before regulators stepped in to boost the yen’s value after it fell to nearly 40-year lows.

Some analysts said the effectiveness of such an intervention remains uncertain as it doesn’t address the fundamental economic reasons behind the currency fluctuations, including inflation, interest rates and the relative strengths of the economies.

“A US-backed operation carries far more signaling weight than Tokyo acting alone, and the pledge of further action will give speculators pause. But any US contribution will probably be constrained by size,” a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said.

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, noted the latest effort could have some impact because it appears to signal a real change in monetary policy rather than just a one-time defensive move.

“This is an historic and meaningful development for the yen, which materially improves confidence in our mildly bullish call for the currency,” he said.

Markets unsettled

South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.3% to 6,174.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 9,129.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 25,881.99, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 3,802.61.

Markets remain unsettled by swings for stocks of companies that make computer chips. They’ve been veering up and down for weeks on worries about whether their surging revenues because of the artificial-intelligence boom are sustainable.

Dow hits all-time high

On Wall Street, share prices rallied Monday after easing oil prices helped calm worries over inflation. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% and is just 0.1% below its record set earlier this summer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measures a narrower slice of the US stock market, climbed 693 points or 1.3% to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.1%.

Oil prices rebound

In energy trading in Asia early Tuesday, benchmark US crude gained 84 cents to $81.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $1.15 to $84.92 a barrel.

A day earlier, oil prices dropped more than 5% after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had decided to hold off on new strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region.

Brent’s price careened between $72 and $102 last month as worries rose and fell over the war in Iran and when oil tankers would be allowed to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude to customers worldwide.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. It remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

Additional sources • AP

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Coronation Street spoilers reveal what happens next as fans worry Cassie is dead

Cassie Plummer left Coronation Street on Monday night but her exit has left behind a trail of mystery and now spoilers have revealed what happens next on the ITV soap

Coronation Street spoilers have revealed what happens next following the sudden exit of Cassie Plummer. The former drug addict, played by Claire Sweeney, was introduced when the bosses of the long-running soap decided to completely rewrite history and install her as Tyrone Dobbs’s long-lost biological mum in 2023.

But in scenes that aired on Monday night, Cassie left Weatherfield – seemingly for good – as she chose to get in the car with Ross Wilkes when he offered her a lift to the train station. Introduced last month as the long-lost biological dad of Tyrone, Cassie knew he was trouble as soon as he turned up, but it was only when put under pressure that she revealed that he had paid her for sex when she was underage.

Ross has already made his mark as the latest villain to turn up in the Manchester backstreet, and viewers know that after striking up a relationship with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford), he spiked her drink and put her in hospital but has let everyone think that Cassie was the one who did it. Cassie announced on Monday that she had got a job cleaning a cruise ship, and was heading to the train station.

Ross offered her a lift, and she accepted. But whilst in the car, Cassie threatened to go to the police about what Ross had done to her all those years ago. She then began to feel unsafe and tried to get out, but he locked the door and told her they were going “on a little drive.” That was the last time Cassie was seen, and Tyrone later announced to Ross that Cassie had left Weatherfield.

Earlier in the day, Fiz had presented Cassie with a photograph of Tyrone and the kids and an envelope full of cash, but at the very end of the episode, Ross took the photo from his pocket and created a mystery about just where Cassie had ended up.

Now, in scenes set to air this coming week, Ross tells Fiz and Tyrone he wants to move nearby, but Fiz quickly closes down the conversation.

Steve asks Ross where he dropped Cassie off, but Ross feigns ignorance until Steve reveals how he saw Cassie get into his car, forcing him to change his story claiming he took her to Piccadilly Station. Also, in scenes yet to air, Ross tells Hope to help herself to a tenner from his wallet but Hope finds something else which leaves Fiz suspicious.

Viewers have instantly become worried that Cassie did not make it to her new job at all, and are concerned that she might even be dead.

One fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Oh s*** is Cassie dead???” and another said: “Cassie getting in the car with Ross, they’re gonna leave us hanging for months over what he’s done to her, I bet!”

