The Thursday letters page doesn’t think AAA games on smartphones have much of a future, as one reader admires A Boy And His Blob.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Being direct
Can I just give some praise to Nintendo? They make great games, everybody knows that, but this is about something different. While Sony has turned into an antisocial hermit and Microsoft keeps bending the truth so far it slaps them in the face, Nintendo are just sitting there quietly, releasing great games, doing regular showcases. and allowing previews of their games. There were hands-on previews Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom but I can’t remember the last time there was one for a Sony or Microsoft game.

It shows how topsy-turvy everything has got when Nintendo are the open and communicative one, and the other two are the ones that refuse to properly engage with fans and the press.

I doubt we’ll see the Switch 2 revealed in this week’s Nintendo Direct, but I imagine those rumours about a new Mario Vs. Donkey Kong and a F-Zero 99 game are probably true. They sound like small budget games they could slip in as a surprise at the last minute and that’s great. (Plus, Another Code remasters? Who was asking for those!)

You can bet Sony or Microsoft don’t have anything similar up their sleeves and that’s a shame. You can also bet that Nintendo won’t have to hide behind slickly made trailers to get their games looking good. Although, frankly, their name on the box/download is all I need to know at the moment.

Nintendo rarely lets me down and lately that’s been true of more than just the games.
Onibee

Exciting day
Funny to hear that the Nintendo Direct rumours were true, again. I remember a time, not so long ago, when there were almost no Nintendo rumours and even when there were they never came true. Now it seems like they’re quite common, I guess because Nintendo are the only ones actually putting out new games at a decent pace? How times have changed, eh?

I’m not hoping for any big announcements on Thursday but I do expect a lot of smaller reveals and probably a few shadow drops – Nintendo seems to quite like those at the moment. Excitement, in other words, which has not been forthcoming at all from Sony this year.

I hope they have a State of Play this year as well but I’m not holding my breath. They are though and if they don’t come up for breath soon they risk doing themselves some serious damage.
Poste

No Man’s Starfield
I don’t necessarily want to add to the Starfield beatdown but I have to say that in terms of the space exploration, No Man’s Sky is a much better game. Starfield seems to be trying to copy it to a degree, with all the scanning and mining, but No Man’s Sky has so much more variety and depth and its planets and animals are lot more varied and interesting. Maybe they’re not as realistic – although I’m not sure how anyone could know – but they’re definitely a lot more interesting to explore.

To be honest, considering the budget and number of developers that Bethesda has I’m not really sure how they managed to make a game that was so behind No Man’s Sky, especially in terms of the whole space-to-planet transition.

Surely they should have had the time and money to do everything No Man’s Sky does and then add their role-playing stuff on top. Heck, they probably could’ve bought Hello Games and have them do it, with some pocket change Microsoft left in the sofa. Either that or they should’ve made sure their game couldn’t be compared to it.
Rosti

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Fantasy business
That news about Square Enix does not sound good, I’m not going to lie. $2 billion and a 30% drop in value is not small beans. If Sony really does want to buy them then this is the perfect moment, and if they don’t then I imagine Microsoft does.

Or maybe they already feel that the company is too far gone and not worth the trouble? I’m not sure how big Dragon Quest still is in Japan but it’s never amounted to anything in the West. Final Fantasy is still reasonably big but I feel interest has been waning over the years, with Final Fantasy 7 Remake not being nearly as big as you would’ve thought.

I certainly wasn’t interested in Final Fantasy 16, due to the Game Of Thrones influences and I don’t think I was the only one. Square Enix need to prove they’re still a player and I don’t think even more Final Fantasy is the way.
Gadfly

Paging Jeff Goldblum
It was already pointed out but I don’t see how AAA games on iPhone are ever going to work if they charge full price for them. Nobody’s going to pay that and yet if they are substantially cheaper then console and PC owners are going to have a riot.

It’s kind of a moot point given how expensive the iPhone 15 Pro is but even so, it just seems like a publicity gimmick more than anything else. The number of people that will own that phone, pay something close to £60 to buy a game, and then sit and play it with a Bluetooth controller (surely no one would want to do it on a touchscreen?) must be tiny.

It’s interesting that it can be done, but I’m not sure why you’d really want to.
Slash

Speak plainly
Saying Bethesda haven’t done anything since 2011 was a sweeping statement based on my own opinion and not the best choice of words.

But were Fallout 4 and 76 as good as 3? Not for my money they weren’t. 76 had a notoriously bad start, it may well be fixed now but too little too late.

Fallout 4 was a sequel that was ironically inferior to what came before it.

What I should have said is Bethesda have been going downhill since Skyrim in 2011 and if the next Elder Scrolls sees release in 2028, that will be 17 years between the last instalment. So I stand by the gist of my last Inbox letter, the Microsoft buyout wouldn’t have happened in 2011/12 when Bethesda were at the height of their power.
Mitchell

Mr Blobby
I watched a video on A Boy And His Blob, which I never had seen before. Now I know it was remade for the Wii but it really got me thinking how cool this idea would be now in the hands of the right developer.

It made me think of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom in the limitless things you could create with your blob to solve puzzles and traverse a landscape. Are there any other games more recently that have used a similar idea?
Phil

GC: The blob’s shapes weren’t limitless but you’re right, it’s a great game. A remaster of the Wii remake is available on most formats.

Don’t kick yourself
With all the talk on Starfield, I thought I’d write in to put in my twopenn’orth. I have to be honest, but I’m really enjoying it. It might have helped that I haven’t played a Bethesda game since Skyrim (many years ago when it had just been released), so I haven’t really been burnt out on Bethesda.

I finished Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom just in time for Starfield’s release and the change in narrative has been really enjoyable. I must admit I am a science fiction geek, so that obviously helps. Having tried No Man’s Sky (after all the patches) I gave up because there was not enough of a coherent story. I get that the story in Starfield may not be perfect (I’ll have to judge that after I finish it) but the side quests have taken on my own journey, which feels individual.

I have never been the sort of gamer that wants to 100% any game, so with Starfield I am just going with the flow on where the game takes me. I don’t feel the need to visit every barren planet and start mining, but I’m more than happy travelling around if I pick up on an interesting story line and go with it. I have just stumbled on a side quest about terrormorphs, essentially a rip-off of the Alien franchise, and I am really enjoying it. It could possibly be a story in its own right and is surprisingly good for a mere side quest.

Yes, there are bugs, some actually quite funny, and if you just accept that they are there, you can still have an enjoyable experience. I guess if you have a particular interest in this type of genre, then you’ll likely get a kick out of it.
Subzero Radio

Inbox also-rans
Having re-read your Starfield review again after two days, I’m surprised it wasn’t a 5/10!
Anon

GC: We did consider it, but there’s enough we liked to rate it a little above average.

Here’s an exclusive Switch 2 rumour for you. One of the launch games will be Super m-AR-io Bros. using the already rumoured AR camera to allow you to play AR levels in your own home. I’m a big fan of AR gaming, maybe more so than VR so am excited at the prospect of this.
Mark Matthews

GC: We don’t know if you’re joking but we can totally see Nintendo using that name.

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Onibee, who asks what new games would you like to see released for the Switch 2 in its first 12 months?

Rumours about Nintendo’s next console are gathering pace, with reliable sources claiming it will be roughly as powerful as a PlayStation 4 – or perhaps even more so. There has been some vague talk of new games, such as a new 3D Mario, but nothing substantial, so what would you like to see most in terms of first and third party games?

Try and keep things realistic – Nintendo isn’t going to release all its heavy hitters at the same time – but feel free to imagine your dream launch line-up, as long as it’s also reasonably believable.

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
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MORE : Games Inbox: Starfield disappointing Microsoft, Forza Motorsport GOTY, and Baldur’s Gate 3 frustration

MORE : Games Inbox: Starfield being worth the hype, Naughty Dog’s next game, and Switch 2 power

MORE : Games Inbox: Whether Starfield has too many bugs, Gravity Rush, and Baldur’s Gate 3 on PlayStation Portal

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GameCentral reviews the third entry in The Crew franchise and an open world racer that borrows an awful lot from Xbox smash Forza Horizon 5.

Film sequels usually, but not always, degrade in quality as the number next to their name goes up. In games it’s generally the opposite. Technology improves, developers learn new tricks, and the industry as a whole finds new ways of making something that used to be only okay into something wonderful.

The arc for The Crew has so far had more in common with film sequels. It’s made by French outfit Ivory Tower, many of whose staff came from Eden Games, the studio behind 2006’s Test Drive Unlimited. That game was, like The Crew Motorfest, an open world racer set on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, making this something of a spiritual sequel.

The Crew 2 was set in a microcosm of the entirety of the US, so this is a tighter and more realistically scaled experience, with races that once again mix cars and bikes with a sprinkling of powerboats and light aircraft. As in earlier games, you can switch vehicles at any time, turning your plane into a car that then plummets from the sky, or indeed changing your car into a boat, which just sits quietly on the tarmac.

Provided you transform in the right substrate, you can undertake specialist plane and boat races, but while they have their own distinct look and feel, their handling models and sense of competition are nowhere near as evolved as those of the game’s cars and bikes, instantly rendering them sideshow curios rather than anything resembling the main event.

That would be driving, with the game’s more than 600 cars making for a visually varied bunch. If you played The Crew 2 you can import your car list and drive them straight away, although there’s not really much need to, given that almost all events force you to use a predefined loan car anyway, making the collection in your garage only really useful for driving around the island and engaging in multiplayer races.

Those come in one flavour only. Taking place over three separate events, each of which uses a different car from your collection, you start with a field of 20 players. Races are cross-play, so PC gamers can race those on console, and while PvP cars can’t be modded, you’re at liberty to choose the fastest you own in each of the three racing categories.

