Claudia Winkleman has set the record straight on her Strictly Come Dancing experience, as she and Tess Daly are set to leave Strictly Come Dancing at the end of the 2025 series
Claudia Winkleman has shared her true feelings about working on Strictly
Claudia, 53, recently announced alongside co-host Tess Daly that the pair would be leaving the popular BBC programme after over 20 years of holding various presenting roles on the series.
Claudia, who also hosts The Traitors and Celebrity Traitors, opened up about the origins of her working on the programme in her book Quite, explaining that it was the ultimate case of someone being in the right place at the right time.
She said: “Strictly has been (I don’t want your stomach to turn, so please be prepared) a gift to me. A barnstorming, stonking, thunderbolt of a present.
“I started working on It Takes Two in 2004. There had been one series already, my son was tiny and they said, ‘Look, can you talk about the foxtrot every night live at 6.30pm?’”
She added: “I could be with him all morning and then go to work. I know. It was a six week run and I was ridiculously lucky.
“I then went on to present the results show and when Sir Bruce resigned I got Tess’s job. Sometimes good fortune just falls in your lap. How did I, a short, scruffy, orange idiot get to be part of one of the nation’s favourite TV shows?
“All I can say is there has been no better example of right place, right time on earth.”
In a statement on Instagram announcing of her exit from the show, Claudia said: “It’s very difficult to put into words exactly what Strictly has meant to me. It’s been the greatest relationship of my career.
“From working on It Takes Two in 2004 until now it has been my everything, the show I will be eternally grateful for.
“I will never forget Len Goodman trying to teach me what a cucaracha is (I still don’t know) and the complete thrill and honour it was to work with Tess on the results show to co-hosting on Saturday nights.
“Strictly is a magical, glittery, fake tanned train and it’s been a privilege to be a tiny part of it. The extraordinary talent of the dancers, the band, the hair and makeup and costume teams, the unbelievable production crew and creatives – all utterly amazing.
“I’ve always believed it’s best to leave a party before you’re fully ready to go and I know the new hosts will be magnificent.”
SAM Rivers, bassist for rock-rap group Limp Bizkit, has died aged 48, according to an emotional statement from the band.
His fellow band members paid tribute to their “brother” on social media after he passed away on Saturday evening.
Sign up for The Sun newsletter
Thank you!
Sam River was a founding member of the bandHis band members paid tribute to their “brother” on social media after he passed away on Saturday eveningCredit: InstagramSam Rivers performed onstage at KROQ Weenie Roast & Luau at Doheny State Beach in 2019Credit: Getty
Announcing the news to fans on Instagram, the band wrote: “In Loving Memory of Our Brother, Sam Rivers. Today we lost our brother.
“Our bandmate. Our heartbeat. Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic.
“The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound.”
They added: “From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced.
“His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous. We shared so many moments — wild ones, quiet ones, beautiful ones — and every one of them meant more because Sam was there.”
“He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends,” the statement continued.
“And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory.”
The band concluded: “We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, always. Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends. — Fred, Wes, John & DJ Lethal.”
Most read in Entertainment
The 48-year-old’s cause of death is yet to be revealed.
In 2015, Rivers left the band after being diagnosed with liver disease due to excessive drinking.
He revealed that he had undergone a liver transplant before rejoining the band in 2018.
Rivers was a founding member of Limp Bizkit, having formed the band with Fred Durst and John Otto in 1994.
The band then added guitarist Wes Borland and DJ Lethal in 1996.
The group dropped six albums, including critically-acclaimed “Significant Other” and “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water”.
Rivers has played on all six albums, four of which have been certified platinum or multi-platinum.
Limp Bizkit are best known for songs including “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Take a Look Around.”
Rivers was a founding member of Limp Bizkit having formed the band with Fred Durst and John OttCredit: GettyIn 2015, Rivers left the band after being diagnosed with liver disease due to excessive drinkingCredit: GettySam Rivers, Wes Borland, DJ Lethal and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit backstage at Grant Park in 2021Credit: Getty
A NICE guy doing bad things isn’t an original premise for a comedy drama.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
But base it on the true story of an escaped felon hiding out in a toy shop and things get more interesting.
Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, the charismatic convict from North Carolina with the ‘you couldn’t make it up’ life storyCredit: AlamyFor six months Jeffrey sleeps undetected, surviving on stolen M&M’s, while watching jobsworth boss Mitch (Peter Dinklage), above, on CCTV for entertainmentCredit: Alamy
Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, the charismatic convict from North Carolina with the “you couldn’t make it up” life story.
An ex-military man, Manchester has been struggling financially since being decommissioned.
So to support his family he turns to a professional life of crime.
His first attempt at dropping through the ceiling of a McDonald’s and emptying their tills is such a success he repeats this style of heist 45 more times.
As a non-violent robber who offers people his coat while holding them up at gunpoint, he soon earns himself the local moniker of “Roofman”.
As police put it, he’s a genius, but also an idiot.
When eventually caught and sentenced to four decades behind bars, Manchester swiftly escapes jail and goes on the run.
Looking for a place to take cover he lands on a Toys R Us store and sets up home in a crate under the eaves.
For six months he sleeps undetected, surviving on stolen M&M’s, while watching jobsworth boss Mitch (Peter Dinklage) on CCTV for entertainment and ultimately falling for employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mum.
The tale of how their romance blossoms — as Manchester increasingly risks his chances outside the store’s four walls — would seem utterly far-fetched, if it wasn’t for the fact that in 2004 it all actually happened. The chemistry between the leads is convincing.
Dunst as Leigh, the church-going single mum falling in love while being unknowingly duped, reminds you that no matter how outwardly likeable Manchester seems, he continually hurt people with his odd mix of arrogance, immaturity and intelligence.
He wants it all to be real, while knowing that it can’t be.
Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) periodically lightens things up with various meme-worthy set pieces involving Tatum barely clad in feather boas, or wearing roller blades or completely starkers with only a fan to protect his modesty.
But it is the pondering over how decent a person, or not, Manchester really was that will keep you gripped.
GOOD FORTUNE
(15) 97mins
★★★☆☆
Keanu Reeves stars as a bumbling guardian angel in a silly but funny comedy about life swaps, gig work and heavenly misadventuresCredit: Alamy
KEANU Reeves is at his Bill and Ted-esque best in this silly, but very funny, light-hearted bromance about a guardian angel who can’t quite get a grip on his heavenly duties.
Written by Aziz Ansari (Master Of None) Reeves is Gabriel, a rookie winged protector limited to saving people from “texting while driving” catastrophes.
He’d like to rescue lost souls too but his boss Martha (Sandra Oh) thinks he’s not ready to be promoted.
One of his celestial charges is Arj (Ansari) who despite being well qualified, can’t catch a break and is sleeping in his car while doing gig economy work in LA for an odd-jobs app.
A stint as assistant for billionaire Jeff (Seth Rogen) – who spends his days shopping for Rolexes and sitting in his sauna – only makes him feel more of a failure. So Gabriel steps in to help by facilitating a life swap between the two, which he hopes will make Arj appreciates what he already has.
The script lacks the substance it was probably aiming for, and there’s far too much chatting about chicken nuggets, but this comedy does deliver lots of laughs.
AFTER THE HUNT
(15) 139mins
★★☆☆☆
Julia Roberts plays Alma Imhoff, a Yale philosophy professor and feminist who is idolised by her students.Credit: Alamy
SET in the academic enclaves of a rarefied American Ivy League University, this affected campus tale from director Luca Guadagnino could do with a tutorial to discuss what its own discourse is.
