Are you a true fan of the fan-favourite sitcom set to make a striking comeback this Christmas or just another Scrappy Doo? Take the 30-question quiz below to find out!
Larry as Mick with the award-winning cast of Gavin & Stacey (Image: Tom Jackson/PA Wire)
It wouldn’t be Christmas Day without a fun family quiz, and this Gavin and Stacey game will really put your sitcom knowledge to the test. Whether you’re competitive or just having a bit of fun, it’s a good way to get the family together today.
Penned by Ruth Jones and James Corden – who portray the love-hate relationship of Nessa Jenkins and Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith – the popular show returned to our screens last Christmas after five years since the suspenseful ending where Nessa proposed to Smithy on one knee.
So how well-versed are you in the popular telly show? Put your knowledge to the test with our ultimate Gavin and Stacey quiz….
Question – 1 of 29
Score – 0 of 29
Gavin and Stacey quiz – What is Smithy’s favourite service station?
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are leaving Strictly Come Dancing the 2025 series draws to a close
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s “true feelings: about leaving Strictly Come Dancing might have been uncovered.
The beloved hosting duo shocked fans back in October when they announced that they would be stepping down from the programme at the end of the current series.
They have fronted the BBC programme together since 2014, with Claudia replacing Sir Bruce Forsyth, who presented the original series with Tess from 2004.
Tess previously took to Instagram to share a statement, and was showered in support from fans and friends alike. She wrote: “After 21 unforgettable years, the time has come to say goodbye to Strictly Come Dancing.”
The star added: “This isn’t a goodbye to glitter, sequins, or Saturday night sparkle (I could never say goodbye to those!). Strictly will forever hold a special place in my heart – but it does feel like the right time to hand over the reins.”
Tess and Claudia will present their last live show tonight (Saturday, December 20), as Strictly returns to screens for this year’s grand final. The pair will then appear on the show’s festive special on Christmas Day, where they will take part in a memorable performance.
Now, a body language expert has examined Tess and Claudia’s recent TV appearances and pointed to subtle gestures that hint at unease behind the scenes.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, Darren Stanton explained that the pair’s body language suggests that they are nervous ahead of their Strictly exit.
“What stands out for me when I watch Tess and Claudia discuss their departure in interviews is how their posture, voices, and micro-expressions always soften more than usual. It’s clear they are masking a good deal of emotion beneath a very controlled surface. From a body-language perspective, it doesn’t read like a light or casual decision,” he said.
“There are clear signs of nerves from both of them about the future, visible in subtle cues such as lip biting, the way they look at each other, and how they turn toward one another when discussing their departure, almost as if they are operating as a single unit.
“It doesn’t seem to be apprehension about the future itself, but about the difficulty of leaving something familiar.
“Tess, who has been part of the show for a long time, shows small gestures and micro expressions of nerves, like wringing her hands. Claudia shows similar gestures, proving that they both feel the impact of leaving the show.”
Since the announcement of Tess and Claudia’s exits, speculation has been swirling over who could step into their shoes, with Zoe Ball, Janette Manrara, Fleur East and Rylan Clark all in the running.
Tonight, Karen Carney, Amber Davies and George Clarke will battle it out for the chance to lift this year’s Glitterball Trophy. They will each perform three dances in the hopes of impressing the judges and voting public. These include a Showdance, Judges’ Choice, and their favourite routine from the series.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
After two turbulent years with Eamonn Holmes at GMTV, Anthea Turner walked away from the show on Christmas Eve 1996 – she still believes his envy of her National Lottery show was the problem
11:33, 20 Dec 2025Updated 11:34, 20 Dec 2025
Eamonn Holmes had a frosty relationship with Anthea Turner (Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
A popular television presenter who worked with Eamonn Holmes says there was almost instant friction when she joined him on an iconic daytime TV show.
Eamonn has been one of the most recognisable stars on British television for decades and has worked with a long line of famous faces, including his ex-wife, Ruth Langsford.