Perhaps Motorfest’s biggest surprise is that it abandons the last two games’ theme of racing point-to-point across a large landmass in favour of copying every single thing that the Forza Horizon franchise does. On the one hand, if you’re going to rip anyone off, it may as well be the king of your genre, which Forza Horizon 5 fairly unambiguously is. On the other, when you’re trying to be like something that’s already so close to perfection, you tend to find that the only way is down.

Framing itself as a festival of car culture, its graffiti strewn, EDM-suffused presentation is so similar to Forza’s we’re surprised there hasn’t been a copyright issue. They’ve even somehow managed to make Oahu look a lot like Forza Horizon 5’s miniature Mexico, its beaches, mountains, and green fields all appearing eerily familiar.

Motorfest’s announcers also have a problem: they just never shut up. They keep interrupting races to tell you how mind-blowing the scenery is – the volcanoes! The beaches! – until you just wish they’d let you experience it for yourself. Like someone at the office telling you how hilarious they are, if you feel the need to say it out loud, it’s almost certainly not true, and the game’s continual, needy reminders that it’s exciting and beautiful just makes it sound desperate.

The vehicle handling model has been improved a little since The Crew 2, which had an unabashed arcade style. Motorfest stops shy of anything resembling a simulation, but its cars and bikes at least lean further towards realism, their drifts and cornering physics proving to be somewhat less fantastical than the game’s predecessors.

That still leaves them feeling undistinguished though. Yes, you can spot the difference between driving an American muscle car and a Lamborghini, but most cars feel about as differentiated as branches of Starbucks, their handling clean and predictable, but lacking any sort of character. The bikes are worse, turning in a performance that might charitably be described as vanilla.

Aping Forza’s semi-pornographic approach to automotive photography, panning longingly along cars’ curves in extreme close-up, it also nicks the endless stream of bonus XP. ‘+10 Near Miss’, says the game every time a car goes past in the opposite lane, despite you having been nowhere near it, both of you staying well inside your own sides of the median. The over-enthusiastic accolades are rendered meaningless and annoying.

While Forza Horizon gets away with being an open world game through its sheer panache and the range of micro-activities available on its motorways and side roads, in Motorfest it comes across as tedious padding. Having to drive 20km on dull, lightly curving roads to get to the next race does not feel like time well spent.

Motorfest does have a couple of good ideas though. For one, its GPS-based directional line, guiding you to the next event, hovers three metres above the road surface, making it much easier to anticipate upcoming bends. Its playlists are also quite cool, bringing together a set of races around a theme. That can be electric cars, Japanese street racing, vintage, or a variety of other ways of dividing the automotive kingdom.

Unfortunately, though, what emerges is a middling racing game that’s been stuffed to the brim with filler. Despite all the driving around between races, inane voiceovers, over-the-top decorations, and bonuses for doing literally everything/nothing, it doesn’t distract you from the fact that the handling model is nowhere near as nuanced as that of its leading competitors.

If you’re a PlayStation owner who, for some masochistic reason, feels starved of racing games where you have to spend half your time travelling between events, then this is apparently what you’ve been waiting for. It may look, sound, and play like a Tesco Value Range Forza Horizon 5, but since the real thing is never coming to a Sony console you may feel it’s better than nothing.

For everyone else, it’s a tough game to recommend. There are moments of fun to be had, albeit only driving cars rather than the distinctly lacklustre boats and planes, and even then only in races rather than the endless tarmac of Oahu. But those moments are buried under a mountain of feeble, superfluous content.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £59.99
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Ivory Tower
Release Date: 14th September 2023
Age Rating: 12

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MORE : The Crew Motorfest confirmed with first trailer

MORE : Immortals Fenyx Rising 2 and The Crew 3 underway at Ubisoft claims rumour

MORE : Far Cry 5 and The Crew 2 delayed, as Ubsioft raise profit predictions

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After controversially facing the jungle on I’m A Celebrity, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is continuing his reality TV crusade by joining Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

A first look trailer has been released for the gruelling Channel 4 programme… and the Special Forces operatives leading the process don’t hold back from pushing the politician and the other celebrities to the absolute limit of their physical and mental capabilities.

Joining Hancock on the programme will be Gareth Gates, Michelle Heaton, Siva Kaneswaran, Danielle Lloyd, Melinda Messenger and Jermaine Pennant, as well as Gareth Thomas, James Argnet, Montana Brown, Teddy Soares, Amber Turner, Zoe Lyons, Kirsty-Leigh Porter, Perri Shakes-Drayton and Jon-Allan Butterworth.

However, we have no doubt that plenty of viewers will be tuning in with the sole purpose of watching Hancock wrestle while covered in mud, take on terrifying heights and face the unrelenting glare of hardened interrogators.

At the beginning of the trailer, the public figure has a bag torn off his head, as he stands in the pouring rain while facing those in charge of his punishing experience.

Later, he can be seen focusing with all his might while taking on a height challenge, before screwing up his face while army crawling in muddy, marshy waters.

During a wrestle with a fellow Celebrity SAS star, he’s knocked off his feet in a blow that looks like it might take the wind right out of him.

Meanwhile, during an interrogation, Hancock looks like his eyes are filling up with tears as he’s told: ‘Relax. You look like you’re about to be executed.’

Despite the ex-Secretary of State sparking huge levels of backlash when he joined the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, he still wound up finishing the competition in third place, behind winner Jill Scott and runner-up Owen Warner.

It was previously claimed that during the interrogations on Celebrity SAS, Hancock will be ‘absolutely destroyed’.

‘We treat everybody the same and we really went at him,’ chief instructor Billy Billingham said earlier this year.

‘In the interrogation bit, he gets destroyed, absolutely destroyed.’

He continued to The Sun: ‘At the time I thought, “Oh, hang on, maybe this is a bit much?” But no, he deserved it.

‘The idea is every single contestant will either leave on day one or will leave as a better version of themselves and with Matt Hancock, he’s still got a long way to go.’

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns to on Tuesday September 26 at 9.30pm on Channel 4.

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The Graham Norton show is returning back to the screens along with a star-studded line-up.

After a well deserved break, the Irish comedian, 60, will be back fronting his titular show – which airs on Friday September 29 – and he won’t be alone.

Megastar Kylie Minogue will be promoting her upcoming album Tension alongside Peaky Blinders actor Stephen Graham who’ll be discussing about the TV spin-off of his 2021 movie Boiling Point.

Peep Show show star David Mitchell Taskmaster regular Mawaan Rizwan will also be making an appearance with Eurovision singer Mae Muller.

Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lawrence, Will Smith, Meryl Streep, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Paul McCartney are just some of mega stars who’ve made an appearance on the hit BBC programme

However, it was recently reported that due to the current Sag-Aftra strikes bosses were struggling to get the big stars.

In early July Hollywood officially went on strike after US union the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted unanimously to walk out, following weeks of unsuccessful negotiations.

The decision came after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – who represent studios including Disney, Warner Brothers and Netflix – failed to produce new contracts.

Members have been seeking better pay and increased safeguarding around AI rights among their demands.

A source told The Mirror: ‘The BBC is in crisis as the Hollywood strikes are causing its flagship chat show an absolute headache for its next run later this year.’

The insider added that even British stars have refused publicity and promotion ‘out of solidarity.’

The WGA has also raised issues with the rise of streaming and Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatening the jobs of writers.

The last time there was a writer’s strike was in 2007 when work stopped for 100 days and had massive effects on the economy, costing California alone $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion).

Many famous faces have thrown their support behind the strikes, including Tom Hanks, Pete Davidson, Drew Barrymore, and US President Joe Biden.

The Graham Norton Show returns Friday September 29 at 10.40pm on BBC One.

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Although My Mum, Your Dad was originally hailed as ‘middle-aged Love Island’ fans have expressed which dating show they prefer.

Davina McCall’s latest series for parents is an instant hit, with many people commenting on how emotional the first few episodes were.

This series isn’t quite as long as the ITV2 show, which is hosted by Maya Jama, so instead of six to eight weeks of grafting, viewers are being treated to 10-hour-long episodes.

Wednesday’s edition saw the parents participate in an ‘acceptance workshop’ where they all sat together in the garden and opened up on the things holding them back.

Janey, 47, from West Sussex revealed she dedicated most of her life looking after her son Will, 20, for most of his life.

‘Things hold me back I want that connection but it’s very deep-rooted, she tearfully said. ‘I am adopted I’ve got the best parents in the world but yeah it’s hard.’

Fans were moved by tonight’s episode, with some claiming this series blows Love Island ‘out of the water.’

‘#MyMumYourDad is wiping the floor with #LoveIsland, real people with life stories. I am INVESTED, their kids are a credit to them as well,’ one person wrote.

Another agreed: ‘@MyMumYourDadUK is incredibly endearing, I feel really emotional these kids absolutely dote on their parents and it’s beautiful to see although I’m only 29, I relate to this show more than I ever could love island or whatever. What a lovely show.’

A third person joked: ‘I’d watch #MyMumYourDad any day over Love Island. The only thing missing though is conversations about the latest air fryer and which 80s pop artists you had a crush on. What an absolutely brilliant show 👏.’

While another claimed they will ‘never watch Love Island again’ after tuning into the latest spin-off.

Speaking about the importance of the show at a special screening of the first episode, that took place at the ITV offices in London, host Davina also stressed how special the show is to her.

‘I just wanted to see midlifers represented in terms of dating,’ she said.

‘In your forties and fifties and when you’ve got children, life is complicated, but more than ever you feel that you are at a point in your life where you deserve to find love.