Julia Roberts plays Alma Imhoff, a Yale philosophy professor and feminist who is idolised by her students.
Imhoff and husband Frederick (Michael Stuhlbarg) host bourgeois soirees in their art-filled pad where favourite students including Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), and Hank (Andrew Garfield) gather to muse and debate.
But when Maggie accuses Hank of sexual assault and turns to her tutor for guidance, beliefs, boundaries and loyalties blur for both women.
Roberts is exceptional as Imhoff but the pace is so laboured and the ostentatious dialogue so pleased with itself it feels like a dull self-congratulatory lecture.
A repetitive ticking pendulum only emphasises the plodding pace and a subplot about stomach ulcers adds little. Some valid social commentary around generational divides is quickly drowned out by more droning. The many lingering close-ups are stylistically credible yet still dull.
Laura Stott
FILM NEWS
JIM CARREY is rumoured to be looking at playing the lead in The Jetsons film.
SAOIRSE RONAN will play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopic.
DISNEY will make a live action version of Tangled.
“We’ve been doing this for a while now,” laughs Channing Tatum, “and every once in a while a new thing comes out I haven’t heard.”
Tatum’s responding to the latest revelation of the press tour for his new film “Roofman”: Director Derek Cianfrance’s claim that he was the fastest checker in Walmart history. (“They gave you a raise if you got 18 rings a minute,” says Cianfrance. “I averaged 350.”)
The point, for Cianfrance, is that the characters at the heart of “Roofman” — good-hearted thief and unauthorized Toys “R” Us tenant Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum) and working mother Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) — are his kind of people.
And “Roofman,” which in its themes of personal responsibility, community and acceptance holds much in common with the work of Frank Capra, is his kind of film. The director behind the 1946 Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” loomed over Cianfrance’s film from the start. “As we were selling this movie, trying to get it financed, I was pitching it to everyone as a Capra movie and what I kept hearing is, ‘We don’t make those movies anymore.’”
Cianfrance always knew he wanted “Roofman” to be a Christmas movie, which often features characters rediscovering themselves in a small town and magical happenings like, as he says, “a fish shows up with wings.” Or, in this case, that Manchester — on the lam after escaping prison — ends up falling in love with Leigh and being embraced by her family and community.
Tatum as Jeffrey Manchester in “Roofman.”
(Davi Russo / Paramount Pictures)
“I love the populist filmmaker who’s making movies about regular people,” says Cianfrance. “You never feel like Capra’s ever judging people, or being snobby about the people he’s making movies about. He’s making movies about the people who go to the movies.” And while the film’s true-life tale is certainly stranger than fiction, Cianfrance avoided turning “Roofman” into Hollywood escapism. Instead, he says, he wanted to illustrate his respect for working people’s dreams and aspirations: “The thing that transformed it for me was when Leigh told me that Jeff was the greatest adventure of her life, and that she didn’t regret a thing.”
With that in mind, he urged the cast to live their characters’ suburban North Carolina lives. He encouraged actor Peter Dinklage, who plays the Toys “R” Us store manager, to actually manage the store. Dunst’s Leigh, a new hire, was given an actual job interview by Dinklage himself. “He would not give me an inch in that interview,” says Dunst. “I respect him so much as an actor, I think I was also just intimidated by him as well.”
Cianfrance calls the set “an aquarium for actors” — a place where, to pull another Christmas reference he drops, everyone was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the island of misfit toys. Actors like Emory Cohen and Juno Temple expanded their characters beyond the page. Cohen, who plays bullied employee Otis, conjured up his character’s love for peanut M&M’s, while Temple, who plays the girlfriend of one of Manchester’s friends, saw her character as a hairdresser.
Even a scene where the Toys “R” Us is decorated for Thanksgiving gave Cianfrance and production designer Inbal Weinberg the opportunity to debate where to have Dunst place an inflatable turkey. “I was like, we’re gonna let the actors decide. Kirsten came to set. She got the turkey. And she started to decide where it went, and she put it where my production designer wanted it,” Cianfrance says. “And Peter Dinklage came out and was like, ‘No, the turkey goes here.’”
“As we were selling this movie, trying to get it financed, I was pitching it to everyone as a Capra movie and what I kept hearing is, ‘We don’t make those movies anymore,’’’ says “Roofman” director Derek Cianfrance.
(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)
Dunst had been wanting to work with the director since auditioning (unsuccessfully, the pair joke) for his 2016 feature “The Light Between Oceans.” “I would have done this movie without reading any script,” she says. “How he makes a set — he wants to capture all the nuance and the things that make us humans interesting.”
Tatum concurs. He knew immediately the role would challenge him as a performer. The actor had heard stories of how Cianfrance worked with performers to get authentic responses, like giving Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams — playing a married couple in 2010 drama “Blue Valentine” — contrasting information in scenes to heighten tension.
Dunst recalls a similar moment on “Roofman,” where Jeff scares Leigh by driving a car too fast with her and her daughters inside. “Derek held my arms and he was like, ‘Push against me as hard as you can,’” she says. “I did that and he held tight and then we went into the scene immediately after. It brought up emotions of being trapped and a feeling like everything was out of your control … but that really helped me a lot.”
Share via
“I only told [Cianfrance] no one time,” says Tatum, “and that’s when he wanted me to sing.” That might surprise viewers considering Tatum has an extended nude sequence where Jeff tries to escape from Dinklage’s Mitch — the first time Dinklage and Tatum met, as it happens.
“[Derek] always jokes, ‘You read the script,’” says Tatum. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know I read the script. I just assumed you had a plan … a blocking plan.” The scene itself, which involved Tatum running through the toy store and leaping onto a small roof, took 15 takes to accomplish over almost eight hours. Tatum, Dunst and Cianfrance laugh about how the director broached the subject of keeping Tatum’s nudity tasteful. “He’s like, ‘You want me to blur it?’” says Tatum. “I’m like, ‘Don’t blur it. That’s even weirder.’”
As Dunst, Tatum and Cianfrance discuss the production, the conversation seems to be as much about the memories they made on set as the making of a film — which underscores Cianfrance’s approach to directing.
“I’ve always tried to make sure [the actors] have environments … so that they can have these accidents and surprises. Moments can happen one time that you can’t replicate, and they become the moment that you watch forever. They become immortalized because of that.”
On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump announced that the United States, working with Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar, had finally reached a ceasefire deal for Gaza. For a moment, it seemed as if Gaza’s long nightmare was coming to an end.
But the ceasefire didn’t bring peace; it only shifted the suffering into a quieter, more insidious form, where the real damage from the rubble began to settle into Gaza’s weary soul. Years of relentless shelling had built up fear and heartbreak that no outsider could erase.
During those two brutal years of bombing and near-total destruction, everyone in Gaza was focused on one thing: Staying alive. We were fighting for every minute, trying not to break down, starve, or get killed. Life became an endless loop of terror and waiting for the next strike. No one had the luxury to dream about tomorrow or even to mourn the people we’d lost. If there was any kind of shelter, and that was a big if, the goal was simply to move from one shattered refuge to another, holding on by a thread. That constant awareness that death could come at any moment turned every day into an act of survival.
Then, when the explosions finally eased, a quieter kind of pain crept in: All the grief we had buried to get through the chaos. Almost everyone had someone torn away, and those pushed-aside memories came rushing back with a force that took the breath out of us. As soon as the rockets fell quiet, another fight began inside people’s chests, one full of mourning, flashbacks and relentless mental anguish. On the surface, it looked like the war was over, but it wasn’t. It was far messier than that. Even when the shelling eased, the emotional wounds kept bleeding.
