worst

Known for being ‘The GC’ on screen and larger than life, viewers will see a different side to Gemma Collins in her new Sky documentary series.

Gemma Collins admits she has had “the worst year of her life” which corresponded with a time she had cameras following her every move.

The former TOWIE star, also known by her celebrity persona ‘GC’, and was due to get married to partner Rami and start a family during filming for Sky documentary series called ‘Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once’. The series was originally called Four Weddings and a Baby, but as Gemma admits “things didn’t go to plan”.

Her relationship with Rami has had issues, the pair have also been sadly unable to conceive, and worst of all Gemma’s beloved mum Joan died at the end of July after several years of health issues. Admitting her life and TV series hasn’t been going to plan, 45-year-old Gemma said: “Mum’s been unwell for sixteen years and I’ve been dealing with that on the side, but her health started going downhill during filming and she passed away last month[actually July 2026].

“My fiancé Rami has also been struggling with his mental health and using alcohol to cope, and on top of that we had fertility issues. It was like drowning. It was the worst year of my life. I couldn’t keep hiding it.

“Being The GC was escapism. I could put the make-up on, get the hair big, and forget what was going on in the real world. But there’s been a real turn in media where people want to see the real me again. They’re sick of the bluff. I’m not afraid and I know I don’t need to deal with all this on my own.”

In the eight part series viewers will see Gemma embark on her fertility journey, and she questions whether she has left things too late, putting her career before having a family. On trying for a baby Gemma says: “Rami and I went to the Portland, and I started thinking maybe there could be a miracle. We could get an egg donor and make it work. But, as you’ll see on the show, it got increasingly difficult.

“I still have Tristan, and my nephews. I’ve known Tristan since he was three: I did his nappies, I gave him his bottles. I love that boy. With my mum gone, I’m going to be the mum of the family now, the matriarch, and I’m really happy and excited for that. If it’s meant to happen, my mum will send it to me, and a miracle will happen. If it doesn’t, I’m at peace with that.”

Gemma admitted she found filming on some days very hard but insisted she had to continue. The other deeply personal issue in the series is the loss of her mum Joan, and Gemma allows the cameras into moments like when she deals like this and when the bravado she usually uses on screen drops.

She said: “The camera crews are at your house and you’re thinking, ‘This is my life, it’s so s**t. How can I let people see it?’. But unless you go through hard times, I don’t think you grow as a person. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s also the thing I’m most proud of.”

On her mum Gemma added: “My mum passed away peacefully, and we were all in the room. She’s come back to me in so many ways already, which gives me great comfort. She comes back to me in spiritual ways and sends me signs. There was this butterfly in the house towards the last few days of my mum living, and it wouldn’t go away. When she passed, Tristan went to me, ‘There’s Nanny’. He went, ‘Nanny, if that’s you, flap your wings ten times,’ and it did.”

* Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once launches 15 September on Sky and streaming service NOW.

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Crime rates, long-term unemployment and poor health outcomes have long plagued a town that is now under threat from rising sea levels and has attracted “dark tourists”

“On a sunny afternoon, it feels like a ghost town. I feel like I am in a film about a lost time,” explains Christopher Moss, having visited what is probably the UK’s most maligned seaside town.

The travel writer has spent decades exploring the UK in an effort to unearth parts of the country that most either miss or ignore altogether, to then put a spotlight on those places. The results have been turned into a newly published book, Where Tourists Seldom Tread.

Among the two dozen towns featured in the book is Jaywick, a seaside spot in Essex that regularly comes in for a real kicking. It has been officially ranked as England’s most deprived neighbourhood four times running (2010, 2015, 2019, and again in 2025) by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Crime rates, long-term unemployment and poor health outcomes have long plagued a town that is now under threat from rising sea levels. The town has become something of a punching bag, with YouTube “dark tourists” regularly turning their cameras on Jaywick and even a US Republican congressional candidate using a photo of neglected housing and potholed roads in an election ad warning American voters about economic decline.

In his 1983 classic travelogue, The Kingdom by the Sea, Paul Theroux dismissed Jaywick as being like an “Argentinian shanty town”. The Channel 5 documentary series Benefits by the Sea was filmed here in 2015.