But he hasn’t jelled with every colleague he has ever worked with. According to Anthea Turner, Eamonn took exception to her background when she joined him on the GMTV sofa in 1994.
“Eamonn is a trained journalist and I’m not,” she told The Times. “That caused tension from the start… The other thing was I didn’t have my ass on that sofa for very long before I was asked to present the National Lottery too, and I think that also annoyed him.”
Anthea’s first lottery show appearance attracted a huge TV audience of around 22million. Eamonn reportedly lobbied GMTV bosses to get her sacked, accusing her of being “too ambitious” and giving her the disparaging nickname ‘Princess Tippy Toes.’
She told The Sun: “I was always asked if I was ambitious and, if I said yes, I was made out to be a ruthless person who would walk over anybody to get where I wanted. It would be said that I was hormonal, or I was stamping my feet.’
She added: “And yet ask that question to a man, and if he’s ambitious, we think: ‘What a guy’. You’d never hear anyone say that about Eamonn or Phillip Schofield. No, they’re just doing their job.”
Anthea walked away from the “toxic” situation at GMTV on Christmas Eve 1996. Over a decade later, the former Blue Peter presenter said she was still “hurt” by the way she was perceived.
Speaking on the Miranda Holder Weekly Fashion Podcast, she said: “I haven’t weighed myself down with anything from the past, or any of that negativity.
“Nobody likes injustice, nobody wants to be misrepresented. It hurts, it really hurts.”
In a televised reunion in 2018, Anthea said that she had mixed feelings about Eamonn, saying: “There is a fine line between hate and love isn’t there? We were chatting in the break, Eamonn and I are a bit lazy and it’s easier to stay friends.”
Her remarks sparked a somewhat tense atmosphere in the This Morning studio, with Eamonn’s then-wife Ruth Langsford visibly taking exception to Anthea calling him her “ex.”
Ruth stressed that she and Eamonn were “properly married,” before Anthea interrupted her, saying: “Ah but we were telly husband and wife.”
While Anthea and Eamonn were said to have put an end to their bitter feud with her This Morning appearance, she later said that any talk of a friendship was exaggerated, telling the Express:”I don’t think Eamonn and I speak lots. “Those are just headlines saying that we reunited.”
She added: “Obviously, there was the hullabaloo. In fact, I went to Belfast where he was doing a show, and I remember going up there, it must have been about 15 years ago, and we signed a Good Friday Agreement.”
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Mystery has surrounded where the ancient skeleton is from
Scientists have shed light on the true origins of the so-called “first black Briton”.
The skeletal remains – dating from Roman times – were previously thought to belong to a woman from the sub-Saharan region.
This had led her to be dubbed “one of the earliest Africans in Britain”.
But scientists have now said they cannot find DNA evidence that indicates she had recent ancestry from Africa.
They detailed in a paper published online on Wednesday that she actually had a strong genetic similarity to individuals from rural Britain.
She likely had blue eyes, between pale and dark skin and light hair, scientists added.
A craniofacial reconstruction of the ancient skeleton had previously depicted her as having curly black hair, brown eyes and dark skin.
‘Beachy Head Lady’
The skeleton was first uncovered in 2012 in a box in the basement of Eastbourne Town Hall in East Sussex.
The only information on the remains was a label saying ‘Beachy Head (1959)’ – gaining her the moniker the “Beachy Head Lady” after the beauty spot.
Multiple attempts to establish her geographical origins and ancestry were made afterwards.
Face Lab/Liverpool John Moores University
A computer-generated image of how the “Beachy Head Lady” may have looked
The initial assessment that suggested she was of recent sub-Saharan origin was originally based on analysis of her skull in 2013, scientists said.
“The discovery of the ‘first black Briton known to us’ gained traction across several media outlets, non-fiction books, educational resources and academic publications,” they wrote in the paper.
However, this interpretation began to shift, scientists added.