When the noise finally faded, people began to ask the questions they had forced themselves to ignore. They already knew the answers – who was gone, who would not be coming back – but saying the words out loud made it real. The silence that followed was heavier than any explosion they had survived. That silence made the truth impossible to avoid. It revealed the permanence of loss and the scale of what had vanished. There were holes everywhere, in homes, in streets, in hearts, and there was no way to fill them.
People in Gaza breathed a fragile sigh of relief when the news of a ceasefire arrived, but they knew the days ahead could hurt even more than the fighting itself. After 733 days of feeling erased from the map, the tears locked behind their eyes finally began to fall, carrying with them every ounce of buried pain. Each tear was proof of what they had endured. It was a reminder that a ceasefire does not end suffering; it only opens the door to a different kind of torment. As the guns fell quiet, people in Gaza were left to confront the full scale of the devastation. You could see it in their faces – the shock, the fury, the grief – the weight of years under fire.
Roads that once hummed with life had fallen silent. Homes that had sheltered families were reduced to dust, and children wandered through the ruins, trying to recognise the streets they had grown up on. The whole place felt like a void that seemed to swallow everything, as bottled-up grief burst open and left everyone floundering in powerlessness. During the onslaught, the occupiers had made sure Palestinians could not even stop to mourn. But with the ceasefire came the unbearable realisation of how much had truly been lost, how ordinary life had been erased. Coming face to face with the absence of loved ones left scars that would not fade, and the tears finally came. Those tears ran down exhausted faces and broken hearts, carrying the full weight of everything remembered.
It was not only the mind that suffered. The physical and social world of Palestinians lay in ruins. When the bombing eased, people crawled out of their makeshift tents to find their homes and towns reduced to rubble. Places that had once meant comfort were gone, and streets that had once been full of life were now heaps of debris.
Families dug desperately through the rubble for traces of their old lives, for roads and signs that had vanished, for relatives still trapped beneath the debris. Amid the wreckage, the questions came: How do we rebuild from this? Where can we find any spark of hope? When an entire world has been destroyed, where does one even begin? Israel’s strategy was clear, and its results unmistakable. This was not chaos; it was a deliberate effort to turn Gaza into a wasteland. By striking hospitals, schools and water systems – the foundations of survival – the aim was to shatter what makes life itself possible. Those strikes sowed a despair that seeps into everything, fraying the bonds of community, eroding trust and forcing families to wonder whether they can endure a system built to erase them.
The destruction went deeper than bricks and bodies. The constant shadow of death, the bombs that could fall anywhere, and the psychological toll made fear feel ordinary, hope seem foolish, and society begin to unravel. Children stopped learning, money disappeared, health collapsed, and the fragile glue holding communities together came undone. Palestinians were not only struggling to survive each day; they were also fighting the slow decay of their future, a damage etched into minds and spirits that will last for generations.
When the fighting subsided, new forms of pain emerged. Surrounded by ruins and with no clear path forward, people in Gaza faced an impossible choice: Leave their homeland and risk never returning, or stay in a place without roads, schools, doctors or roofs. Either choice ensured the same outcome – the continuation of suffering by making Gaza unlivable. Endless negotiations and bureaucratic deadlocks only deepened the despair, allowing the wounds to fester even as the world spoke of “peace”.
The ceasefire may have stopped the shooting, but it ignited new battles: Restoring power and water, reopening schools, rebuilding healthcare, and trying to reclaim a sense of dignity. Yet the larger question remains: Will the world settle for symbolic aid and empty speeches, or finally commit to helping Palestinians rebuild their lives? Wars carve deep wounds, and healing them takes more than talk. It demands sustained, tangible support.
After two years under siege, Gaza is crying out for more than quiet guns. It needs courage, vision and real action to restore dignity and a sense of future. The ceasefire is not a finish line. It marks the start of a harder struggle against heartbreak, memory and pain that refuses to fade. If the world does not act decisively, Palestinian life itself could collapse. Rebuilding communities, routines and a measure of normalcy will be slow and difficult, but it has to happen if Gaza is to keep going. Outwardly, the war may have paused, but here it has only changed shape. What comes next will demand everything we have left: Endurance, stubborn hope, the will to stay standing.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Netflix drama military drama Boots is based on the true story of gay Marine Greg Cope White
13:37, 09 Oct 2025Updated 13:42, 09 Oct 2025
Boots, a military drama on Netflix, follows the journey of gay teenager Cameron Cope (portrayed by Miles Heizer) as he enlists in the Marines corps alongside his best mate, despite the inherent dangers.
The series is set in the harsh environment of the 1990s US Marine Corps, a time when homosexuality was still outlawed in the military. It traces the lives of Cameron and Ray McAffey (played by Liam Oh), the offspring of a decorated Marine, as they become part of a diverse group of recruits.
Together, they form unexpected friendships and discover their true identities while being pushed to their limits.
Netflix commented: “With sharp wit and plenty of heart, Boots is about friendship, resilience, and finding your place in the world – even when that world seems determined to keep you in line or leave you behind.”
Greg Cope White, a former sergeant in the US Marine Corps, served as a writer and executive producer for the series.
He is an ardent advocate for LGBTQ+ and veteran rights, and has appeared in the PBS docuseries American Veteran and published work in the military journal Zero Dark Thirty.
Reflecting on his journey from his days in the Marine Corps, he posted on Instagram: “At 18, I illegally enlisted in the Marine Corps to find my place as a gay man in the masculine world.
“The book honours my lifelong best friend Dale, who got me through a chaotic childhood, and the Marines who took a chance on me and changed my life.
“And to send a message to others who are bullied: Bullies don’t matter. You do. Hold on.”
Greg completed six years of service with the Marines, achieving the rank of Sergeant, before relocating to New York City to pursue studies in acting and writing.
He eventually settled in Los Angeles, where he secured his breakthrough in writing through employment with Norman Lear.
The Pink Marine website details how joining the Marines represented Greg’s initial struggle, as he “has to cheat to pass the physical and then lie on the enlistment papers about his sexuality”.
The protagonists Cameron and Ray draw inspiration from Greg and his closest mate Dale, with the website outlining the dangers they both faced.
It states: “It’s insanely dangerous for both of them. But as fate would have it, the Few and the Proud turn out to be a bunch of oddballs and eccentrics – and a brotherhood is born.”
Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker star in ITV’s FraudsCredit: Splash
4
Suranne plays Bert and Jodie portrays Sam in the heist seriesCredit: PA
4
The show premiered on October 5, 2025Credit: PA
ITV’s Frauds is about two former partners-in-crime who reunite for one last audacious heist after one of them is released from prison on compassionate grounds.
The synopsis for the series reads: “Bert and Sam embark on the most audacious of art thefts, gathering a talented team of outcasts to help them plan this audacious crime.
“Whilst the team must overcome numerous challenges before they can pull off the heist, it’s the power struggle between Bert and Sam that threatens to derail their plans and destroy them both.
“Set against the epic rolling hills of southern Spain and the dark criminal underbelly that casts a shadow over the glistening coast, Frauds is a complex and addictive story of friendship, deception and survival.”
It blends dark comedy with the cinematic heist genre, set against the scenic backdrop of southern Spain — but is it a true story?
When is Frauds on?
Frauds premiered at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, October 5, 2025.