Chris does not sugarcoat what he found on his trip to Jaywick, but instead lifts up the intriguing, unique and beautiful parts of the town that are easy to miss amidst the damning headlines.

“I was taken by how beautiful it is to be on the waterside there,” Chris told the Mirror. “It has this golden beach and this feeling of being in a foreign country. It was very calm and warm. Sedate even.”

The feeling of being somewhere other than England is added to by the chalets that make up most of the housing stock in Jaywick. The town was founded about 100 years ago when property developer Frank Stedman bought 24 acres of flood-prone marshland near the popular resort of Clacton, and flogged it in small parcels to Londoners looking to escape the city for the weekend. They were encouraged to build their own homes from kits, with suggested models costing just £52, although these were made of “rough cast asbestos” bricks.

The promise of a lake and sports centre never materialised, but what did was a curious housing estate in the shape of a car radiator grille with roads named after old vehicle manufacturers.

The destruction of East London during WW2 led many to move into their Jaywick homes full-time, not just for the holidays. “Eighty years later, materials and decor and fixtures have changed, but they are still weekend-sized and vulnerable to floods, time and family budgets,” writes Chris. While some of the homes are “stoved in”, others are well looked after and kept looking fresh.

As well as the strong Essex/London hybrid accent, what remains in Jaywick are the Martello Towers. The squat structures were built in large numbers along the coasts of Britain and other parts of the former British Empire, mostly during the early 19th century, primarily to provide a defensive base should Napoleon launch a land invasion.

The design was inspired by a round fortification at Mortella Point in Corsica, which British forces attacked in 1794. A small garrison there put up unexpectedly stiff resistance against Royal Navy ships, inspiring the Brits to steal the idea.

Jaywick’s tower is still intact and now plays host to an arts, heritage and community centre. It was saved earlier this year when an Essex County Council plan to cut £90,000 of funding prompted a local backlash. Part of it is given over to residents’ poems that both sing Jaywick’s praises and reckon with its challenges.

One from Anna Mae reads: “Sirens blazing, blue lights flashing, drunkards fighting, eau de weed pervading, boom boxes blaring, foxes screaming way into the night. Seagulls screeching their morning calling, school kids running, mums beckoning, voices straining, muted threatening, coaches arriving, mobility scooters racing, cars parking, buckets and spades unloading, excited cries, tired of eye spying, children clamouring eager to see the sea, new land dredged from marshes keep on sinking, sea will continue claiming what is hers.”

It is this constant and growing risk of inundation that adds to the place’s strange atmosphere, as does the feeling of a community bonded by a world that is against them.

“Put-downs can spread the shame, but not here; people defend the right to be proud of their homes,” Chris concludes.

“All I’m saying to readers is it’s okay to accept the headlines, but go and see and say hello. Most of these places are not as bad as the press presents.”

Where Tourists Seldom Tread is available in hardback for £19 and ebook for £12.99 on bookshop.org.

The Emmys’ writing and directing categories sometimes offer a window into the eventual winners, as when “The Studio” swept through the ceremony last year. Other times, voters decide to go their own way. “Slow Horses” has never won the drama series Emmy, but it has won awards for writing and directing the past two years. Noodles for everyone!

The episode submissions this year are a little baffling, often not reflecting the series’ best work. But what do I know? Maybe those “Pitt” submissions primed the waterworks. Perhaps it’s politics.

What I do know are my own personal preferences. So here are my rankings of the writing and directing nominees for drama, comedy and limited series, ordered from least to best.

Comedy series directing

6. “The Ms. Pat Show,” “Give It Arrest”
Directed by Mary Lou Belli

If you haven’t watched Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams’ unfiltered show, it’s been on BET+ for five seasons and this is Belli’s third nomination for directing. The fan base is nothing if not loyal.

5. “The Chair Company,” “Life Goes By Too F— Fast, It Really Does”
Directed by Andrew DeYoung

Cathartic cringe comedy for people who thought “Severance” was too lighthearted.

4. “Abbott Elementary,” “Ballgame”
Directed by Randall Einhorn

No small feat to shoot during a live baseball game, and the episode is so good (Kyle Schwarber blasts four home runs!) that, even as a Dodgers fan, I can’t say boo about the Philly-ness of it.