A third wrote: “I well like Cassie I’ll be sad if she never comes back,” and, on Reddit, another fan said: ” Feel like he’s deffo killed her. But think they’ve done it this way so that they can bring her back again if they wanted to. “

In real life, actress Claire Sweeney, who found fame when she starred on Brookside, chose to leave so she could take on the role of Miss Hannigan in the current UK tour of the musical Annie, and replaced former Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix in the show in early July.

Claire has previously starred in other musicals like 9 to 5, Tell Me On A Sunday and Chicago. But she recently recently explained that she loved her time at Corrie but always wanted to take on the part of the villainous orphanage proprietress, who has previously been played on stage by the likes of her soap co-star Jodie Prenger, as well as Hi-de-Hi icon Su Pollard, the late Paul O’Grady and British acting legend Sheila Hancock.

She told The Mirror: “You’re part of a family at Coronation Street, you feel safe and protected and leaving is like stepping out into the big, wide world again. It feels like I’ve broken up with a boyfriend I’m still in love with. I’ve loved Corrie and leaving bears no reflection on the job, the people and the work.

“It was just that my phone pinged and it was the producer of Annie saying ‘right, do you want to do Miss Hannigan.’ I’d been hounding him for years for this part and I just thought – ‘if I don’t do it now, it might never come again.’ But I think it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had to leave and my exit is very sad; I had a little weep over my leaving scenes. I got quite emotional.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. *

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Coronation Street star shares heartbreak as she faces ‘daily abuse’ over disability

The actress opened up about the horrific abuse she suffers on a daily basis from cruel trolls.

Coronation Street star Cherylee Houston has opened up about the horrific abuse she receives daily.

The actress has played Izzy Armstrong in the ITV soap since 2010, and elsewhere plays Maz in BBC Radio 4 series Tinsel Girl.

During an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Monday, August 3, Cherylee opened up about her life away from the spotlight and the abuse she receives daily.

Cherylee was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome when she was 23, and now uses a wheelchair.

According to the NHS, the condition can affect people in different ways, and for some, it can be disabling.

Opening up about her experience, Cherylee told GMB hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley: “A couple of times I’ve been on television and my chair hasn’t been on view, I’ve been bullied for that. People are very easily ready to call out…”

She went on to say that trolls tell her she is “making it up”, and faces the abuse “on a daily basis”.

Cherylee added: “My friend and I were wheeling down the street, and a man was shouting out about how much benefits we got and stuff, and how we make it up. It happens all the time.”

Richard shared: “I have to say, anyone that sees your chair on screen and then puts their fingers on a keyboard to say you’re pretending or you’re seeking sympathy or something, I think they’re a bit thick.”

Cherylee replied: “Yes and no, because I think some of it is about our representation and an understanding.”

She continued: “There’s so much lack of understanding because we’re 1 in 5, but we’re not on screen, our stories aren’t told.”

Cherylee received an MBE for services in the disabled community in 2022, after raising awareness, working to remove barriers for disabled people, and speaking about welfare cuts in Parliament.

She was also involved in a Coronation Street storyline that shone a light on the difficulties disabled people experienced during the pandemic, and the pressures of working remotely while shielding, in scenes filmed in her home.

She said at the time: “I have been unbelievably fortunate that my employers enabled me to continue shielding after the official shielding guidance ended in March. I’ve been so supported by ITV, but I’m aware that many of my disabled peers who were previously shielding haven’t had that safety and have been forced to make the decision to earn money to survive whilst facing the real fear of death or serious illness through Covid.”

Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod added: “We had to think outside the box in order to tell this story, devising new protocols and ways of scripting scenes that would allow Cherylee to film the scenes herself in her home. It certainly helped that her partner, Toby, is a fabulous actor!

“Despite all the technical challenges we had to overcome, this was a story that needed telling, and I hope it will resonate with millions of people who have found themselves in a similar position to Izzy, and perhaps open the eyes of millions of others who had little awareness of the issues facing disabled people during COVID.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Coronation Street lines up ‘really dark’ exit for Cassie Plummer in ‘killer’ twist

Cassie Plummer could be about to face a “really dark” exit from Coronation Street after worrying scenes aired on Friday night’s episode of the long-running soap

Cassie Plummer could be about to face a “really dark” exit from Coronation Street. The former drug addict, played by Claire Sweeney, was introduced when bosses of the long-running soap decided to completely rewrite history and install her as the long-lost biological mum of Tyrone Dobbs, and initially came to blows with Tracy Barlow when she set about poisoning Ken for financial gain.