The series includes six episodes airing on consecutive Sunday and Monday nights over three weeks.
All episodes are also available on ITVX for streaming.
Is Frauds based on a true story?
Frauds is a work of fiction created by Suranne Jones and co-writer Anne-Marie O’Connor.
The plot revolves around Bert, who has been in a Spanish prison for ten years and is released due to a terminal cancer diagnosis.
One Night- Official Trailer, Paramount+ UK & Ireland
Upon release, she reconnects with her former partner Sam to plan a multi-million-pound art heist.
While the series captures the feel of real criminal undertakings, it is not an adaptation of a true crime or real-life story.
What is the Frauds cast?
Frauds tells the story of Bert and Sam, whose toxic friendship will be pushed to the ultimate test.
Bert tries to lure her pal out of criminal retirement to pull off a multi-million-pound art heist.
Suranne Jones stars as Bert — the career criminal recently released from prison.
4
The cast for ITV’s FraudsCredit: PA
Jodie Whittaker features as Sam, her estranged former partner in crime.
Lost Boys and Fairies actress Elizabeth Berrington plays a master illusionist, while I May Destroy You’s Karan Gill portrays the world’s greatest forger.
Talisa Garcia features as drag star Miss Take, and Christian Cooke takes on the role of moneylender Deegs.
Frauds’ cast is an ensemble of British and Spanish actors, reflecting the series’ international setting — the show was shot in Spain.
Frauds was created and executive produced by Suranne Jones and Anne-Marie O’Connor.
A young woman, obsessed with true crime stories, kills a random stranger to satisfy her darkest curiosity.
A shocking murder rocks South Korea when a young woman, obsessed with true crime stories, kills a random stranger to satisfy her darkest curiosity. But how can fascination with real-life murder cases spiral into deadly actions?
Are true crime podcasts and shows fueling dangerous fantasies? Can constant exposure to violence blur the line between entertainment and reality? We investigate the chilling case, examine the media’s responsibility, and ask: Does true crime content do more harm than good?
In this episode: -Dr. Alex Taek-Gwang Lee, professor of cultural studies at Kyong Hee University -Craig Wainwright, victim of false allegations
Rumours across social media platforms that a huge comet is on a collision course with Earth have been circulating, with some users describing it as a major threat to humanity.
Others are debating how the comet – known as 3I/ATLAS and detected by NASA’s ATLAS telescope on July 1 – might be diverted from the Earth. Some have even gone so far as to highlight “news” of military movements and an international coordination to counter the comet before impact, prompting further alarm.
So is there any truth to these rumours and what do we know for sure?
When and how did rumours about the comet start?
Rumours began spreading after the New York Post published a story on September 29 under the headline: “‘Massive’ comet hurtling toward us is larger than previously thought, could be alien tech, scientist says: ‘It could change everything for us’.”
Users on X (formerly Twitter) circulated screenshots of the article to support their claims. One account, under the name Steven Greenstreet, wrote: “Scientists say a massive alien spaceship is hurtling towards Earth. Why aren’t more people talking about this?”
Scientists say a massive alien spaceship is hurtling towards Earth. Why aren’t more people talking about this?!?! 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/Q2NvVdcXa7
Another account called Dr Disclosure reposted the story, adding: “This is why all the generals are gathering!” – a reference to a September 30 meeting of US military leaders chaired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. That post racked up more than half a million views.
Meanwhile, an account under the name Richard Roeper shared his concerns: “A massive comet is reportedly hurtling toward Earth at 130,000 mph! Can we stop it? I’m told there are two missions in the works – one involving the specially selected “Messiah Crew,” and one utilizing two squads, known as the Freedom Team and the Independence Team. We got this.”
A massive comet is reportedly hurtling toward Earth at 130,000 mph! Can we stop it? I’m told there are two missions in the works–one involving the specially selected “Messiah Crew,” and one utilizing two squads, known as the Freedom Team and the Independence Team. We got this. pic.twitter.com/dsbgW0giLD
Speculation escalated, with some accounts suggesting the object was not a comet at all but in fact a spacecraft heading towards Earth.
An account under the name Lord Bebo shared statements falsely attributed to US physicist Michio Kaku, claiming the object was on the way “to conduct a reconnaissance mission, possibly with hostile intent”. The post, accompanied by an edited screenshot of a television interview with Kaku and the caption, “It might be an ALIEN probe sent to Earth” garnered more than 290,000 views and dozens of comments.
☄️ Comet stirs debate among astrophysicists & they call for urgent international attention on interstellar object 3I/ATLAS
Physicist Michio Kaku: its acceleration cannot be explained by conventional causes, and it’s approaching Earth CLOSER than expected
Similarly, another account called Astronomy Vibes suggested: “While most scientists agree it’s likely a strange comet, a few bold voices suggest it might be something more – maybe even an engineered probe from another civilization.” No evidence was provided.
🚨 Breaking Cosmic News! Scientists have spotted a 7-mile-wide interstellar visitor — the largest of its kind ever seen — racing through our solar system. Known as 3I/ATLAS, this giant comet isn’t from around here… it comes from deep interstellar space! 🌌
Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, SANAD, investigated the claims about the comet known as 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object, to determine whether it really poses any real threat to Earth or could even be a hostile probe.
The comet was in fact detected by NASA’s ATLAS telescope on July 1, 2025. NASA, which describes it as having “a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus”, confirmed that it poses no danger to Earth. It noted that the closest it has come to the Earth was about 270 million kilometres (167.8 million miles) on July 21.
The European Space Agency (ESA) also confirmed that the comet poses no threat to Earth or to any other planet, explaining that its closest distance was more than 2.5 times that between Earth and the Sun.
According to NASA, the comet will reach its closest approach to the Sun on October 30, 2025. At that point, it will be about 210 million km (130.5 million miles) from the sun, just inside the orbit of Mars.
This is a significant comet, however. According to the Hubble Space Telescope, it is travelling at about 210,000 kilometres per hour (130,500 miles per hour) – the fastest speed ever recorded for a “visitor” to our solar system.
🆕 Hubble has caught an interstellar interloper — comet 3I/ATLAS!
NASA said the comet presents a rare opportunity for scientists to study an interstellar “visitor” as it passes through the solar system.
“Hubble’s continuing observations allow astronomers to more accurately estimate the size of the comet’s nucleus,” the agency said in a statement. “Observations as of August 20, 2025, indicate that the upper limit on its diameter is 3.5 miles (5.6 km), though it could be as small as 1,444ft (440 metres) across.”
Comet 3I/ATLAS doesn’t pose a threat to Earth, but it does provide NASA scientists and spacecraft with a rare opportunity to study an interstellar comet as it passes through our solar system. ☄ https://t.co/B1MkBRZuT4pic.twitter.com/wAmBUEte8l
As for the quotes attributed to physicist Michio Kaku, SANAD found no evidence supporting them. The image circulating online was taken from an older interview with US outlet Nation News on February 20, 2025 – months before the discovery of 3I/ATLAS.
I worked with John Stapleton at Good Morning Britain and every single person loved and adored him, from make-up artists to editors
14:26, 21 Sep 2025Updated 14:26, 21 Sep 2025
Kevin Maguire is Associate Editor of the Mirror and a politics columnist. He is a frequent contributor to Good Morning Britain and other TV shows. He also writes a column for the New Statesman and earlier in his career was chief reporter for The Guardian. He is a Sunderland AFC supporter.