‘They deserve to find love and spend the rest of their lives with somebody. You know when,’ Davina said before abruptly having to stop talking. ‘It’s about opening the door and coming home to someone.’

My Mum, Your Dad continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.

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Ozzy Osbourne was spotted being helped into a wheelchair, as the rockstar recently revealed that he’s set to undergo a surgical procedure.

In photographs taken in Los Angeles, the 74-year-old could be seen getting out of a car, as a man wearing a facemask stood with his hands on the handles of a wheelchair.

As Ozzy went to take a seat in the chair, the man in question pushed him, as a woman also stood by.

The Black Sabbath singer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003, but didn’t go public with his diagnosis for another 17 years.

In 2019, he underwent surgery after suffering a fall at his home in LA, explaining at the time that he initially thought as he fell that he had become paralysed.

Then earlier this year, the rocker announced that he was unable to go on tour following multiple procedures to treat his spinal injury.

Ozzy revealed in a new episode of his family’s podcast The Osbournes Podcast that he has another surgery in the pipeline, which will bring his total number of procedures following his 2019 fall up to four.

‘He said: ‘My lower back is, I’m going for an epidural soon because what’s happening, what they’ve discovered is the neck has been fixed, below the neck there’s two vertebrae where the bike hit me and disintegrated, there’s nothing left of ’em,’ he said, Blabbermouth reported.

After his son Jack Osbourne asked: ‘Are they fusing discs?’ Ozzy responded explained that he ‘didn’t know’ what the medical professionals were going to be doing.

‘All I know is right now, I’m in a lot of pain, I’m in a lot of discomfort,’ he added.

Ozzy and his wife Sharon Osbourne confirmed that this would be his fourth surgery.

He continued: ‘In my back, the two discs, and the muscles on my shoulders have separated from my skeleton, and that’s why I lean forward as it’s like gravity is bringing my head forward.’

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Justin Roiland has been accused of using his success to lure young fans, it has been claimed.

The 43-year-old co-created the hugely popular adult animated sitcom, Rick and Morty, along with Dan Harmon, and voiced both roles.

Earlier this year, he was dropped from the program after facing domestic abuse allegations, but was later cleared of the charges.

In a bombshell new expose by NBC News, he is alleged to have used his fame to develop relationships with young – and sometimes underage – fans, with 11 people coming forward.

The outlet spoke to multiple women and nonbinary people who claim to have interacted to Roiland, with many of them, including three who were under 16 at the time, alleging that their discussions turned sexual.

The actor was accused of approaching young fans on both social media and dating apps, and would shower them in compliments before asking about their sexuality, and requesting to meet.

One woman, who remained anonymous, claimed that he messaged her on Tinder with a reference to Rick and Morty in 2019, when she was 20, and although she was unfamiliar with his work, she understood that he was famous.

The publication reports that she replied by asking if they could ‘go shopping and have fun’, while also suggesting a coffee and a chat and making him aware that she was under 21.

They reportedly met that night and went to a restaurant where he bought her ‘mixed drinks’ – she claimed that she had two beverages and felt drunk, after which they went shopping and back to his hotel room.

Roiland allegedly asked her to perform oral sex on him, which she initially refused and resisted – but he reportedly pushed her head towards his crotch.

‘From the moment it happened, I knew that it was not okay,’ she told NBC. ‘But I felt a lot of different feelings, like that it was my fault. I felt guilty for asking him to buy me stuff. I felt maybe I owed it to him. And I was embarrassed.’

They continued speaking after the incident but the woman allegedly confronted him over text messages, which were obtained by the outlet.

In the exchange, she reportedly said he didn’t handle the ‘sexual stuff’ in the best way, explaining that ‘consent is important’, to which he apologized and clarified that he ‘didn’t get consent’.

In messages published on the publication’s site, she claimed that he said he thought it ‘turned her on to be forced’.

Roiland’s attorney addressed some of the allegations made by NBC News, claiming that the creator felt ‘duped and taken advantage of’ by the woman who suggested they should go shopping, alleging that she offered to sell him her pornographic videos – but did not respond to the forced oral sex claims.

She reportedly responded that she offered to sell her content after he expressed an interest, but quoted him double the price she normally charges and never went through with it.

NBC reports that the messages they reviewed showed that he would have identical conversations with people he approached, discussing the program and his success before usually asking the recipients their ages and sexualities.

Some claimed that they were 16 at the time, with Roiland reportedly describing two unnamed women – who spoke to the outlet anonymously – as ‘jailbait’.

In May, 2016, Roiland reportedly messaged a 19-year-old when he was 36, praising her artwork – something that initially delighted the teenager.

They continued to chat and he allegedly invited her to his home in LA the following year, paying for the tickets from her home of Pennsylvania himself.

The woman revealed that her dad voiced his concerns about Roiland’s intentions, to which he vowed that he would ‘make absolutely 100% sure nothing bad would happen’, in messaged obtained by the outlet.

According to NBC, he discussed sex and asked whether she was ‘into girls’, before the trip – which took place in March, 2017.

After he threw a party to celebrate the third series of Rick and Morty, they were left alone with a female friend, when they allegedly got into the hot tub while drinking.

She explained that she doesn’t remember much of the night in question, but has full recollection of the sexual acts – alleging that Roiland asked them both to perform sexual acts on each other, before she had sex with him while the friend was there, something that she felt uncomfortable about.

After this, she said she went back to a guest room to discuss the incident with a friend on the phone, and shared her belief that she was more ‘incapacitated than usual’, and later expressed her discomfort to the star.

The woman alleged that he propositioned her for sex the following morning and she consented, but felt pressure to let him film it.

While Roiland has yet to speak out publicly over the claims, his lawyer, Andrew Brettler, added that the allegations against him are ‘false and defamatory’.

Concerning the Pennsylvania resident, Brettler claimed that the pair had ‘consensual sex’ before the alleged hot tub incident – something she said she does not remember – and added that Roiland was not responsible for sexual acts that took place between her and his friend.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Roiland’s reps for a comment.

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Towie star Pete Wicks revealed that Holly Willoughby has made her feelings towards him known, and it isn’t positive.

The TV personality, 35, claims the This Morning host, 42,’genuinely hates’ him after claiming Holly mocked his sex life.

In the latest episode of their Staying Relevant podcast, Pete and co-host Sam Thompson discussed interviewing the presenter at this year’s National Television Awards.

Sam enthused: ‘She’s like the queen of the NTAs,’ before Pete quipped: ‘former queen.’

Pete added: ‘Okay, so I’ve met Holly quite a few times. And I think she’s really lovely. However, she’s so good at this that she’s not that interesting to interview.

‘And also I have a sneaking suspicion that she genuinely hates me.’

He added: ‘And she did throw some shade, she does it every time. So, I wasn’t that fussed.

‘I think it was from Celebrity Juice a few years ago and I think she thinks I’m some kind of f***boy a***hole and she would be absolutely correct in that but she makes it known.’

Speaking about the savage remark Holly allegedly made, Sam said: ‘Pete asked a really professional question. And Pete then went, “Yeah we know Alison [Hammond] we shared a bed with her.”

Pete interjected: ‘And she went, “That doesn’t surprise me with your track record.”‘

At this year’s NTAs, Holly spoke on the red carpet about how her year had unfolded, stating in an apparent swipe at former co-host Phillip Schofield: ‘It has been a difficult year for everybody but what’s lovely is you find that people rally around you and the goodwill is there.

‘People want things to move on. It feels different,’ she told The Sun.

Earlier this year, Phillip, 61, quit This Morning and then stepped away from ITV altogether after he admitted to lying about an affair that he had with a younger male colleague to his coworkers and loved ones.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Holly Willoughby’s reps for comment.

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Coleen Nolan will stay on Loose Women ‘as long as they want me,’ despite getting upset by online trolls and battling almost-daily feud rumours, which the panel laugh off.

The musician and TV star has been a staple on the daytime chat show for 23 years, with only a brief stint away from the panel in 2013 because she ‘wasn’t enjoying it at that stage’.

Since coming back however, she sees the show as her ‘second home’ and the women as her ‘sisters’ – and it upsets her that people ‘want to tear it down.’

‘Contrary to what’s being printed all over the place, it’s not a toxic environment at all in any way,’ Coleen tells Metro.co.uk ahead of the announcement of her new show and tour, Naked.

‘We do genuinely all get on like family. They are like my sisters. Sometimes I’ll think, “You’re really getting on my nerves today” – like I would with my sister – and then the next minute we’re having a coffee together or we’re laughing.’

Constantly hearing rumours or reports that the panellists secretly hate each other is ‘a shame,’ she goes on. ‘I don’t know what’s going on but people are trying to cause situations that don’t need to be there. And I think that’s sad.’

‘I couldn’t sit on a panel day in, day out next to women that I absolutely hate, and laugh at their jokes, I just couldn’t. I would leave! I left before because I wasn’t enjoying it at one point, and that was years ago.’

The cast are well aware of the rift rumours, often alluding to the claims with a tongue-in-cheek snark during the show, and Coleen reveals they often laugh at it behind the scenes too. ‘”Coleen and Ruth at war” is a good one,’ she laughs. ‘We all look at it and go, “Oh my God, we’re at war today. We hate each other this week.” It’s honestly hilarious.’

Despite how she may come across on Loose Women, Coleen admits she is ‘sensitive’ and hates when she says something that might have upset something – but is becoming ‘hardened’ to people hitting out at her on social media.

‘I’m always thinking, “Oh Christ, what have I just said?”