3. “Widow’s Bay,” “Welcome to Widow’s Bay!”
Directed by Hiro Murai

As the episode title suggests, it’s the table-setter. There were better episodes, but the last three aired past the eligibility deadline, so this will do.

2. “The Bear,” “Bears”
Directed by Christopher Storer

Tiff and Frank’s wedding, proof that Season 4 of “The Bear” had more than its share of high points. Another showcase for Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s acting and contains a powerful scene between Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Uncle Lee (Bob Odenkirk) that sets the stage for the show’s final season.

1. “Hacks,” “Hacks (Finale)”
Directed by Lucia Aniello

Who doesn’t like a fairy-tale ending?

Drama series directing

6. “The Gilded Age,” “My Mind Is Made Up”
Directed by Salli Richardson–Whitfield

Soapy, opulently costumed piffle with a beating heart.

5. “Paradise,” “Exodus”
Directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper

In which the show either jumps the shark or executes an intriguing reset.

4. “The Pitt,” “12 P.M.”
Directed by Noah Wyle

RIP Louie.

3. “Task,” “Out Beyond Ideas of Wrongdoing and Rightdoing, There Is a River”
Directed by Salli Richardson–Whitfield

Shootouts don’t come more chaotic — or devastating — than the 20-minute melee that opens this hour.

2. “Slow Horses,” “Scars”
Directed by Saul Metzstein

Could repeat the Emmy in this category just for that last shot of Lamb’s feet.

1. “Pluribus,” “We Is Us”
Directed by Vince Gilligan

The strange, unsettling series premiere was the best hour of television this year.

Limited series directing

4. “Black Rabbit,” “The Black Rabbits”
Directed by Jason Bateman

Do you even remember what happened in this series?

3. “Beef,” “It Will Stay This Way and You Will Obey”
Directed by Jake Schreier

Is it OK to become our parents if it’s the only way to pay the mortgage?

2. “Beef,” “Oh, the Comfort, the Inexpressible Comfort”
Directed by Lee Sung Jin

Basically “The Pitt,” but with an ethical dilemma involving Gatorade.

1. “DTF St. Louis”
Directed by Steven Conrad

Immaculately composed wide shots and an imaginative use of shallow depth of field are used to highlight the suburban weirdness hiding in plain sight.

Comedy series writing

6. “Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat,” “Mergers and Acquisitions”
Written by Anthony King

In which Anthony (Norman, not King, the episode’s writer) becomes the hero of the television season.

5. “The Chair Company,” “Life Goes By Too F— Fast, It Really Does”
Written by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin

Season premiere goes straight into goblin mode.

4. “Abbott Elementary,” “Team Building”
Written by Quinta Brunson

The only instance where the words “team building” don’t make me shudder.

3. “Hacks,” “Hacks (Finale)”
Written by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky

Too melodramatic with the whole Deborah death scare? Have you been watching “Hacks” for the last five seasons?

2. “Widow’s Bay,” “Welcome to Widow’s Bay!”
Written by Katie Dippold

A fine introduction to the cursed New England island as well as the show’s juxtaposition of comedy and horror.

1. “The Comeback,” “Valerie Does It All”
Written by Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow

Can we laugh about AI being the death of us? For one brilliant episode, yes!

Drama series writing

6. “The Diplomat,” “Amagansett”
Written by Peter Ackerman and Debora Cahn

Come for the “West Wing” vibes, stay for the blindside reveal.

5. “The Pitt,” 12 P.M.”
Written by Valerie Chu

You can’t fault a show that hauls in 25 nominations, including two for writing. These are solid episodes, but they pale in comparison with the last four of the season, which offered an intense, emotionally charged run that culminated hours of careful, patient storytelling.

4. “Task,” “A Still Small Voice”
Written by Brad Ingelsby

Forgiveness brings relief.

3. “The Pitt,” “1 P.M.”
Written by Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman and R. Scott Gemmill

See earlier comment about “12 P.M.”

2. “Slow Horses,” “Scars”
Written by Will Smith

The best moment didn’t come from the book.

1. “Pluribus,” “We Is Us”
Written by Vince Gilligan

“Hello, Carol.”