John Stapleton was loved by everyone he worked with(Image: PA)
EVERYBODY, absolutely everybody, who met or worked with John Stapleton absolutely loved the TV sleuth and presenter.
That’s a rare accolade in an often cut-throat trade occasionally marred by monstrous egos yet Stapes was above all else a wonderful bloke
From the make-up artists who’d powder his nose and camera crews framing his face to powerful editors and famous co-stars, Stapes was adored.
And in turn the ultimate professional was encouraging, generous and gracious to all of them including walk-on players like myself and Tory Boy.
Slim and dapper, I never ceased to be impressed how we’d turn up bleary-eyed for Good Morning Britain and its predecessors and Stapes would be bright eyed and bushy tailed, immaculately dressed as if he’d just stepped off Savile Row.
I worked with John at Good Morning Britain(Image: S Meddle/ITV/Shutterstock)
Never one to brag or stand on ceremony, Stapes enjoyed chatting politics and a good gossip.
He didn’t wear a glorious career on his smart sleeve and the easiness of a journalist with much to boast about was central to his appeal.
Oldham born, Stapes remained a Northern living in the South who’d regularly punctuate our conversations with references to what he’d recently read in the Manchester Evening News.
After his family, the great love of his life was Manchester City, a football team supported through thin and thinner before glory arrived to finally overshadow giant neighbours United.
Stapes buying home and away season tickets to follow City around the country and Europe, cheering unprecedented success with son Nick as the titles and cups rolled in, was him living the dream.
The fortitude and good cheer he adopted when first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, vowing to try not be miserable, was the positive outlook of somebody determined to confront adversity.
“In often cut-throat trade occasionally marred by monstrous egos, Stapes was above all else a wonderful bloke,” says The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire(Image: ITV)
But the truth was his eyes beamed less brightly and he looked a few inches shorter after the 2020 death of wife and onetime co-presenter Lynn Faulds Wood.
Understandable when what defined Stapes was his engaging warmness. He was a TV success because of who he was rather than a person forged by broadcasting triumphs
The wave of heartfelt tributes are genuine for a genuine man. Sorry I never had you back to my place for dinner as promised, Stapes. He once joked I should email the invitation after I pretended it must be lost in the post.
BBC Countryfile viewers were left unimpressed as the show dedicated an episode to The Archers, with one person spotting a huge blunder as they took to social media.
During the latest episode of BBC’s Countryfile, Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith ventured to a charming Worcestershire village called Inkberrow.
The location served as inspiration for the enduring BBC radio soap, The Archers, which launched in the 1950s and is based in the fictional village of Ambridge.
From the programme’s opening, it was evident Charlotte was absolutely thrilled with the special episode, as her co-presenter Matt, who recently provided fans with an update, revealed she’s a devoted follower.
Whilst seated outdoors at a pub clutching two pints, Matt informed viewers: “Oh, we’re making Charlotte’s dreams come true today!”
Following a celebratory toast with their beverages, Charlotte responded: “Now, for me, we are in the centre of the known fictional universe, the Bull at Ambridge.”
Matt Baker was presenting this week’s Countryfile(Image: BBC)
Matt continued: “This is home to the Archers and Charlotte is a massive fan.”
Throughout the programme, the BBC presenter revealed to audiences she’s been following the radio soap for 30 years and adores it, reports the Express.
She continued: “I’m not alone! Millions of people tune in every day for agricultural escapism.”
As the show progressed, Charlotte chose to attempt cricket, one of the primary sports featured within the BBC radio soap.
The pair were exploring the village that inspired The Archers(Image: BBC)
Donning a jersey from the fictional village squad, it appeared the BBC presenter astonished herself, having never participated in the sport previously.
Following her admission that she’d never wielded a bat before, Charlotte remarked: “I think I might be taking up cricket!”
As the episode concluded, she informed viewers that they could tune into BBC Radio 4 to listen to The Archers, featuring a familiar voice, as she was making an appearance in the episode.
However, it didn’t take long for viewers to share their thoughts on the episode, with one eagle-eyed fan spotting a significant scheduling error.
Charlotte confessed she was a big fan of the BBC soap(Image: BBC)
Taking to social media, they penned: “So #Countryfile have an #thearchers themed episode tonight, which is a lovely idea. However it doesn’t finish until 7.15pm so clashes with an actual episode of The Archers! I wish someone at the BBC had thought about the scheduling a bit more.”
One disgruntled viewer remarked: “BBC #countryfile promoting BBC #thearchers – you couldn’t make it up.”
Another chimed in: “I think I’d rather watch a repeat of the episode where they discuss photographs.”
Another viewer added: “#Countryfile really needs to take a break and come up with some relevant material @bbcone.”
Despite its name, Flag Day (Vlaggetjesdag) in Scheveningen – a seaside resort close to The Hague – is actually more about fresh herring. Fishmongers bring in the first catch of the year in June, the hollandsenieuwe, and mark the start of the herring season with festivities, marching bands, wearing traditional costumes, and even an auction of the first vat of fish to raise money for charity. Don’t miss the chance to share a jenever (gin) with a Scheveninger, who will tell you how this year’s herring compares with last year’s. Olivia
Profile
Readers’ tips: send a tip for a chance to win a £200 voucher for a Coolstays break
Show
Guardian Travel readers’ tips
Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit the readers’ tips homepage
On the road from Sarajevo to Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a small bakery in the town of Ostrožac called Pekara Centar. There, for less than a euro, you can enjoy lepinja with kajmak – a charred traditional flatbread made in a stone oven and filled with a rich, creamy spread from a local dairy. The bakery is on one of the most picturesque roads through the Neretva River canyon, making this delicious bite even more special. AG
Catch of the day in Bavaria
Chiemsee, a freshwater lake sometimes called the ‘Bavarian Sea’, in southern Germany. Photograph: Foottoo/Getty Images
In the beautiful surrounds of Chiemsee, southern Germany, my partner and I enjoyed a lunch of fresh fish at the family-run Chiemseefischerei Stephan, just west of the lake. With just a couple of options available on each daily menu, we didn’t have to faff around with a complicated order, and instead enjoyed the simplicity of the fish, rich potatoes, crisp salad and local Bavarian weissbier in the modern wood-panelled room. There was also Chiemsee sushi on the menu. I remember stepping out of the restaurant afterwards into the bright sunshine, hand in hand with my partner, mountains in the distance, and thinking: could life get any better? Ellen
A mountainous feast in Kosovo
A plate of fergesë, made with red pepper, tomato and feta cheese. Photograph: Saxana/Alamy
After scaling Kosovo’s highest peak, Gjeravica, Gacaferi Guest House provides delicious home-cooked food in an idyllic setting surrounded by mountains and shepherds herding flocks. Expect delicious byrek (savoury pastry), fergesë (Albanian red peppers and feta cheese), speca në ajkë (fermented peppers with yoghurt), and homemade cheese – all cooked over a wood fire and washed down with local rakia. Ross Cameron
A brilliant kitchen garden in the Czech Republic
Courgette flowers before frying. Photograph: Smitt/Getty Images
In the off-the-beaten-path Klatovy region of the Czech Republic’s south-west, I spent a few days driving around rolling countryside, climbing lookout towers and cooling off in rivers while looking out for kingfishers. The food scene was surprisingly excellent, with the highlight being Hospůdka U Štěpána, a fantastic restaurant near Sušice. A huge kitchen garden provides most of the produce, accompanying the wide range of different steaks from self-reared charolais beef. Fried courgette flowers followed by striploin in chimichurri sauce were some highlights in our August visit, along with the rustic vibe and more than fair price. Enrico