‘[Loose Women’s] appeal is that you can only be honest, it’s an opinion-based show. Not everyone is going to agree with your opinion. I’m quite sensitive to that but lots of the other girls aren’t bothered if they get trolled. They’re like, “well, that’s my opinion.” But I’m like, “oh no!”‘

When Loose Women first started over 20 years ago, she says, ‘you could absolutely, 100% say what your opinion is but nowadays you can’t because there’s always someone to offend.’

‘And I don’t really want to offend anyone. But I’m asked my opinion and I have to be honest, but you go, “I don’t think I should say that because I don’t want to offend.”‘

‘I never ever, ever, intentionally set out to hurt anybody or upset them. So sometimes when I get messages going “you said this, and that’s really wrong and that really upset me” – well, it upsets me that I’ve upset you because I don’t mean to. But if it’s just that someone doesn’t agree with my opinion, isn’t that what life’s about? Life would be very boring if we all agreed on everything. ‘

She points to the journalists on the panel, like Jane Moore, Janet Street Porter, as being totally hardened to people attacking their opinion online, calling them ‘brave and fearless.’

‘They want people to like them, but if they don’t [like them], what can they do? Whereas I’ll come home and go, “Why don’t they like me?” I’m like a pathetic puppy that’s been kicked. That’s what I’m like.

‘I’m getting hardened a bit to it, but what I hate is when it’s been interpreted completely the opposite how I said it. I might have an opinion and they take one line from it, and people are going “I can’t believe you said that,’ but they haven’t even watched the show, they’ve taken it from a headline! Or someone takes one line out of what I’ve said and makes a double-page spread of it. That annoys me.

‘I’m kind of learning to go, “it doesn’t matter, there’ll be a different headline next week.” But it is hard, and it’s much harder now than it was 20 years ago because of social media.’

She goes on: ‘It’s hard to do an opinion-based show nowadays, that’s why I think it’s sad when they try and tear it down because it’s the one show on telly that celebrates women of all ages, all opinions, and all different eras of how we grew up.’

Recently rumours emerged that Penny Lancaster had stepped back from the show, and Coleen grins as she admits if she was as ‘bloody rich’ as Penny, she’d do the same thing.

‘Penny hasn’t done it for months and months. She’s mainly been over in LA with Rod and he’s been touring. She only really came in when she was available, when she and Rod were in London. And then she became a Special Constable, and she’s got a family and she’s also bloody rich enough to do what she wants!

‘Not being funny, as much as I love it I probably wouldn’t spend four days away from home every week if I was loaded. “I might just do one this week!” But Penny never left on horrible terms, we all got on great with her. But she’s got other things going on in life. Her kids are still young. And she’s married to a massive rock star who tours the world. I’d rather do that to be honest!’

The panel changes semi-regularly, and Coleen has a dream team of new women she’d love to see joining the show, including Dawn French and even Adele – but most eagerly, she names Miriam Margolyes, who is ‘brilliant, she makes me belly laugh.’

‘Production wouldn’t like it, because we’re live and we’re at half past 12. So it would be very, very hard to police,’ she says, alluding to Miriam’s legendary explicit rants.

A past-the-watershed Loose Women wouldn’t work however, as Coleen reckons one of the reasons the daytime show is so popular is ‘because people like what you’re insinuating, they like an innuendo.’

‘I can look at the camera and know that Mrs Smith knows exactly what I’m thinking, whether it’s rude or angry. I don’t necessarily think people want to hear us sitting there effing and blinding and being really graphic about things. The whole funniness of it is, “I know what you’re thinking, but you can’t say it.”‘

Coleen is generally on Loose Women up to four times a week, but she’s now going back to her roots and hitting the road for her new show Naked, which sees her perform and interact with audiences across Britain.

‘You can expect every emotion going, I want people singing along, I want them crying. I want them laughing, I want them dancing. I’m going to try and make it almost autobiographical but through music, all the different parts of my life. I’m hoping to have screens up there so I can show pictures of when I was singing on stage at two years old with my family.

‘I want it to be a couple of hours where people don’t have to think about the s**t that’s going on in the world. Because let’s be honest, it’s so depressing at the moment. I just want it to be a really good fun, night-out, party kind of atmosphere.’

Coleen Nolan: Naked tour begins in February 2024, tickets are available from coleentour.com

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YouTube stars Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes are engaged!

The couple, who have been together for more than a decade, announced their exciting news with a joint post on Instagram by sharing a black-and-white video of them together.

In the clip, Zoe, 33, is standing on a wall while leaning against Alfie, 29, as they share a peck on the lips while Harry Styles’ song Music For a Sushi Restaurant is playing in the background.

Zoe, who is currently pregnant with her second child, them hops off the wall, running towards the camera while brandishing her brand new diamond ring.

The couple immediately received a wave of congratulatory messages, with Stacey Solomon commenting: ‘Congratulations 😍😍😍😍😍.’

Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Dianne Buswell, who is dating Zoe’s brother Joe Sugg, added: ‘❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️so happy,’ while Alfie’s sister Poppy Deyes wrote: ‘YAYYYYY 💍💍💍💍.’

Theatre star Carrie Hope Fletcher, who recently announced her pregnancy, wrote: ‘OMG!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!’

Singer Alexandra Burke also added: ‘Congratulations ❤️❤️😍🥰.’

Zoe, widely-known by her YouTube handle Zoella, has 10.7million subscribers on the video-sharing platform on her old profile, while her current account, simply titled ‘Zoe Sugg’, boasts nearly five million subscribers.

Alfie, on the other hand, has 3.62m subscribers on his account ‘Alfie Deyes Vlogs’.

After speculation from fans, Zoe and Alfie confirmed that they were dating in a blog post published in 2013, having started seeing each other romantically the previous year.

Their first daughter, Ottilie, was born in August 2021.

The couple are currently expecting their second daughter, who’s due in December this year.

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Jake Shears has revealed how much coffee he drinks a day… and the quantity may leave your jaws on the floor.

When it comes to the debate of how much coffee is ok to drink a day, you’re likely to receive an array of different answers.

Some may say one is enough, while others might go for multiple… but what do you think about eight shots of coffee?

In the new episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks on Sky Max, Scissor Sisters star Jake revealed that’s how much he consumes on a daily basis – and the rest of the panel were understandably gobsmacked.

Host Greg Davies turned to the musician to ask if you would verify how much coffee he drank every day, with the 44-year-old confirming that he drinks two cappuccinos a day, each of which contains four shots to bring his total to eight.

‘My researcher tells me that you open a day with eight shots of espresso,’ Greg announced, with his statement sparking gasps from the other members of the panel.

‘I do,’ Jake answered. ‘I have one four-shot cappuccino first thing, and then when I’m done with that, I go and I get another four-shot cappuccino.’

Despite his admission shocking some in the studio, the singer stressed: ‘It’s not that big of a deal, but people find it shocking.’

Nonetheless, Greg suggested that Jake should walk around with a defribillator on his back like a tortoise, just in case.

Meanwhile, comedian Jamali Maddix declared that Jake is a proper ‘bad boy’, with his leather jacket completing the overall rebellious image.

So would you ever try two four-shot cappuccinos a day? Or is one coffee in the morning enough for you?

According to the British Heart Foundation, consuming around four to five cups of coffee a day ‘should be fine for most people’, the organisation’s dietitian Victoria Taylor said.

‘Research shows that this level of caffeine intake shouldn’t be detrimental to your heart health, affect your cholesterol levels or heart rhythm,’ her advice continued.

‘Although drinking coffee has been shown to increase blood pressure, this effect is usually temporary and is minimised over time if you drink caffeinated drinks regularly.’

Never Mind The Buzzcocks airs tonight at 9pm on Sky Max.

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Edward Hume, an Emmy-nominated film and TV writer, has died aged 87.

Born on May 18 1936, Hume was best-known for his work on the hugely impactful 1983 TV movie The Day After, which told the tale of an imaginary war in which the US and the Soviet Union engaged in nuclear warfare.

When the film originally aired 40 years ago, it was reportedly watched by more than 100million people in nearly 39m households.

Four years after the movie’s initial release, it was broadcast in the Soviet Union.

In 2007, it was featured by Time in its list of the 100 best TV shows of all time.

The news of Hume’s death was confirmed to Variety by his representative, as Nicholas Meyer, the director of The Day After, said: ‘There can be no doubt about the size of Earth’s debt to Edward Hume.’

In addition to The Day After, Hume also wrote several TV shows in the 1970s, including Cannon, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco and Toma.

Due to the impact of The Day After, ABC broadcast a special Viewpoint programme dedicated to the movie.

The special featured contributions from individuals including Elie Wiesel, Robert McNamara and Carl Sagan.

Hume also wrote the 1983 biographical film The Terry Fox Story, depicting the story of Canadian amputee and runner Terry Fox.

The film won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture, which is regarded as Canada’s equivalent of an Academy Award.

Hume is survived by his children: Chris, Brian and Erika.

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Tom Sandoval has blasted Raquel Leviss as ‘immature and petty’ for blocking him on Instagram.

The Vanderpump Rules universe was rocked earlier this year when it emerged that the pair had a seven-month affair, despite the bar owner being in a long-term relationship with co-star Ariana Madix.

They eventually went their separate ways following a tense season 10 reunion, with the pageant queen taking a step back from the spotlight over severe backlash.

Earlier this week, Tom shared a comment on Raquel’s Instagram page to mark her 29th birthday, with the pageant queen publicly sharing that she had blocked him soon after.

Discussing the move in a new chat ahead of his debut in Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, the 40-year-old confessed that he wasn’t impressed by the move.

‘Obviously, I think it’s a little immature and petty,’ he told People Magazine. ‘To post that you’re blocking seems a bit thirsty.