Limited series writing

5. “All Her Fault,” “Episode 8”
Written by Megan Gallagher

If you like deaths in a series finale, this is the show for you!

4. “The Beast in Me,” “Sick Puppy”
Story by Gabe Rotter; teleplay by Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle

I was worried for the schnoodle more than any of the characters in the series.

3. “Beef,” “All the Things We’re Never Going to Have”
Written by Lee Sung Jin

Like healthcare, a home, peace of mind, bees that live when you try to save them …

2. “Death by Lightning,”
Written by Mike Makowsky

We could really use a James Garfield right about now.

1. “DTF St. Louis,”
Written by Steven Conrad

“No one’s normal. It just looks that way from across the street.”

On what should have been a fun-packed summer holiday turned into a ‘nightmare’ after a family of six were ‘abandoned on the streets’ and told ‘we have no rooms for you’

A mum-of-four has been left ‘devastated’ after what was meant to be a cherished family holiday turned into a ‘nightmare’, after they felt “abandoned on the streets”.

Yasmin Kauser, who hails from Stratford-upon-Avon, had been looking forward to spending some quality time with her four children, aged 4, 12, 14 and 18, and her husband during their annual trip abroad in August. For the occasion, she booked a 10-night package holiday to Turkey through Loveholidays for £4,863, and was set to stay at a four-star hotel.

Following a lengthy journey from the UK, the family of six arrived at their pre-booked hotel in Alanya, Turkey, at around 2am. “We were knackered, we just wanted to go to bed, and the children were sleeping everywhere,” Yasmin exclusively told the Mirror.

But there was an unexpected issue with their hotel reservation. “We were told there were no rooms available for us.”

She outlined: “We remained at the hotel until around 5:30am, when, after I became increasingly frustrated and distressed, they eventually provided just one room for six people instead of the two rooms that had been booked.”

Yasmin says she repeatedly contacted Loveholidays, before the family was “given arrangements to move to a five-star resort”. The family made their way to the resort on the second day of their holiday, around half an hour’s drive away. “I hadn’t slept the night before, and I was exhausted. I’m only human, and I was breaking down because I was that tired, and the kids were very tired.”

‘There are no rooms’

However, when they turned up at the next resort, there was another issue. “At the resort, we waited for around an hour, only to be told that they had no rooms for us,” Yasmin alleged. “I said to them, ‘But we’ve got a reservation from Loveholidays, and they said, ‘There are no rooms’, so you’ve got to leave the hotel’.

She continued: “At around 3pm, I was left with my children on the road with our luggage and without access to suitable toilet facilities or accommodation. We were sitting outside the hotel; everybody was walking out, and we were like homeless people – we were abandoned.”

Yasmin was in touch with Loveholidays to explain the situation, and in an email, the company advised the family to “wait inside the hotel lobby for their safety and the safety of their children”, and said they were working on the issue as a “matter of urgency”.

The mum of four recalled: “I wasn’t panicking as it was around 3pm, the weather was nice, we had some water and snacks from the shop, so we just sat out there.” Although Yasmin added that it was around 40C, and when it got to 9pm, that’s when things became worrying.

“As it started to get dark, I started to panic, thinking, what are we going to do. We’ve got the children, and it was peak season.”

She claimed: “We remained without accommodation until around 11pm. My sister in the UK eventually contacted the emergency number on our behalf. After a further wait of around two hours, Loveholidays arranged emergency accommodation at a three-star hotel.”

Yasmin said that when her sister reached out to Loveholidays, they said they had emailed Yasmin earlier in the day, but the mum claims she never received it. She had told the firm that she was switching between a standard SIM and an eSIM, and the travel company said they tried to rectify the situation promptly.

Yet, they went to the third hotel in the hope of securing a room for their holiday.

“Not knowing what the hotel was like, but being so long on the street, I was just thinking we just need to get into some accommodation and have a roof over our heads”, Yasmin said. “We had to take another taxi to this hotel and eventually received two rooms at around 1am.”

‘Strong smell of urine and mould’

While they successfully obtained rooms, Yasmin was left disheartened. “One of the rooms was effectively a small box room with no windows and was in a condition that I found extremely distressing. There was a strong smell of urine and mould, and I struggled to breathe comfortably in the room,” she said.