My favourite pizza in Rome
Photograph: edpics/Alamy
Having tested a few pizza-piazza combinations in Rome, we enjoyed a pizza from Antico Forno Roscioli sitting on the kerb in Piazza Navona. It’s a 500-metre walk from the 19th-century bakery to the 15th-century public space (built atop the first-century Circus Agonalis). It’s the best pizza in Rome (in my humble view) and a relatively uncrowded and spectacular baroque spectacle of a square (oval?). Daniel Becker
Cycling in Groningen. Photograph: Rudmer Zwerver/Alamy
We caught the train to Groningen in the Netherlands and spent five days cycling its extensive paths. Every night we indulged in a four-course, fine-dining experience. Ginger soup or fried polenta with wasabi, local beef or salmon tartare followed by organic Dutch cheeses, and a liquorice sorbet with blackberry creams. Perfect after a 30-mile cycle ride, and a constant source of conversation. Sophie
Jazz and open-air dining in rural France
We stumbled across the biodynamic vineyard La Guinguette du Domaine Gayrard in Virac, north-east of Toulouse, and found that not only did it produce some lovely wines but it also hosted a guinguette (open air dining from a simple menu with live music) during the summer months. We booked for dinner and were blown away. This gastronomic triumph was complimented by the most beautiful surroundings: we sat outside, looking over the vineyards as mellow jazz was played and the chef cooked our meal from a trailer. A truly unexpected gourmet experience. Rachael
At Ca’Ordano in the hills of Monferrato, the tasting was simple but unforgettable. A glass of nebbiolo red wine came first with a simple plate of local salami and cheeses. Then, agnolotti pasta filled with roast beef, perfectly paired with a rich monferrato rosso. The visit was small-scale and personal, with no fuss or ceremony, just honest hospitality and food rooted in terroir – they’d hate me for calling it that, but it is what it is: a quiet, undiscovered corner of Piedmont with true flavours among the rolling hills. Mariateresa Boffo
Winning tip: the old Crete ways are the best
In the hills west of Rethymno there is Atsipopoulovillage, famous for Ta Souvlakia tou Gagani, a lovelyrestaurant sitting in a beautiful church courtyard. But a tiny restaurant called O Manolis, sitting in a less-illustrious location (the seating occupies empty parking spaces off the main street), embodies everything good about rural Crete. Deliciousness beyond description is produced in that restaurant and served with genuine Greek warmth. With no menu, Manolis serves whatever is harvested that day from his garden, declaring confidently it’s the greatest in Europe, or what he hunts and forages from the hills in the old Cretan way. Rory Ferguson
Should Osaka defeat Anisimova, she will become the first player to reach a Grand Slam final after becoming a mother since Victoria Azarenka made the 2020 US Open showpiece, which Osaka won.
And if the four-time major winner goes all the way in New York, she will be the first player since Kim Clijsters (in 2009, 2010 and 2011) to have won a Slam after giving birth.
Having struggled to put a dent in Muchova’s serve earlier in the first set, Osaka pounced decisively at 5-4 – going 0-40 up and closing out the opener at the second time of asking.
Muchova, who began grimacing because of an issue with her left leg in the sixth game, called for the trainer and received medical attention off court.
She returned with heavy strapping on her thigh, but it didn’t seem to hinder her tennis as she opened the second set with an early break.
Osaka struck back immediately, however, and there was little to separate the pair until a frustrated Osaka conceded serve at 4-4 with a series of unforced errors.
But, as Muchova stepped up to serve and force a deciding set, Osaka regained her composure and bounced back aggressively, breaking to love to level the set.
She took control in the tie-break, opening up a 4-1 lead which proved enough for her to wrap up the victory with a beaming smile.
“It was an incredibly difficult match,” Osaka added in her on-court interview. “She’s one of the best players in the world – every time I play her it’s so difficult.
She joked: “Last year she beat me here when I had one of my best outfits, so I was really upset.”
GOMA, Congo — President Trump claims that the war in eastern Congo is among the ones he has stopped, after brokering a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda in June. But residents, conflict researchers and others say that’s not true.
Trump on Monday repeated claims that he ended the decadeslong conflict, describing Congo as the “darkest, deepest” part of Africa. “For 35 years, it was a vicious war. Nine million people were killed with machetes. I stopped it. … I got it stopped and saved lots of lives,” he asserted.
The Associated Press previously fact-checked Trump’s claim and found the war far from over. Now residents report clashes in several hot spots, often between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who seized key cities earlier this year and militia fighting alongside Congolese forces.
A final peace deal between Congo and the rebels, facilitated by Qatar, appears to have stalled. Each side has accused the other of violating peace terms.
Here’s what people say about Trump’s latest claim:
An inspector says people are still being displaced
The local human rights inspector in South Kivu province’s Kabare territory, Ciruza Mushenzi Dieudonné, said residents in the communities of Bugobe, Cirunga, Kagami and Bushwira continue to flee clashes between the M23 rebels and the Wazalendo militia.
“The problem now is that we do not have humanitarian assistance, hospitals operate during the day and health professionals find refuge elsewhere at night to escape the insecurity,” Dieudonné said.
Amnesty International says clashes reported this week
Christian Rumu with Amnesty International said the rights group learned of clashes during the past 24 hours in various locations. “It is far from the reality to say that he has ended the war,” he said of Trump.
“The U.S. president is misguided in his assessment because people on the ground continue to experience grave human rights violations, and some of these amount to crimes against humanity,” Rumu said, urging Trump to speed up the peace process.
A student says fighting has continued
Amani Safari, a student in Goma, the city first seized by the M23 and most affected by the fighting, said nothing has changed since the peace deal was signed in June.
“Unfortunately, when you look at this agreement, there are no binding sanctions against the two countries that violate it,” Safari said. “The United States only sees American interests.”
An activist in Goma says Trump needs to do more
Espoir Muhinuka, an activist in Goma, said there is no sign the war will end soon and urged Trump to take steps to achieve the permanent ceasefire the peace deal provided for.
“If this does not happen, it would deceive all of humanity,” Muhinuka said.
Civil society leader says residents are losing hope of peace
The president of civil society in North Kivu province, John Banyene, said he and other residents are losing hope of permanent peace.
“The killings, the displacement of the population and the clashes continue, therefore, we are still in disarray,” Banyene said. “We, as civil society, encourage this dialogue, but it drags on.”
Analyst says peace efforts appear to have stalled
Christian Moleka, a Congo-based political analyst, said the peace deal brokered by Trump initially helped to facilitate the peace process, but Congo and the M23 missed a deadline to sign a final peace agreement.
“For a conflict that combines the complexities of the structural weaknesses of the Congolese state, local identity and land conflicts, and the fallout of crises in neighboring countries … Trump’s approach may appear as a truce rather than a definitive settlement,” Moleka said.
Asadu and Kabumba write for the Associated Press. Asadu reported from Dakar, Senegal. Janvier Barhahiga in Bukavu, Congo contributed to this report.
Ross Ulbricht built an empire in the shadows where drugs, weapons, and stolen secrets flowed freely.
Ross Ulbricht built an empire in the shadows—a sprawling digital bazaar called The Silk Road, hidden on the dark web. There, drugs, weapons, and stolen secrets flowed freely, all paid for in untraceable cryptocurrency. To his global clientele, he was a legend: the Dread Pirate Roberts.