‘I wanted to just send her some love, let her know that happy birthday, whatever.

‘I just feel bad for her, in a way. I don’t understand. I think she’s really struggling with taking accountability for her actions and just wants to point fingers and be mad at everybody else. There were two of us in this situation. We both screwed up.’

On Monday, Tom raised eyebrows as he left a comment under Raquel’s latest Instagram post, which read: ‘Happy Birthday, Rachel, I really hope ur finding peace and happiness. Miss u friend [sic].’

Unpacking the post, he insisted that he wished Raquel the best and didn’t make the public comment to ‘cause any sort of negativity’.

‘It sucks. We never had any sort of closure. I had a conversation with her that ended very much in a way of, “All right, well, I’ll talk to you in the next few days,” and that was it.’

Following Tom’s affair coming to light, he joined the line-up of the second series of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, declaring that he wanted ‘to take a beating’.

His wish appears to have been granted as he debuted a bloody nose in the recent trailer…

In other footage, he added that he wanted ‘to get punished’ over his treatment of Ariana.

Tom has been joined by a star-studded cast for the grueling challenge, including JoJo Siwa, Blac Chyna and Tara Reid.

They will be joined by Jack Osbourne, Desperate Housewives and Beverly Hills 90210 actor Brian Austin Green, Kelly Rizzo, Bachelor alums Tyler Cameron and Nick Viall, and Chrisley Knows Best’s Savannah Chrisley.

NBA icon Robert Horry, NFL star Dez Bryant and Olympians Erin Jackson and Bodie Miller make up the athletes competing.

Former special-forces operatives Mark Billingham, Rudy Reyes, Jovon Quarles and Jason Fox are set to put the group through their paces.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test premieres on Fox on September 25.

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Love Island star Montana Brown shared an adorable moment with her baby boy Jude after revealing she underwent surgery.

It’s not currently clear what the surgery that the TV personality, 28, is having is for.

But in an Instagram clip, she shared on Tuesday she was seen lying on what appeared to be a hospital bed while wearing a surgical gown.

In her latest snap, Montana uploaded a picture of her and her little one in hospital.

‘He has my whole heart,’ she wrote in the caption.

Montana was over the moon to introduce her son Jude to the world earlier this summer, having welcomed her baby boy with her fiancé Mark O’Connor.

Following the birth, she wrote on Instagram: ‘Welcome to the world Jude Isaiah O’Connor.

‘We’re so smitten with you little man. 23.06.23.’

She also shared a black-and-white photo of herself cradling her newborn child, as he sweetly rested against her chest.

At the beginning of the month, the influencer shared her excitement to be taking her little bundle of joy on his first holiday.

The good vibes didn’t last for long, though, as Montana and the family faced delays before their flight was cancelled completely.

‘Ok maybe we’re not going away as our flight has been delayed until 1am…’, she wrote on her Instagram Story after the dreaded announcement.

Montana and Mark announced their engagement in April, two months before they became parents.

The couple got together years after Montana found fame on Love Island in 2017, during which she finished in fifth place with Alex Beattie.

Montana described Mark as the ‘love of her life’, saying that she couldn’t ‘wait’ to marry her ‘best friend’.

The season three contestant and Mark also got engaged in April, which the Love Island star announced with a cute post showing off her huge engagement ring.

‘Stuck with me now… HA 💍,’ she wrote and joked: ‘Also only Mark would wear a hoodie on engagement day.’

Metro.co.uk previously contacted Montana Brown’s representatives for comment.

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Bianca Belair has confirmed she’s currently taking a break from WWE to focus on ‘some self-care’ after a dominating run as women’s champion.

The EST of WWE – who hasn’t been seen on-screen since getting attacked backstage by Damage CTRL on the August 18 episode of SmackDown – has been written off TV to give her a break after an intense 420-day run with the Raw Women’s Title which included countless community events and media commitments.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk at the MTV Video Music Awards this week, Bianca said: ‘Right now, it was just some self-care. We did some things with us personally that I’m so excited about, it has to do with the future.’

The 34-year-old star – whose husband and fellow wrestler Montez Ford joked his wife has been giving him ‘new house tasks every day’ during her time off – also teased some exciting new projects in the pipeline.

‘I’m trying to write a children’s book as well,’ she revealed, while their Hulu reality series The Crawfords is set to drop ‘at the end of this year, beginning of next year’.

‘We’re finishing up, wrapping up filming that,’ she teased, while working on the show itself has been a real turnaround for someone who previously insisted she’d ‘never’ work in reality TV.

She explained: ‘I was always somebody that was like, “I will never do reality TV, I have no desire to do it”. And I learned to never say never very quickly.

‘It was different for me because everybody sees my husband – who everybody in the ring is who he is at home, he’s high energy, he’s full of life, full of joy, yelling, screaming, singing.

‘I’m a little bit more low-key and more reserved, I just chill at home and do my DIY projects. I’m used to having the cameras in my face at work and now they’re in my home. How do I just be normal now? I don’t need to turn it on to be Bianca Belair. It’s a different dynamic!’

Bianca’s hiatus has given the beloved fan favourite a chance to relax at home and find shows to binge, which has led her to becoming obsessed with Temptation Island.

‘I’m never home and I was finally home so I was looking for things to binge watch. I just started binge watching it and I brought [Montez] along,’ she revealed. ‘At one point, the girls were putting their hands on a guy and I was like, “Take your hand off of him!” and I was hitting him.

‘He was like, “Babe, they’re not touching me!” I was invested in all five seasons!’

Montez added: ‘I will say, we always find new shows to watch and binge watch, we discuss them, we pause the show in the middle of it and we talk about all the different sides – why this person made this decision, why would they do that? – we try to listen to reason so, it’s a lot of fun.’

Despite the break, Bianca hasn’t been too far away, as just this week she and Montez joined the likes of bosses Triple H and Vince McMahon at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the $21 billion merger between UFC and WWE with both companies now under the TKO banner owned by Endeavor.

‘It was exciting just to be part of a historic moment,’ she said. ‘Being able to be there representing WWE was an honour. It’s very exciting because it’s a new chapter.’

She admitted: ‘Everyone is on the edge of, “What’s coming? What’s happening next?” so I’m just excited for whatever can come out of this and what’s going to come out of this. It’s going to be great.’

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Liam Payne’s mum has shared how ‘worried sick’ she feels about her son after he was taken to hospital in Italy.

On Tuesday evening, it was reported that the former One Direction singer had been hospitalised while on holiday to celebrate his one-year anniversary with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

His hospitalisation came weeks after he informed fans in a heartfelt video that he’d been forced to postpone his solo tour, after receiving treatment for a kidney infection in hospital.

Following the latest health update, the 30-year-old’s mother, Karen Payne, spoke about how concerned she felt for her son’s wellbeing, emphasising how ‘helpless’ she felt.

‘We are all worried sick about it but we just have to get on. It’s horrible – him being all the way over there,’ she said, MailOnline reported.

‘He’s in Milan and it sounds like he’ll be there for a week. I feel helpless.’

She continued: ‘All we can really do is sit it out here and hope for the best. There is nothing we can do. We feel helpless.’

Karen added that it was ‘such a horrible situation’, and they ‘just hope he’s in the best place possible’.

A source previously claimed that Liam was ‘in a bad way’ when he was admitted to hospital.

‘Liam is in a bad way but he’s in the best place he can be and finally doctors will be able to get to the bottom of what is going on,’ they told The Sun.

‘Naturally he is gutted that his and Kate’s trip to Lake Como has been ruined but at least she was there to help him when he fell ill.

‘Doctors have warned him not to expect to be signed off to go home for at least another six days.’

According to the source, the doctors want to ‘do every test possible to understand the issue’.

The publication claimed that Liam was transported to A&E in an ambulance before being taken to a hospital ward for emergency treatment, where he is expected to stay for a few days.

On August 25, the musician shared in an update on Instagram: ‘It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America.

‘Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover.’

He continued: ‘I was beyond excited to come play for you guys. To all of you who have bought tickets: I’m so sorry. We’re working to re-schedule the tour as soon as we possibly can, but for now we will be refunding the tickets – so please look out for updates from your point of purchase.

‘Thanks as always for the love and support, and look forward to seeing you soon.’

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Former Top Gear presenter Steve Berry criticised the show following Freddie Flintoff’s horror crash.

Last week, the former England cricket player and TV host was photographed for the first time since the shock accident while filming Top Gear in December 2022 which it was said he was ‘lucky’ to have survived.

Since the crash, Freddie, 45, has kept a low profile while he recovers.

Speaking on GB News, ex presenter Steve – who left the show in 1999 – said the show has an issue with its talent, arguing they are not qualified to carry out the tasks required for the programme.

‘The difference back when I did it was they used to appoint motoring journalists,’ he told Dan Wootton.

‘I was completely aware of the dangers that could often occur. I was under no illusion.’

He added: ‘The problem for me with the modern Top Gear is you’re asking a cricketer to do things that really should be done by people who know what they’re doing.

‘But it’s the viewer that’s the problem.’

After breaking a rib and suffering facial injuries in the crash, which happened while shooting an episode of Top Gear at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey, it was revealed that Freddie’s three-wheeled open-top car, which did not have air bags, had flipped.

He then had to wait an ‘agonising’ 45 minutes for an air ambulance – with the BBC later offering him an apology.

It was revealed this week that Freddie would be returning to screens ‘this winter’, with reports he is gearing up to resume filming Field of Dreams, which sees him go on the hunt for untapped cricketing talent.

A source told The Mirror: ‘Everyone is thrilled and relieved Freddie is gearing up to get back to work.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to BBC for comment.