Other scientists later suggested the Beachy Head Lady may have grown up around Eastbourne, but been born in Cyprus.
“Whilst these preliminary results were not published in a scientific journal, they were subsequently reported in the media,” the paper’s authors said.
Graham Huntley
Radiocarbon dating suggests her Skeleton is from between 129 and 311 AD
Scientists’ latest discovery is based on “high quality” DNA data made possible by recent advances in science and technology.
The skeleton is radiocarbon dated to between 129 and 311 AD.
The Beachy Head Lady is believed to have been aged between 18 and 25 when she died and was an estimated 5ft (1.52m) tall.
The scientists have said they cannot determine her cause of death.
They cited evidence that fish had been a greater component of her diet, consistent with living on the coast.
It was authored by a team from the Natural History Museum, University College London, Heritage Eastbourne, University of Reading and Liverpool John Moores University.
The new short documentary has proven a tough watch for Netflix viewers
All The Empty Rooms follows Steve Hartman on a journey to memorialise the bedrooms of children killed in school shootings(Image: Netflix)
Netflix fans have been left in tears over the “saddest” true crime documentary that they are forced to “take a break” from.
Just this month, the streaming giant quietly added a short, but “poignant”, true crime documentary which aims to highlight the need for action against the “rising epidemic of gun violence” in America.
All The Empty Rooms on Netflix is around 35 minutes long but is a powerful story following reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp who embark on a journey to memorialise the bedrooms of children who were killed in school shootings.
Netflix states about the documentary: “The untouched bedrooms of American children killed in school shootings tell a story of memory, loss and enduring love in this poignant short documentary.”
The documentary was released on December 1 with true crime fans urged to give it a watch. But for some, it is a struggle to watch in one go as they are left “sobbing”.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one Netflix fan said: “I just watched All the Empty Rooms documentary on Netflix and wow 30 minutes of sadness. Everyone should watch it.”
Another wrote: “All the Empty Rooms documentary on Netflix … the saddest 30 min documentary I’ve ever seen. Cried my eyes out!”
Over on TikTok, may videos have been made as one user warned: “When I tel lyou this one is going to have you stopping to catch your breath, I’m not being dramatic, please heed this warning.”
One fan replied: “Every gun owner should be made to watch this before getting a gun. I’m sobbing.”
Another penned: “I just started this in the UK. It’s crazy. I can’t believe it’s normalised. The dirty clothes in the laundry basket [crying emoji] poor souls [broken heart].”
A third echoed: “Ohhhh!!! I started it tonight and I had to stop… had to take a break. I may try later tonight but may have to wait until tomorrow. I feel guilty for stopping it but I just can’t make it in one sitting.”
In another video, one true crime fanatic said: “This is the most powerful and heartbreaking 33 minutes of anything I’ve ever watched.”
As one person replied: “I bawled so hard I actually couldn’t finish it, it’s just… haunting…”
The short film, by Oscar-nominated Joshua Seftel, follows the after effects of school shootings and the heartbreak families are continuing to endure several years after the tragedies. Reporter Steve speaks to families involved as they share of their heartache and what the rooms now mean to them.
In an emotional trailer, the clip starts with a video of a young girl speaking to the camera as she says “Hi”. This is then followed by an emotional Steve who can be heard saying: “I’ve been typecast as, you know, the feel good happy news kind of guy… What I’ve been doing is just whitewashing the whole thing.”
Writing in another clip, it reads: “For seven years, journalist Steve Hartman has documented the empty bedrooms of children lost to school shootings.”
Heartbreaking clips are then shows of some of the children who were killed as fans were quick to comment on the heartbreaking watch. One person posted on the YouTube trailer: “The feeling this trailer gave me was just a visceral punch to the stomach that I think is really needed right now. The empty rooms become memorials in place of their child and I can’t even fathom the weight of that.”
All The Empty Rooms can be streamed on Netflix now