But after a dramatic arrest and a staggering double life sentence, Ulbricht’s fate took another twist. Just days into his second term, President Trump pardoned him, sparking outrage and debate. So, did he deserve his punishment? Did justice prevail—or was power at play? And how did a digital outlaw become the ultimate wild card in America’s justice system?
In this episode: – Nicholas Cristin, Online Crime Professor at Carnegie Mellon University – David Yaffe-Bellany, Technology Reporter for the New York Times
Amanda Knox, who became an international headline in 2007, when, as an American student spending a year in Perugia, Italy, she was (wrongly) accused of the murder and sexual assault of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, is now the subject, and executive producer, of “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” an eight-part docudrama premiering Wednesday on Hulu. (Her boyfriend of one week, Raffaele Sollecito, also wrongly accused, does not seem to have garnered similar attention, which might tell you something about misogyny in the prurient press, and its audience.)
The “Twisted Tale” in the title — odd for a story of murder, rape and false imprisonment — suggests that we’re about to see something sort of delightful, like “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” or “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants,” an impression underscored by a prologue in the style of “Amélie,” the whimsical French film the couple was elsewhere watching on the night of the murder; it ties the victim, the accused and her prosecutor/persecutor together in a sort of fairy tale. Like the very long end-title “any similarity” disclaimer, concluding “The series includes Amanda Knox’s perspective on events related to the murder of Meredith Kercher,” it allows the series to be something less than true: a tale.
People tell themselves stories to live, to haul out that Joan Didion quote once again, which unavoidably requires making up stories about other people. These events involved a lot of people, only one of whom is an executive producer of this series, based on her memoir, “Waiting To Be Heard.” (Knox co-wrote the finale, as well.) One assumes that some of those other people might see this project as exploitation, or object to how they’ve been represented, though any dissenting voices will be drowned by a publicity machine that will market this as a true story, disclaimer aside. In light of the series, Knox has been recently profiled in the New York Times, alongside star Grace Van Patten, and in the Hollywood Reporter, alongside fellow executive producer and scandal survivor Monica Lewinsky, who encouraged her to make the series.
These are qualities — faults? — “Twisted Tale” shares with every docudrama ever, a problematic genre much beloved by filmmakers and actors; still, as frequently as such projects arise, especially in the age of true crime, we wouldn’t still be talking about “Citizen Kane” today if it simply had been “Citizen Hearst.” We should at least keep in mind as responsible viewers and citizens that what we’re seeing here, however factual in its crucial points, scrupulous in its details, and engaging in its philosophy, and however faithfully the actors embody their real-life models, it’s unavoidably an impression of the truth, built out with imagined scenes and conversations and made to play upon your feelings. It isn’t journalism. And to be clear, when I speak of these characters below, I’m referring only to how they’re portrayed in the series, not to the people whose names they share.
Francesco Acquaroli as Giuliano Mignini and Roberta Mattei as Monica Napoleoni, the investigators on the case, in “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.”
(Andrea Miconi / Disney)
Created by K.J. Steinberg (“This Is Us”), the series is well-acted, well-written, impressively mounted, tonally contradictory, chronologically disjointed, overlong, stressful, exhausting, interesting both for its subject and stagecraft, and briefly inspirational, as Amanda (Van Patten) — arrested, jailed, convicted, acquitted, re-convicted and definitely re-acquitted — becomes a voice in the innocence movement (“My freedom mattered and I was going to make the most of it as long as I had it”) and returns to Italy, a wife and mother, for something like closure.
Echoing the 2016 Netflix documentary “Amanda Knox,” which tells the story (up to that point) in a streamlined but thought-provoking 90 minutes, there has been some care to represent different points of view, with episodes dedicated to Raffaele and prosecutor cum investigator Giuliano Mignini (Francesco Acquaroli), also introduced “Amélie”-style. (As to Kercher, we hear only that “she likes to sunbathe and dance and read mystery novels” — though anything more would be presumptuous.) Raffaele, the superhero-loving son of a troubled mother, made himself into a “protector.” Mignini, who lost a brother to “lawlessness,” sees his work as heaven-sent — though he was also inspired by Gino Cervi as Georges Simenon’s detective hero in the 1960s TV series “Le inchieste del commissario Maigret.” (He adopts that character’s pipe and hat.) “I made a vow to God,” he says, narrating, “no matter the disapproval or dissent, deviant, ritual murders would not go unpunished on my watch.”
On the basis of Amanda being a loud American, and a self-described weirdo, whose response to news of the murder struck some as insufficiently emotional; from bits and pieces of supposed physical evidence, later discounted; and from Mignini’s own notions — including his feeling regarding the body, that “only a woman would cover a woman with a blanket” — the police quickly assemble an elaborate, completely imagined theory based on a sex game gone wrong. (That Knox was in possession of a vibrator and some condoms and brought men to the apartment she shared with Kercher and two Italian girls seemingly branded her, in 2007, as a pervert.)
Subjected to an extremely long interrogation without adequate representation in a language she imperfectly understands, and in which she has trouble making herself understood — detective superintendent Monica Napoleoni (Roberta Mattei) is the angry Javert — Knox signs a false confession that also implicates her sometimes boss, Patrick Lumumba (Souleymane Seye Ndiaye). She quickly recants, to little avail. (Knox has not been acquitted of slandering Lumumba.) That the actual killer is arrested, and convicted, merely causes the police to rewrite their story a little, while still focusing on Amanda and Raffaele. The press runs leaks and accusations from the authorities; and a fascinated public eats it up, spitting out opinions onto social media.
Director Michael Uppendahl employs a variety of styles to get the story told. Some scenes are so natural as to seem improvised; others employ heavy tactics — an assaultive sound design, flash cuts — to evoke the pressure Amanda is under, from both the self-satisfied authorities and a hectoring press. (Paparazzi is an Italian word, after all.) Stirring music underlies her final statement to the court; a letter sent by Amanda to Mignini is lit from within, like the deadly glass of milk in Hitchcock’s “Notorious.” While not inappropriate to a story in which fictions swamp facts, these zigs and zags can pull you out of the story rather than drawing you deeper in.
As Amanda, Van Patten (of the Van Patten acting/directing dynasty — Dick, Joyce, Tim, Vincent, with Grace’s sister Anna playing Amanda’s younger sister) is quite remarkable, switching between English and an ever-improving Italian. Acquaroli, quietly astonishing, brings humanity and the merest touch of weary humor to his stubborn policeman. Sharon Horgan plays Amanda’s intense, demanding mother, with John Hoogenakker as her more subdued father. In a scene pulled straight from the “Amanda Knox” documentary, a reporter asks him when there’ll be a film: “The longer you wait the less her story is going to be worth.” “We do not think of our daughter as a hot property,” he replies.
Taylor now takes on a fresh opportunity at Liverpool, who finished seventh in the Women’s Super League last season.
There is work to do, he acknowledges, having taken a few months to get his appointment over the line because of contractual issues from his previous post at City.
“Those players go with our best wishes. You never want to retain a player that probably has her eye on a move and we understand that completely,” said Taylor.
“There is work to do, for sure. We don’t want to lose top players like those two but it makes the challenge a little bit more difficult.
“Ideally [myself and my staff] would have been here a little bit earlier but it is what it is. In the days we have been here, we have seen big strides.
“The engagement from the players has been fantastic. They are a really good group of girls. The people here are incredible. The club is top class in that sense.”
Liverpool are rebuilding to try to close the gap between themselves and the WSL’s top four.
“The challenges here will be different to any other club. But what we have here is a very good opportunity to start to build something,” said Taylor.