Top Gear is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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For some reason, the PS Plus catalogue is getting no less than five Star Ocean games, amid another lacklustre batch of retro games.

While PlayStation fans are still waiting for Sony to announce that rumoured September State of Play, the company has officially revealed which games it’s adding to the PlayStation Plus catalogue for Extra and Premium subscribers this month.

The ever reliable billbil-kun already leaked six of them a couple of days ago, all of which have proven to be correct.

The full line-up, however, consists of 16 games in total, although it remains to be seen if subscribers think this helps justify the recent price hike for PS Plus.

Looking at the line-up ourselves, it’s a pretty good one. The number of games wouldn’t matter if none of them were good, but the leak set things up strongly with the likes of NieR Replicant and Civilization 6.

The full reveal throws in other solid choices like Planet Coaster, one of the best theme park sims of recent years, and the daring if incredibly bleak This War Is Mine.

There are a couple of less enticing picks, though, with a tie-in game for the Paw Patrol movie and the absolutely dreadful Contra: Rogue Corps.

Also, for some reason, Sony is going all in on Star Ocean this month. Aside from including the most recent entry, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, it’s adding 2016’s Star Ocean: Integrity And Faithlessness… which would be fine if either game was any good.

On top of that, the additions to the Premium-only classics catalogue continues to mystify us, as three out of four of them are just more Star Ocean games. Those being:

• Star Ocean First Departure R – the PlayStation 4 port of the PlayStation Portable remake of the first game
• Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time – the PS4 HD conversion of the 2004 PlayStation 2 game
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope – the PS4 remaster of the 2010 PlayStation 3 game

The only other addition is Dragon’s Crown Pro, another remastered PlayStation 4 port from 2018, as opposed to any fan favourite retro games from the PlayStation 1 days.

All the aforementioned games are scheduled to arrive next week on September 19.

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Married at First Sight UK is returning to our screens this autumn, to bring us a much need daily dose of drama, dinner parties, and hopefully not too many divorces.

The popular reality series tracks couple’s who meet for the first time on their wedding day, with relationship experts helping them to navigate their relationships.

This year’s installment has the first ever trans contestant and will be 36 episodes long, making it the longest ever series of the show.

But does the experiment work? Let’s take a look at which MAFS couples are still together.

Jenna and Zoe

Jenna and Zoe made MAFS history in the 2022 series, by being the first lesbian couple on the show.

The couple had their fair share of ups and downs in the show, with Zoe struggling to come to terms with Jenna’s vegan lifestyle but managed to work through their differences, and ended up being the only couple to survive last year’s series.

A year on from the experiment, the couple look more loved up than ever, and often post Instagram updates of holidays, date nights and cosy evenings in.

In April, Jenna celebrated the couple’s one year anniversary, with a Instagram post captioned: ‘I maaaybe a little late to the party but for our 1 year anniversary I wanted to put a little reel together of the day that changed everything.. Not just for me, @zoeclifton and our family and friends to look back on but also for you guys to have a little insight into the reality of what our day actually looked like ❤️

‘It was honestly just smiles all round.. an amazing start to our journey, we definitely had our challenges during the experiment (a turbulent rollercoaster I’m not sure many could withhold) but I’m so glad it didn’t take us long to work through our differences and find our way back to the smiles we had on the day we met.’

Tayah and Adam

Tayah and Adam have been inseperable ever since they met on the 2021 series of MAFS, and it looks like their love has grown stronger by the day.

The couple confessed their love for each other after just one week in the experiment and Adam, who had never had a relationship before, called her his ‘first and last love”.

Although the pair were married at first sight, the marriages on the show aren’t actually legal, so Adam got down on one knee and proposed to Tayah in the final vow reneweal of the show.

However, the couple’s wedding plans were put on hold when Tayah gave birth to a baby in October 2022.

Announcing the happy news in an Instagram post, Tayah said: ‘7th October, the day our lives completely changed.

‘Introducing you all to our precious girl, Beau Emily Aveling, we are completely besotted, she is perfect in every single way.’

The couple often post adorable snaps of their little family on Instagram.

Owen and Michelle

Owen and Michelle met on the 2020 series on MAFS, and are still going strong three year’s later.

The couple share a joint Instagram account where they often post updates on their adventures, from holidays, to theatre trips.

In May of this year, Owen and Michelle announced the exciting news that they are expecting a child together.

Posting a snap of an ultrasound on Instagram, the couple wrote: ‘So, we’ve got news… #mafsuk #mafsbaby #mafsukbaby #comingdecember2023.’

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JoJo Offerman has paid tribute to her late fiance Bray Wyatt in an emotional post on social media.

The former WWE ring announcer reflected on her relationship with the three-time world champion – whose real name was Windham Rotunda – following his tragic death last month aged just 36, and admitted she had ‘written and rewritten this post so many times’ as she struggled to find the right words.

Alongside a series of candid photos from their time together, she said: ‘Ive written and rewritten this post so many times because there are no amount of words in this world to describe Windham and what he means to me.

‘But I’ve also been avoiding it because in some weird way it makes all of this all too real. I miss the love of my life so much it hurts.

‘He was everything I ever wanted and everything I never knew I needed, and I let him know that everyday. I’m so grateful that he allowed me to love him fiercely. But I am so blessed he loved me fiercely in return.’

JoJo described Wyatt – with whom she shared two young children – as ‘the best person’ she knows, along with her ‘best friend’ and ‘soulmate’ as he gave her ‘a love that will last a lifetime’.

She continued: ‘He was the kindest, funniest, most caring man in the world. He made me feel beyond special every single day. He made everyone feel special, which was one of the million things I loved about him.

‘Our bond was magical, something only the two of us understood. And that beautiful bond brought two perfect babies into the world. That’s another thing, he was the BEST daddy to Knash, Hyrie, Cadyn, and Kendyl.

‘Family was EVERYTHING to him. Windham knew me better than I knew myself and he always knew how to calm my storm, as I did for him.’

JoJo admitted while she wishes she ‘had more time’ with her partner, she still feelsgrateful ‘to be loved’ by him for as long as she was.

She added: ‘He was the only person in the world that I could be unapologetically myself around and not only did he accept it, he loved it. I cry because I wish we had more time baby, but I smile because I was so blessed to be loved by you in the time we did have.

‘I will always love you Windham. I will always show our kids how incredible their daddy is. I will always make sure they know how much you love them. And I will always make you proud just like you made me proud.

‘I love you forever baby, until we meet again ❤️’

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Ex-Love Island contestant Faye Winter opened up about relationships after finding fame and admitted first dates could be pretty tricky.

The 28-year-old star exited the Spanish villa on the arm of her then partner Teddy Soares in 2021 – however the summer romance wasn’t to last as they split 18 months later.

After becoming a house-hold name, Faye revealed how she was navigating dating as a well-known face and explained why it was proving challenging.

Moving to Devon with her dog Bonnie following her breakup, the former estate agent said she was still looking for love, albeit through a slightly different lens now.

Chatting exclusively with Metro.co.uk, Faye explained: ‘I think there’s always a pressure to stay open with your relationships and what you’ve got going on.

‘I can’t be going on first dates and introducing them to the world, so I don’t know how I’m going to do it.

‘When I decide to come out into the public with who I’m dating – when I’m dating – obviously I will be very open about it, but I need to make sure I’m sure on the person.

‘I need to make sure they’re sure on me. So I can’t be just doing that.’

Despite the struggle surrounding a public personal life, the influencer acknowledged that her dating life was part and parcel of her newfound platform.

She continued: ‘When you come out and you’re on a dating show, people follow you for that reason.

‘I appreciate every single person that follows me, follows my journey and hopefully will always be a part of it.

‘I feel like I’m always going to have to be very open with things but I just need to make sure I’m open about them when I’m confident in them and when I know exactly what’s going on, and what’s going on in my life.’

Recently, the reality TV star was linked with fellow celeb Towie’s Pete Wicks after they were seen together at the National Television Awards.

Putting rumours to rest, Faye shut down the whispers when she said: ‘Pete Wicks is a very, very good friend of mine.

‘He has also had this sort of bad boy image in the media and has this persona and I think he saw it from my point of view.

‘He’s a massive animal lover and we’ve always just got on very well. There’s nothing more to it. He’s just always been there for me.

‘Your friends are there to remind you [you’re a good person] and it shouldn’t matter about what sex they.

‘One of my other closest friends, Toby [Aromolaran], he’s one of my dearest, dearest friends and last time I knew, I was dating him – so you can’t be seen with males apparently in this industry.’

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It’s time to pop your aprons back on and get baking – because The Great British Bake Off is back!

The return date for the 2023 series has officially been confirmed, with the new season set to introduce national treasure Alison Hammond as a brand new presenter alongside Noel Fielding.

In a post shared on Instagram featuring a picture of Alison, Noel and judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith, the caption read: ‘Bake a date in your diaries.

‘Join Paul, Prue, Noel and Alison on Tuesday 26th September at 8pm for the return of The Great British Bake Off. #GBBO.’

That means that Bake Off is on its way back in less than two weeks. Yep, that’s right!

As can be expected, fans of the beloved show couldn’t be more excited that it’s just around the corner.

‘It’s that time of the year again 🎂😊,’ one fan commented on Instagram, while another added: ‘There’s not one show we get more excited about! GBBO BABY!’

Meanwhile, several viewers who watch the programme religiously in the US asked when it will be premiering with the 2023 series on Netflix.

Alison’s debut on Bake Off comes after Matt Lucas stepped away from his role as co-host after three series.

The This Morning presenter was confirmed as his replacement in March this year, saying in a teaser at the time: ‘I’m just absolutely thrilled, I’m gonna be meeting the bakers very soon and joining the Great British Bake Off.