With all that seemingly swept under the carpet, now Tracy has sparked a romance with Ross, who is Tyrone’s long-lost biological dad. Cassie was underage when Tyrone was conceived, and it emerged earlier this week that Ross had paid her for the sex they had all those years ago.

When it looked as though Ross was sticking around having got a job at the local prison, Cassie tried to get him out of their lives once and for all by crushing painkillers up into his flask that he was about to take to his new place of employment, hoping that he would fail the drugs test and then clear off out of Weatherfield. It backfired when Ross figured out what Cassie had done so, in a cruel twist, he poisoned Tracy with the drink and now she is in hospital. But because Cassie has got form, Tracy has now got completely the wrong end of the stick.

Sitting up in her hospital bed on Friday night’s episode of the ITV soap, she raged: “If I have been spiked, I know who I’m pointing my finger at. How else have I got this much codeine in my system if it’s not from the local poisoner, who also happens to hate my guts?”

Steve told his ex-wife to calm down, but she shot back: “Well, I’m trying to do that, Steve, but it’s quite difficult when your girlfriend tried to kill me. She’s jealous of me because I’ve got Ross and she’s stuck with a useless lump like you!”

The taxi driver, who has been played by Simon Gregson since 1989, was convinced that Tracy (Kate Ford) was wrong, but then decided to do some investigating, and found the painkillers in Cassie’s cardigan pocket.

When he confronted her, she explained: “It wasn’t meant for Tracy. It was meant for Ross. And it was just a couple of tablets so he’d fail his pee test at his prison job and he wouldn’t be hanging around here any more.” Tyrone then knocked at the door, having been informed of the situation by Steve, and Cassie tried once again to explain but they were having none of it.

Steve said: ” I don’t get it. First of all Ken, now Tracy. I mean, are you not gonna be happy till you’ve killed the lot of us?” Tyrone then yelled that it was “a lot more” than the couple of tablets Cassie claimed she had tried to spike Ross with as Cassie cried: ” I put it in his travel cup, which I got out of his bag, so how did Tracy end up with it, eh?

“Ty, I know it was a stupid idea, but I was desperate. You’ve no idea what he’s like!” Ross then turned up at the house, having been playing the dutiful long-lost granddad and took Ruby and Hope for a game of football. Cassie warned them that he was taking them all for a fool but no one would listen and Tyrone told her to get out of the house.

Tracy headed across the road to number one, where Steve answered the door and told her as he struggled to hold back the tears: ” Believe me. If you only knew how much I wanted this to work after all the disappointment I’ve had over the last few years.”

Cassie tried to plead with Steve, but he decided to split up with her there and then. He shut the door in Cassie’s face, and she burst into tears as she wept: “But Steve, I love you!”

Reacting to the emotional scenes, one viewer wrote on X: “Tyrone shut the f**k up you mug, Cassie is better than Ross. Honestly hope Tyrone finds out the hard way his dad is a creep,” whilst another said: “Cassie shouldn’t have done it, I get why she did though. The reality was, Ross knew and deliberately spiked Tracey to frame her, just another form of manipulation.”

A third wrote: “I don’t know how Cassie is gonna get out of this one,” and a fourth simply said: “Oh, Cassie!” and added a face-palm emoji. Another wrote: “Cassie thinks she is smart, however, Ross seems to always be one step ahead. This storyline is going to get really dark #Corrie.”

In real life, actress Claire Sweeney, who found fame when she starred on Brookside, chose to leave so she could take on the role of Miss Hannigan in the current UK tour of the musical Annie, and replaced former Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix in the show in early July.

Claire has starred previously starred in other musicals like 9 to 5, Tell Me On A Sunday and Chicago. But she recently recently explained that she loved her time at Corrie but always wanted to take on the part of the villainous orphanage proprietress, who has previously been played on stage by the likes of her soap co-star Jodie Prenger, as well as Hi-de-Hi icon Su Pollard, the late Paul O’Grady and British acting legend Sheila Hancock.

She told The Mirror: “You’re part of a family at Coronation Street, you feel safe and protected and leaving is like stepping out into the big, wide world again. It feels like I’ve broken up with a boyfriend I’m still in love with. I’ve loved Corrie and leaving bears no reflection on the job, the people and the work.