“The environment at Melwood is incredible. The girls are really hungry to learn and to create an identity. That’s the key thing. That process is not a quick one.
“It takes time and it takes struggles, unfortunately. It’s clear that will happen. But we’re really understanding of that and we’re here to support the players and staff as much as we can to be as quickly aligned as we can be.”
Love Island 2025’s Harry was surprised to hear what host Maya Jama really thought of him and Shakira reuniting and making it to the final after recent comments on the series
00:08, 05 Aug 2025Updated 00:09, 05 Aug 2025
Love Island host Maya Jama wasted no time in telling runners-up Shakira and Harry what she really thought Love Island(Image: ITV)
Love Island host Maya Jama wasted no time in telling runners-up Shakira and Harry what she really thought of their romance during the live final on Monday night. The pair have been on and off and in multiple triangles throughout the series.
But in the last week or so, the Love Island pair reconciled against all odds and seemed to be in it for good this time. Despite dividing viewers and co-stars with their latest reunion, host Maya surprised Harry with what she had to say on Monday.
The presenter gave her true thoughts on the pair, having called out Harry for his behaviour towards Helena and others in a previous episode. It comes as Toni and Cach were announced as this year’s winners, beating Shakira and harry to the prize money.
Love Island 2025’s Harry was surprised to hear what host Maya Jama really thought of him and Shakira (Image: ITV)
Harry shared his shock though, as Maya admitted this time it felt different between them. Having seen clips of them together for the final week and the final day, she said watching them she could see it was genuine.
She shared: “Well you both look very happy with each other. It’s nice to see you two together in the final. You both look really… I dunno. The last couple of days I’ve been watching you like, this is cute. This is cute.”
Harry couldn’t hide the shock on his face as he said: “Yeah? I never thought you’d say that to me, Maya.” Agreeing, she replied: “I know, can you believe it? Me calling you cute.
“But you are here in the final. There is obviously something the public have seen that is obviously giving love story.” It comes as the All Stars series was confirmed to return to ITV2 and ITVX for a third series in 2026.
Speaking on the renewal, Mike Spencer-Hayter, Creative Director at Lifted Entertainment, said: “Love Island: All Stars has quickly established itself as a stand-alone hit, keeping fans of the show gripped by iconic Islanders from the past 10 years returning for another chance to find love.
The presenter gave her true thoughts on the pair, having called out Harry for his behaviour(Image: ITV)
“We are very excited about series 3 and you can expect the twists and turns to continue in All Stars, after an incredible smash hit summer series.” The second series of Love Island : All Stars aired earlier this year, and was won by Gabby Allen and Case O’Gorman. The series also saw the reunion of Ronnie Vint and Harriet Blackmore – but it didn’t come without complaints.
In February, the show lodged over 2,000 complaints to Ofcom in its final week, as fans fumed at various stars for their “bullying behaviour”. On February 12, there were 1,347 complaints, followed by 820 on February 11, 63 on February 13 and 57 on February 16.
The February 12 episode saw Ekin-Su and Elma clash over the latter’s comment about Ekin-Su and Curtis having the weakest connection. Things only got worse between the group when Ekin-Su had kissed Sammy during the heart rate challenge. During the argument, an angry Elma swore at Ekin-Su and Curtis and told them to “shut their mouths”.
“We’ll still gather together and talk about the old times, what we’ve done and where we’ve been. But we should still be able to do it here, every week,” adds Barker.
“Inside I’m being absolutely torn apart.”
Where once on the town’s seafront there were multiple fairgrounds, theatres, piers and miniature zoos, there are now a smattering of bars and restaurants, many of which are funded by matchday income and travelling away supporters.
The club’s peril means local businesses are now at risk.
“The winter months are the hardest here, because it’s the seaside,” says Chris Donaldson, owner the The Royal Hotel on the seafront. “The football season sees us through that.
“I’ve got 19 bedrooms here and away fans are coming from all over fully booking them weeks in advance. The whole town can be full.
“It’ll cost us tens of thousands, easily. It’s crazy what it’ll do to the town to lose that kind of money. Everyone will feel the effect of it.”
For staff at the fans’ matchday pub, the difference in demeanour is already stark.
“We get around 400, 500 people on a matchday,” says Michael Woolworth, manager of the Hurley Flyer opposite the stadium. “It feels like everyone in Morecambe is in here.
“It’s a ritual every weekend. In here we see that football really brings people together.
“But in the last few months we’ve seen the happiness taken away from them. We have regulars who have come in visibly upset.”
Morecambe FC has been one of the area’s biggest employers in recent times. But the club’s financial issues mean that salaries paid to staff and players have been delayed or not paid at all in some months. Dewhirst was last paid in May.
“I’m eating into my savings now,” he says. “Some people aren’t lucky enough to have savings – some are going to food banks because they can’t afford to buy their shopping.
“It’s been hard watching players leave. There was another one gone yesterday. I’ve known lots of them for years.
Emmerdale’s new farmer Celia was seen making an offer to join forces with Moira Dingle during Friday’s episode of the ITV soap, but recent hints could tease a twist
19:00, 01 Aug 2025Updated 19:20, 01 Aug 2025
Celia in Emmerdale had an offer for Moira Dingle during Friday’s episode(Image: ITV)
Celia in Emmerdale had an offer for Moira Dingle during Friday’s episode, amid the farm facing trouble.
With Moira desperate to raise the funds to keep the business going, she’s had to fend off trouble from Joe Tate and new villain Ray as well as an expensive fine after the slurry leak. So when there was an opportunity for some money, Moira took her chances – as shown in Friday’s episode that dropped on ITVX on Friday morning.
But could Celia actually be targeting Moira to help another villager? It comes as Joe was seen trying to convince Moira to sell her farm to him for Kim Tate, using dirty tactics and bribery to try and get Moira to sell up.
With Moira desperate to raise the funds to keep the business going, she’s had to fend off trouble(Image: ITV)
Moira ended up realising what was going on and called him out, refusing to sign the papers. Joe then came between Moira, her husband Cain Dingle and their family after an incident that saw Moira accidentally harm Lydia Dingle.
Moira has been panicked over the farm’s finances for a while now and this week was no different. So when potential rival and soap newcomer Celia entered her home on Friday with some news, Moira was initially unsure.
Celia soon pleaded her case, and revealed her rent had been hiked up by landlord Kim and she wasn’t pleased. She turned to Moira and suggested, amid Moira’s own issue with the Tates, they pretty much team up.
With a possible new business venture, she offered Moira the chance to supply meat to a posh hotel restaurant. According to Celia the restaurant needed beef and poultry, but she only had the latter.
Knowing Moira could meet the other end of the deal, she claimed she knew Moira needed the money and offered the help, no doubt wanting to get back at the Tates too. Moira thought about it and eventually agreed to the deal.
Emmerdale’s new farmer Celia was seen making an offer to join forces with Moira Dingle (Image: ITV)
Joe was obviously unimpressed by this, while fans were thrilled to see the two farmers seemingly team up. That said, could Celia actually be working with someone to target Moira, and could she be up to something?
Recently, Moira actress Natalie J Robb hinted to press that there could be more to it while there’s also every chance it’s a legit deal. She said: “She starts a kind of different approach, she starts to befriend her and Moira actually quite likes her in the end.
“The question is, Celia could be working with someone else to try and push her out, but it’s whether Celia will stick with that. She’s a force to be reckoned with, she’s not somebody you would go against!”