‘I’m so very excited! As you can see, all my colleagues are absolutely speechless… Yep, yep, just speechless. We’re so very happy and we can’t wait to get started.’

Speaking of Alison joining the show, Dame Prue told Metro.co.uk: ‘I think it’ll be fantastic, not only because of her character and her personality, but I like the fact she’s a woman.

‘I love Matt Lucas and I’m sure we’ll be friends for life, but the fact is, when there were three men and me, because there were numbers of them, they just got sillier and sillier and I never understand the jokes.

‘They can go into hysterics about the word sausage. They’re like four years olds. So, I’m looking forward to having a woman around.’

The Great British Bake Off returns on Tuesday September 26 at 8pm on Channel 4.

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The leaks were spot on: a new Nintendo Direct has been announced for September, but don’t expect it to unveil the Switch 2.

Seemingly everyone was predicting Nintendo would announce one of its Nintendo Direct showcases this month, even after it held a short one just a couple of weeks ago, to share new details on Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Aside from the company traditionally holding meaty showcases in September, reliable leakers recently began teasing announcements for such a showcase. Nate The Hate even confidently said the next Direct will be held this Thursday, on September 14.

Turns out he was absolutely right, as Nintendo has formally confirmed a Direct will air tomorrow at 3pm BST and it will run for a hefty 40 minutes.

As you’d expect, Nintendo hasn’t even hinted at what will be shown, only saying the focus will be on games launching this *winter* (which is technically December, January, and February, but we don’t think that’s necessarily what they meant).

Some safe guesses include trailers for the likes of WarioWare: Move It!, the Super Mario RPG remake, and the final batch of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo has at least one more winter games it hasn’t unveiled yet.

Plus, it’s unlikely that Nintendo will only be discussing imminent launches. It’ll probably have some new info for games planned for 2024, such as the untitled Princess Peach spin-off.

As for what’s rumoured to be in the works at Nintendo, recent teases point to a new Mario Vs. Donkey Kong game, a F-Zero battle royale, and separate remakes of a DS and a Wii game – possibly Another Code: Two Memories and Another Code: R – A Journey Into Lost Memories.

There have also been long standing rumours of more modern Zelda ports (The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, specifically) as well as remasters of Metroid Prime 2 and 3.

It was previously claimed that the Metroid Prime 2 remaster will arrive before the end of the year, as well as something Zelda related. If so, no doubt both will make an appearance at this Direct.

You can rule out any Tears Of The Kingdom DLC, though, as just last week producer Eiji Aonuma admitted there are no plans for any sort of expansion.

The big Nintendo talking point, though, is the Nintendo Switch 2… or whatever the next console ends up being called. While it too has been rumoured for years, recent chatter suggests it was shown off in secret at Gamescom last month.

While a 2024 launch is commonly claimed/speculated, no one has suggested dates for when Nintendo will publicly unveil it. It certainly hasn’t been rumoured for this upcoming Direct, so don’t get your hopes up for an annoucement.

The Christmas period is coming up and Nintendo is already advertising a new Mario themed Switch OLED, plus new bundles that come with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Announcing new hardware now would only undermine sales, since people would be encouraged to wait for the new console rather than buy the current Switch for Christmas.

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PS5 owners looking for an alternative to Starfield has led to a major boost in interest for the recently updated No Man’s Sky.

Just last week, Bethesda revealed that more than 6 million people have been playing Starfield, making it the company’s biggest launch ever.

However, it turns out that’s not the only space-faring video game to be enjoying a successful September. No Man’s Sky, which launched seven years ago, has also seen a deserved surge in popularity.

Sean Murray, managing director of developer Hello Games, hasn’t shared any hard player figures, but he said on Twitter that No Man’s Sky is having ‘its biggest month in the last few years’, across all platforms.

While there’s no way to check player stats on consoles, we do know how many people are playing No Man’s Sky on PC via Steam.

Steam Charts reveals that, in the last 30 days, there has been a nearly 96% increase in players, bumping it up to an average of 12,580 people.

The obvious explanation for this is the newest update, No Man’s Sky: Echoes, which arrived towards the end of August, just a week before Starfield’s early access launch.

It’s the biggest update the game’s had all year, adding new story content, a new race of robots, enemy pirate freighters, and a whole lot more.

Unsurprisingly, this has attracted direct comparisons with Starfield, as some have suggested that disappointed Starfield players have jumped ship to No Man’s Sky.

Perhaps the biggest point of comparison is how No Man’s Sky allowed you to seamlessly take off from and land on planets back in 2016, whereas Starfield – a modern launch with Microsoft money behind it – doesn’t allow that.

Unsurprisingly, these comparisons have drawn flack from others who argue that Starfield and No Man’s Sky are completely different games since the former is a traditional role-playing game and the latter is a survival game.

That’s pretty disingenuous though, as the exploration in Starfield is extremely similar to No Man’s Sky, including scanning flora and fauna, and collecting rare minerals for use in crafting.

Much of the increase is likely to be PlayStation 5 owners looking for a similar experience to Starfield and, thanks to all the many expansions, No Man’s Sky is an arguably superior experience.

However, Starfield’s average player count is roughly 206,931 according to Steam Charts, roughly 16 times more than No Man’s Sky’s – although it does seem as if Starfield has already peaked.

Regardless of what’s caused the boost in players, Murray and Hello Games are clearly grateful for it, and fans of the game seem just as happy to hear it’s doing well.

No Man’s Sky is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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Calvin Harris and his new wife Vick Hope were all smiles as they were spotted heading to the airport on Monday.

The newlyweds boarded a private jet and settled in for a flight to Brindisi, Italy where they would enjoy a romantic getaway as part of their honeymoon.

Tying the knot over the weekend, the This Is What You Came For DJ, 39, and the BBC radio host, 33 said ‘I do’ on Saturday in front of a star-studded room.

They invited a plethora of celebrities to celebrate with them at a Glastonbury-themed wedding ceremony on Saturday in Hulne Priory in Alnwick, Northumberland.

Following the festivities, the couple packed their things and made their way towards a jet waiting to whisk them away.

Vick wore a golden knit maxi-dress with a knotted neckline for her travels and let her curly hair hang loose down her back.

She carried a woven basket over one arm that was stuffed with what appeared to be a denim jacket and slung a small black Yves Saint Laurent handbag over her shoulder.

In the same hand, she gripped a Tupperware box containing unidentifiable items and shielded her eyes with some small black Prada sunglasses.

Calvin kept it casual for his plane journey and was seen leaving the Primrose Hill music studio dressed in a khaki baggy t-shirt and black shorts.

He wore white ankle-high socks and a pair of black Adidas trainers as he lifted two suitcases into a waiting car.

The superstar DJ was concentrated on loading up the car and was snapped wearing his new wedding band on his ring finger.

Yet to release images from their special day, the celebrations were thought to have continued into the early hours as per photos that surfaced the morning after the event.

According to the MailOnline, the celebrity guest list included Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu, BBC radio DJs Vernon Kay and Scott Mills and Jordan Nort – Vick’s Radio 1 co-host.

The publication also noted that Nile Rodgers and Chic had been flown in all the way from America to perform at the highly anticipated nuptials.

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Selena Gomez is not happy with being given the meme treatment at last night’s MTV VMAs.

The Only Murders In The Building star – who took home the award for best afrobeats thanks to Calm Down, her collaboration with Rema – unwittingly went viral for some of her facial expressions during the ceremony.

At one point, the camera panned over to the 31-year-old as she scrunched up her face when Chris Brown’s name was read out as part of the best R&B category, which was eventually claimed by SZA.

Her fearful reaction amid Olivia Rodrigo’s epic performance of Vampire also made the rounds on social media, but she later insisted that she ‘heard a loud noise’ which ‘scared’ her.

Taking to Instagram, the singer decided that enough was enough and spoke out against the reaction.

‘I will never be a meme again,’ she penned on her story. ‘I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself. Much love.’

While it’s not clear exactly what Selena was referring to, it came hours after her headline-making appearance at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

The Lose You To Love Me musician looked incredible on the night, donning an intricate red gown with floral fringe detailing and a daring slit.

She was awarded the best afrobeats gong for her track with Calm Down, and was visibly emotional as she told the crowd: ‘Thank you so much, Rema, for believing in me.

‘Thank you for choosing me to be part of an incredible song that has been able to break records.

‘Thank all of you for listening, for streaming, I could not be more honored. I want to send all my love to Nigeria.’

‘Africa in the house tonight!,’ Rema said, before thanking those who ‘opened the doors’ for him, including Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido.

‘I want to give big thanks to God, I want to give big thanks to my fans,’ he continued.

‘I want to give big thanks to my team. Big shout out to Selena, I love you from the bottom of my heart.

‘This means so much, seeing afrobeats grow this big and being here on this stage representing afrobeats tonight, I’m so happy.’

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WWE has confirmed the 2024 Royal Rumble is coming to Tampa Bay, Florida in January.

The wrestling giant – which is now officially part of TKO following a $21 billion merger with UFC – will hold a weekend of events across St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa.

On Saturday, January 27 the 37th Royal Rumble event will take place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with Monday Night Raw hailing from Tampa’s Amalie Arena two days later.

This will mark the first time the Royal Rumble will be held in Tampa Bay in front of a live crowd since 1995.

‘Tampa Bay has long been a terrific market for WWE,’ said WWE Executive Vice President of Live Events John Porco. ‘Thanks to our partners at the Tampa Bay Rays, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, we look forward to a fantastic schedule of events in January.’

Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman added: ‘We are excited to welcome WWE back to Tropicana Field for the 2024 Royal Rumble.