“It was just that my phone pinged and it was the producer of Annie saying ‘right, do you want to do Miss Hannigan.’ I’d been hounding him for years for this part and I just thought – ‘if I don’t do it now, it might never come again.’ But I think it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had to leave and my exit is very sad; I had a little weep over my leaving scenes. I got quite emotional.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .



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England’s ‘most underrated’ town is home to thriving high street and independent shops

The picturesque town is dubbed the ‘Jewel of the Weald’ and boasts award-winning wineries

If you’re after a UK destination to visit that’s away from the usual tourist trail, look no further than this underrated town. Like many British market towns, this spot has seen businesses come and go, but it has generally remained resilient thanks to tourism and its emphasis on independent retailers.

New cafés, salons and professional services have continued to open in recent years, helping maintain a lively town centre despite the wider challenges facing UK high streets. Its high street is often described as one of the most attractive market-town high streets in Kent.

Rather than being dominated by chain stores, it has retained a strong independent character, with a broad, tree-lined layout that makes it feel more like a promenade than a conventional shopping street.

When it comes to independent shopping you’ll find boutiques, gift shops, bookshops, galleries, jewellers, delicatessens, cafés and specialist retailers alongside a handful of familiar national brands. This mix has helped the town remain a shopping destination for both locals and visitors.

Walking along the high street today, you’ll pass several historic landmarks, including St Mildred’s Church, whose origins date back to the 12th century and the 1792 Town Hall, an elegant Georgian building.

Kent town

Nicknamed the “Jewel of the Weald” by locals, the picturesque town of Tenterden in Kent is easily accessible and boasts arts and folk festivals, restaurants and award-winning wineries and historic architecture.

Although the population is only around 8,200, Tenterden serves a much wider rural area. People from dozens of surrounding villages come into town for shopping, healthcare, banking and cafés, so it often feels busier than its size would suggest.

For a relatively small place, Tenterden has a busy calendar. Annual events include:

  • May Fair
  • Folk Festival
  • Christmas Market
  • Classic car gatherings
  • Steam railway events
  • Food and drink festivals

Many of these take place on or around the high street, making it the perfect spot for locals and visitors to get together.

History

One of Tenterden’s most fascinating stories is its unexpected maritime past. Although the town now lies several miles inland, it was once closely connected to the sea.

During the Middle Ages, ships could sail up the River Rother to the nearby port of Small Hythe, which became an important centre for shipbuilding.

Over time, the river silted up and the coastline gradually shifted, leaving Tenterden inland.

The Kent & East Sussex Railway is one of Britain’s best-loved heritage railways and an integral part of Tenterden’s character.

Stretching 17 km between Tenterden Town and Bodiam, the line takes passengers for “a nostalgic journey” through the scenic Rother Valley to view a 14th-century structure, Bodiam Castle, which is regarded as “one of the best loved and best known castles in England”.

Combining rich railway history with some of the finest countryside in Kent and East Sussex, it remains one of the region’s most popular visitor attractions.

The town is home to Chapel Down Winery, which provides tours and tastings of its award-winning wines, ciders, and spirits, according to WorldAtlas. The town also regularly plays host to arts and crafts fairs and folk festivals, amongst them a free-entry community festival taking place this summer.

Tenterden is a popular base for exploring both Kent and East Sussex, and within 20 minutes, you can also reach:

  • Rye
  • Romney Marsh
  • Bodiam Castle
  • Great Dixter
  • Sissinghurst Castle Garden
  • Camber Sands

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State Street Bets on Oman

To become a financial hub, the sultanate needs the infrastructure that a major custodian can provide.

U.S. custody giant State Street is expanding into Oman, a vote of confidence in the Gulf’s smallest aspiring financial center.

At the Oman Capital Market Conference in Muscat in early June, the bank signed an agreement with Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment, which manages about $30 billion in client assets, to jointly pursue institutional clients in the sultanate, with a focus on global custody and asset servicing. The agreement formalizes State Street’s deeper push into the Omani market. State Street, one of the big three global custodians alongside BNY and Northern Trust, has served Omani clients from a Muscat office for more than two decades.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Oman is a member, is a declared strategic priority for State Street. But for both sides, the logic of the deal centers on infrastructure.