Yasmin said she struggled to sleep “in the mess” and, early the next morning, got back in touch with Loveholidays about their accommodation. She claimed: “During the conversation, I was told that they had provided me with ‘shelter’. I was subsequently left in the emergency accommodation for the remainder of the holiday, despite repeatedly raising my concerns.” The family were later moved to another room during their stay at the hotel.

After hearing that Yasmin was dissatisfied with the alternative accommodation, Love Holidays offered her £1,015.99 in compensation for the inconvenience. In addition, they offered the family the option to relocate to an upgraded five-star hotel on an all-inclusive basis, but despite ongoing attempts to reach Yasmin on multiple platforms, they never received a response.

Yasmin said: “I don’t know if I was more tired before I left the UK or after the trip. I was in survival mode all the way through. We should have just stayed at home. This has been the worst experience in my life.”

A Loveholidays spokesperson told the Mirror: “We are very sorry that Ms Kauser’s experience fell below our usual high standards, and are investigating the issues she faced with the relevant hotel suppliers as a matter of urgency.“Our On Holiday Support team worked hard to put things right for Ms Kauser during her holiday, including an offer of cash compensation and a relocation to an upgraded five-star property. Despite several attempts to contact Ms Kauser, we did not receive a response to either of these offers or our subsequent communications and, as a result, we were unfortunately unable to put these solutions in place during her holiday.“We are contacting Ms Kauser to apologise for the stress and inconvenience caused and offer a full refund of her holiday.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

A British travel content creator has shared her thoughts after visiting Los Angeles admitting she should have a listened to a warning she received when exchanging her currency

A British woman who visited Hollywood recently has explained how the “reality” surrounding Tinseltown is “definitely not what you think”.

Travel content creator Jasmine admitted she had been warned about Los Angeles by her local Post Office’s staff when she changed her pounds to dollars. “A lady on the counter asked if I was going anywhere nice and I told her was going to LA and she looked at me a bit gone out,” she began in a TikTok video. “I was a bit confused at this point and she asked if I had ever been before and that it would not be what I thought it’d be.”

And as Jasmine’s clip continued in California, it appeared the Post Office clerk clearly wasn’t wrong. “As soon as I got there I understood exactly what she meant,” she said.

On a dreary looking day, Jasmine headed to Mel’s Drive-In Celebrity Bar to order French toast. There, she continued: “It was exactly what she said it’d be and absolutely nothing like I had imagined.”

While Jasmine acknowledging Hollywood does boast some “fantastic places to go”, she couldn’t help but highlight other “really run-down places” as she strolled the Walk of Fame.

“There’s definitely a misconception of what LA actually is, especially when you are from the UK,” she mused. “If I had known what it was really like, I probably would have planned my trip a whole lot differently and missed Hollywood completely.”

Jasmine added that on her return to the UK she was regularly asked if she visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “It actually makes zero sense because it’s probably the worst place in LA to go,” she said as she ate a hot dog. “Just be mindful if you are going there from the UK, it’s not going to be how you imagine.”

In a follow-up video, Jasmine headed out for an early morning walk where she showcased little more than “all the cleaning crew out” and areas that were “dealing with homelessness”.

“There was rubbish and human waste on the floor, which can be a real issue,” she slammed. “It definitely gave me a bit of a reality check.”

Jasmine did offer praise for Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, however. “We tried so much amazing food there and experienced so many different sides of the city,” she enthused. “I guess what surprised me the most about LA is that every area feels so different. You can go from Hollywood to beaches to food spots all in one trip.”

Writing in response, a frustrated local asked: “No one in LA cares for Hollywood. Why do you guys always come to Hollywood? That’s like the last place we ever go to!”

A second person agreed with Jasmine: “I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was absolutely shocked.” A third fumed: “Totally agree, I was massively disappointed, especially Hollywood, that was like a crack den.”

However, a fourth TikTok user exclaimed: “Los Angeles is gorgeous. You just need to have realistic expectations and stay slightly off the beaten track to see the real LA Hollywood and Downtown are must avoids.”