Targeting Emerging Market Status

Custody and asset servicing are what Oman, as a financial center, has lacked at scale as it pursues its central ambition: to elevate the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) from frontier to emerging market status, attracting index-tracking capital, credibility, and prestige.

The sultanate has spent five years working toward that goal. The Oman Investment Authority, its sovereign wealth fund, took ownership of the MSX in 2021 and began injecting liquidity and floating state assets, including units of the energy group OQ. Market capitalization has nearly doubled to about $98 billion in an economy of roughly $117 billion.

Even so, the bourse is a sliver of the region’s dominant exchange, Saudi Arabia’s $2.7 trillion Tadawul. A unified regulator, the Financial Services Authority, created in 2024, has since introduced listing incentives, a junior market for smaller companies, and cross-border arrangements to give foreign investors a way in. Oman plans to privatize as many as 35 state firms by next year, further increasing the total float.

As its Gulf rivals absorb the fallout from the Iran war, Oman’s long-cultivated neutrality, its port of Duqm, and its free-trade agreement with the U.S. have positioned it as a relative haven. Whether it will harden into a genuine regional financial hub is less certain; Oman is a latecomer to a field led by Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and liquidity on the MSX remains thin, with heavy state ownership and slim free floats.

The agreement between State Street and Jadwa is, for now, only a memorandum of understanding, with no concrete mandate and no assets yet committed. But the signal is clear. When a custodian of State Street’s heft attaches its name to Oman, it redraws the Gulf’s financial map at the edges. Muscat has decided it would rather build the back office than keep renting someone else’s.

Kim Iskyan is a contributing writer based in the U.S.

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Three Coronation Street spoilers for next episode as Ross exposed

Coronation Street fans will see Cassie Plummer take extreme action to expose Ross Wilkes on Monday, while there’s good news for the Platts and Sam confides in Idris

After Sunday night’s drama-filled episode of Coronation Street, three spoilers for the next episode tease what happens next.

While the episode drops on ITVX on Monday morning, it’s not airing until 8:30pm on ITV1 that sam evening. But if you want a glimpse of what’s happening int he latest visit to Weatherfield, look no further.

Three key things happen tonight in the fallout to Sunday’s episode, where Cassie Plummer grew tired of people worshiping newcomer Ross Wilkes. We also saw Shona Platt fume at her sister Jodie Ramsay over her lies, kicking her out.

Then there was Sam settling in after returning home from hospital. The drama continues on Monday evening, with some good news for Shona and her husband David Platt.

Shona and David finally bring their baby daughter Harper home, after months in hospital. Before Harper was born, doctors warned Shona and David that there was a mass on the baby’s neck.

Amid discussions over whether to have surgery, Shona went into labour after a car crash during the Corriedale crossover. Harper was very poorly for a while, and has been gradually getting better in hospital over the past few months.

Monday will see Harper brought home, with her family ready to welcome her. But Sam is left upset when he’s not given the chance to hold his baby cousin, with David reluctant.

Jodie also makes a return, with a bombshell for Shona – but will all be forgiven? Speaking of Sam, he’s still getting back on track after he was recently hospitalised, after suffering with his mental health.

He had a breakdown, and after experiencing psychosis he’s been having treatment. On Monday, we see him opening up to Leanne Battersby’s new man Idris Nazir.

Idris shares his own experience with anxiety and how he overcame it as a teen. Sam appreciates the chat with Idris, feeling much better after sharing his worries with him.

The third big spoiler for Monday is Cassie’s plot against Ross. Cassie will drop a bombshell later in the week about Ross, the father of her son Tyrone.

Before that, we know she’s tried to set him up by exposing his past. Monday could be the moment this happens, after the mystery message she got on her phone on Sunday.

Monday’s spoilers reveal that Cassie takes a call from one of Ross’s exes, a woman named Alison. Ross overhears and recognises her name.

Cassie summons Steve, Tyrone, Tracy and Ross to the Rovers and introduces them to Alison Shave, Ross’s ex-girlfriend and reveals how Ross stole money from her and threatened her. How will Ross react, and is he finally exposed?

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.



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Coronation Street airs huge twist in murder plot but fans point out ‘problem’

Coronation Street’s Sarah Platt confessed to police that she killed Theo Silverton – but has claimed that it was in self-defence and viewers have spotted a “problem” ahead of a potential twist

Coronation Street’s Sarah Platt confessed to police that she killed Theo Silverton – but has claimed that it was in self-defence. The legendary soap character, who has been played by Tina O’Brien since 1999, beat the scaffolder over the head and sent him tumbling from the builder’s yard roof earlier this year.

It all came just moments after Theo whole load of derogatory remarks towards her but the pair were already enemies because she knew that he had subjected her best friend Todd Grimshaw to horrific abuse during their relationship.

Viewers will know that, on that fateful night, Sarah, who is currently dating DC Kit Green, called her ex-boyfriend Gary for help before heading home and being hit on the head and knocked out cold by the mysterious Jodie Ramsey .

In the weeks after Sarah confessed to Kit, he has been doing everything he can to try to get her off the hook and pin the blame on Gary, but she is currently in prison and has been charged with murder.

On Friday night’s episode of the world’s longest-running TV soap, Sarah was interviewed by DS Lisa Swain, who usually locks innocent people up, and she didn’t quite believe her story.

Sarah told her: “I barely remember calling Gary. He answered the phone. And I realised how crazy I was being. OK, fine, I did – I wanted to tell him what I’d done. And then the second… that I heard his voice. I realised that I couldn’t let him get involved and ask for his help!” Sarah then tried to explain the phone call, to no avail, and Lisa was very interested to know what she did with the murder weapon – which Gary disposed of – and the factory supervisor simply claimed she couldn’t remember.

Over in the Rovers, Lisa and Kit sat having a casual chat about the murder investigation and she told him that Sarah clearly didn’t think much of him if she called her ex-boyfriend rather than him. Whilst on the phone in her cell, Sarah told Kit that she couldn’t possibly bring Gary into it – much to her partner’s frustration.

It was then that Sarah attempted to split up with Kit on the phone, for his sake, but he was having none of it. She said to him: “Just look after Harry and Bethany for me,” but when Kit mentioned Jodie, Sarah was quick to warn him that she is a “dangerous” woman and he needs to keep away from her.

The scenes certainly sparked a reaction amongst fans, with some theorising that Sarah didn’t actually kill Theo after all.

One fan wrote on X: “Sarah’s finally told someone about Jodie being the person who hit her on the head that night. So, now Kit knows, I’m wondering if he will frame Jodie as Theo’s real killer? But, Sarah having the nerve to call Jodie dangerous, while on remand for murder, is peak irony”

Another said: “I think Sarah didn’t kill Theo. I think he was battered whey he lay unconscious… possibly by his son? I also feel the story of the life insurance is going somewhere.”

In response, a third said: “It would mean overturning the autopsy report, which stated Theo was dead before he fell. Corrie have hade a problem there, if they wanted a second killer. Otherwise, I would also go with Millie or Miles. And, I would like Todd to get the life insurance back. He’s earned it!”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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Street homelessness went up in Los Angeles. In Nithya Raman’s district, it was nearly cut in half

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running for mayor against incumbent Karen Bass, seized on significant decreases in street homelessness in her district Friday while blasting increases citywide.

Street homelessness — people living outdoors or in their vehicles — went down by 49% in Raman’s district compared to the previous year, she said at a press conference Friday.

Citywide, street homelessness increased nearly 8%, while overall homelessness, which includes those living in shelters and other temporary facilities, increased 3.4%, according to numbers from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s January point-in-time count that were released Friday.

The contrast between her district and the city overall offered Raman an angle to present herself as more effectively handling the homelessness crisis than Bass.

An estimated 45,194 homeless people live in the city, with about 36% of them in shelters, according to LAHSA.

“Far fewer people living outside. Far more people indoors,” Raman, who has served on the council since 2020 and is chair of the City Council’s housing and homelessness committee, said at the press conference. “As mayor, that is the approach, and the results, that I want to deliver citywide.”

The numbers across the city were a setback for Bass, who has made homelessness one of her signature issues and previously touted two straight years of drops in street homelessness.

Raman cited her office’s homelessness team and their “aggressive interventionist” approach as reasons her district — which extends from Los Feliz and Silver Lake into Studio City, Sherman Oaks and other parts of the San Fernando Valley — did not suffer the same increases as other parts of the city.

She said her team is very familiar with homeless individuals in the district and knows many by name. The team tracks homeless encampments on a map and makes sure that empty shelter beds are filled, she said.

Bass’ campaign said Raman was attacking the mayor’s Inside Safe program, which moves homeless people from the streets to shelter and motel beds, at the same time that it contributed to the decreases in her district.

Raman has critiqued Inside Safe as too costly and insufficiently transparent.

“Nithya Raman is taking credit for the results of Inside Safe while campaigning against it,” Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Bass’ campaign, said in a statement. “While Raman takes credit for the City’s work in her district, ignoring the fact that she’s the Chair of the Homelessness & Housing Committee for ALL of Los Angeles, Mayor Bass is working to move our city forward and address years of neglect.”

Raman responded to those critiques at her press conference, saying that her district only had three Inside Safe operations over the past four years — fewer than some other districts.

She deflected when asked Friday about her responsibility for citywide homelessness, as chair of the city’s housing and homelessness committee.

“Council can pass legislation … move motions forward, but it is the mayor that has charge of the implementation and outcomes,” she said.

Citywide, Inside Safe has moved more than 6,000 people into hotels, motels and other types of interim housing since Bass took office in December 2022. But by May 31, 41% of those people had returned to homelessness, according to LAHSA figures collected separately from this year’s homeless count.

Bass attributed the citywide homelessness increases in part to funding cuts by the state and federal government. She also said the county has not provided adequate mental health or substance counseling services.

“This crisis was ignored by city leaders for decades, it’s only now that we’ve seen a historic decline,” she said in a statement Thursday. “I will never stop fighting until we end street homelessness, because no Angeleno should be sleeping on the street.”

Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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The Hairdresser Mysteries episode two sees unrecognisable Coronation Street legend join cast

The Hairdresser Mysteries made its debut last week and today will air the BBC show’s second episode

Coronation Street fans will be delighted to see a very familiar face on The Hairdresser Mysteries today.

The new Jim Cartwright BBC detective series started last week with episode available to watch in full on BBC iPlayer and they will also air weekly on Fridays at 2pm.

Today, Friday 24 July, sees the second episode of The Hairdresser Mysteries air where a synopsis teases: “When a celebrity weather reporter is found dead, Lily investigates if his zero-star reviews of all the local businesses have driven one of their own to murder.”

Sally Phillips plays main character, Lily Petal, who is forced to turn from hairdresser to amateur detective when crimes keep happening on her doorstep in the sleepy village.

She is helped in her investigations by brilliant analytical hair salon assistant Clary Coombs, played by Charlotte Jordan, and eager PC Adam Watson, played by Ben Castle-Gibb.

On Friday’s episode, viewers were introduced to Gloria Crudd, who is another newcomer to the village hoping to make a fresh start with her ice cream parlour but soon finds her old life catching up with her.

Coronation Street legend Wendi Peters plays Gloria Crudd in the series. Wendi, 58, is best known for playing Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street from 2003 to 2007, she returned to the cobbles once again in 2014.

On the show, Wendi looks worlds away from Cilla as her character Gloria has a pastel pink copper coloured curly beehive hairdo adorned with jewellery pieces.

However, Wendi isn’t the only Coronation Street star in the new series as she is joined by fellow Weatherfield favourite Charlotte Jordan who is playing Clary Coombs – Lily’s ‘bright and analytical assistant and the Watson to her Shear-lock Holmes’.

Charlotte, 32, is best known for playing Daisy Midgeley on the cobbles from 2020 to 2025, where her character was involved in several huge storylines including the hard-hitting acid attack plot.

Viewers have already shared their praise for the new series as one person said on Twitter, now X: “Watching the first episode of #TheHairdresserMysteries and I absolutely love it! So many talented actors I recognise, such a cosy atmosphere too. And it’s filmed in the beautiful West Midlands! More plans!”

To which another account put: “Loved today’s #TheHairdresserMysteries premiere, great stuff from @CharlieJordanxo Sally Phillips, @elisabethdw @sarker guy Henry and Ben castle- Gibb, can’t wait to see what’s coming up.”

The Hairdresser Mysteries airs on Fridays at 2pm and all episodes are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

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