‘The Royal Rumble will provide first-class sports entertainment to both those seeing the action in person and watching as part of a worldwide television audience.

‘This event will bring visitors from around the globe to experience the beauty of our area and all it has to offer.’

‘Team Tampa Bay loved hosting WrestleMania 37 two years ago and we’re now beyond excited to have the opportunity to collaborate again with our longtime friends at WWE,’ commented Rob Higgins, Tampa Bay Sports Commission Executive Director.

The event will be headlined by the 30-man and 30-woman Royal Rumble matches, with the winners of both earning a championship match at WrestleMania 40.

The announcement comes after this year’s record-setting Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Texas, which saw Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley with their respective matches.

The event became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-viewed Rumble in history, setting an all-time gate record at more than $7.7 million, more than doubling the previous Royal Rumble high in 2017.

WWE Royal Rumble 2024 tickets information

WWE has confirmed that ‘more information on the ticket on-sale’ will be revealed ‘in the coming weeks’.

To learn more about registering for pre-sale opportunities, fans can visit: https://www.wwe.com/royalrumble-2024-presale.

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Katherine Ryan was supported by the British Transport Police after revealing that her 14-year-old daughter was sexually harassed on the tube last month.

In August, the 40-year-old comedian spoke frankly about the unwanted male attention her teenage daughter Violet gets when she’s out and about.

Doting mum Katherine explained that during a recent day out, Violet and her 16-year-old cousin were ‘sexually harassed by grown men everywhere they went’.

She also detailed one particularly disturbing moment in which her daughter and niece were filmed riding public transport.

Chatting to Metro.co.uk this week, Katherine confirmed Lucy D’Orsi, the Chief Constable of British Transport Police, had reached out about the incident.

‘They take this very seriously. They were hot on it,’ the star shared.

She then read out the following message from Lucy: ‘I’m the Chief Constable of British Transport Police.

‘I listened to your podcast where you talked about Violet and her cousin’s dreadful experience in London. That was completely unacceptable. I have responsibility for policing the tube and trains.’

Reading aloud, Katherine continued: ‘If you’ve not reported this already, please do so. I’m trying to encourage young women and girls to report unwanted behaviour.

‘The behaviour you describe can escalate into more serious violence. We take a zero-tolerance policy, happy to chat.’

The TV star then noted: ‘They reached out right away. I feel a lot better about my daughter travelling on the underground when I know it’s policed by [someone like] Lucy.’

Speaking on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast, Katherine said last month: ‘There’s no mistaking Violet’s age. She’s 14, she has braces on her teeth. Anyone looking at these girls, no one is mistaking them for being adult women.

‘Maybe someone might hope that Lily’s 18, nevertheless, you’re a sick freak and you shouldn’t be chatting to teenage girls the way you are.’

Katherine was chatting to us this week about her new collaboration with Gousto.

The mum-of-three is the face of the recipe box company’s lip-smacking new campaign, The Dinner Show.

The Dinner Show celebrates film and TV’s most mouth-watering dishes, helping subscribers recreate scene-stealing snacks like *that* spaghetti dish from Lady and the Tramp and the Big Kahuna Burger (Pulp Fiction, anyone?) in the comfort of their own home.

With ingredients arriving straight on your doorstep and recipes starting at £2.99 a portion, it’s no wonder Katherine was raving about just how easy (and tasty) Gousto’s new campaign has made her life.

‘I’m a super fan of Gousto,’ raved Katherine.

‘We’ve been getting the recipe boxes for years and years.’

But what is it about The Dinner Show that Katherine loves so much?

‘My husband and I do this organically when we’re watching films and TV when everyone’s in bed.

‘Anytime I see something, like cannoli on The Sopranos, anything like that – even if it’s a cartoon – I just crave it straight away.

‘We’re always copying what we see, and that’s what The Dinner Show is all about.’

Katherine and her family have already settled on their favourite dishes, with her daughter loving the Upside Down umami grilled cheeseburger (based on, you guessed it, Stranger Things).

While we’re on the subject of teenagers and cooking, Katherine adds of Gousto: ‘I think it’s a brilliant way to prepare teenagers for adult life – cooking for themselves.

‘It teaches you what goes together and what doesn’t. Instinctively I’m a better chef.’

We’re sold.

Fans can join Gousto’s The Dinner Show community here.

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MORE : Laura Anderson suffered haemorrhage and lost 1.6 litres of blood during ‘horrendous’ childbirth

MORE : Inside Ariana Grande’s romance with rumoured boyfriend Ethan Slater amid claims they’re ‘living together’

Laura Anderson suffered a traumatic birth when welcoming her newborn daughter, including a dangerous haemorrhage.

The reality star, 34, and her ex, Hollyoaks star Gary Lucy, 41, welcomed their first child together in September, after first meeting on Celebs Go Dating.

Announcing baby girl Bonnie’s birth by saying she was ‘happy and in love,’ it was nevertheless a difficult experience for Laura, who previously revealed she was suffering from bruising and mastitis.

Now the Love Island star has gone into detail on the birth, bravely admitting it was ‘horrendous’ and at times ‘mentally torturous.’

She took to Instagram on Tuesday where she vegan by detailing getting ‘four sweeps’ to try and induce labour, before getting a painful balloon induction which left her unable to walk.

Eventually the TV star opted for the hormone induction, going into labour immediately – but the contractions lasted for 12 hours before she was finally four centimetres dilated and brought to the labour ward.

Laura said it was ‘mentally quite torturous’ to be in labour for so long with no pain relief – but things started moving too quickly after that, as reported by The Sun.

She explained that she began bleeding in the labour ward, and went from four to nine centimetres dilated in just an hour, using gas and air for pain relief – but it wouldn’t work as she was breathing in too quickly.

Despite the pain she was in, Laura admitted she felt ’embarrassed’ to be making too much noise or to be seen as ‘over dramatic,’ and continuously apologised, before eventually pleading for an epidural.

Unfortunately, at nine centimetres she was first told she was too far gone for an epidural to work and was offered different pain relief – but when none of them worked, she was eventually given the injection, which was ‘the best thing ever.’

‘So then I pushed her out, couldn’t feel anything,’ Laura regaled her followers.

‘They were like “push from your bum,” and I was like, “I can’t feel my bum.”‘

After safely welcoming Bonnie, Laura’s recovery was only just beginning, as she suffered a painful second-degree tear and required stitches.

‘Five hours later I had a haemorrhage,’ she revealed.

The incident happened while she was alone and trying to catch some sleep, when she ‘stood up and lost loads of blood.

‘Like loads of clots and I felt really, really faint. I couldn’t reach the buzzer and I don’t know if I shouted but someone came in.’

Recalling the terrifying experience, she went on: ‘I just stayed calm because I thought, “I’ve got everybody around me that needs to be here, doing everything they can.”

‘So I am a bit better in emergencies like that than like smaller things, if I stub my toe it’s the end of the world,’ she joked.

The new mum lost a total of 1.6 litres of blood, admitting it was ‘scary’ – but ‘it’s all worth it and I would do it again.’

That said, she had advice for any mums-to-be: ‘Don’t be the hero. Get the epidural at 4cm.’

Laura previously revealed some nasty bruises on her arm as she jokingly revealed the ‘glamorous life of post-partum.’

The Love Island star also said in her post that she’s desperate to catch up with her friends but there are ‘not enough hours in the day’.

It seems her family are also yet to visit, as she stated sadly that ‘everyone has Covid.’

As for other aspects of her health, Laura went on to share that she has mastitis ‘already’ and was picking up antibiotics to treat it.

Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue that sometimes involves an infection.

Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Laura for comment

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Laura Anderson reveals nasty bruises on arm after giving birth to baby girl

MORE : Laura Anderson and Gary Lucy welcome baby girl but reveal birth wasn’t easy and Love Island star was ‘hurt’

Ariana Grande and Wicked co-star Ethan Slater’s messy romance rumours have heated up as they’re said to be living together in New York City.

The 30-year-old has been keeping her love life incredibly quiet amid rumours she’s dating the Spongebob actor.

The explosive rumours began days after Ariana split from her husband Dalton Gomez, 28, who she wed back in 2021.

It’s now reported that Ariana and Dalton have taken the next step in their relationship by moving in together.

The rumoured couple are said to be living in an NYC apartment, according to the Daily Mail, with a source claiming: ‘It is just so strange that she is living with Ethan and has not filed documents to end it with Dalton.’

It’s said that Ethan needs to be in the city to prepare for his upcoming role in the Broadway production of Spamalot.

Wicked filming began in December 2022, with the Popular songstress portraying Glinda the good witch opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba.

Broadway star Ethan joined the cast as munchkin Boq, who tries to win Glinda’s affection while at school to no avail.

If rumours are to be believed, Ethan had better luck wooing Ariana than Boq did Glinda, as the pair were ‘all over’ each other at a party in March.

The 31-year-old was married to Lilly Jay and had just had a child with her last year when he was linked to the REM founder.

In late July, both Ariana and Ethan split from their respective partners, although nothing between them had been confirmed.

Lilly, Ethan’s wife, reportedly said the Problem singer was ‘not a girl’s girl’ having been on double dates together and added her family was ‘just collateral damage’.

By August, the Wicked pair were said to be taking some time ‘apart’ amid the rumours, with things heating up as claims emerged that they had been ‘sloppy’ on set.

Ethan made his Instagram page private amid the drama as fans noticed Ariana had been consistently liking his posts, including those with his family.

He returned to the platform with an announcement that he would be appearing on Broadway in Spamalot, which Ariana promptly liked.

The supposed couple haven’t been photographed together since the rumours emerged, opting to stay away from the spotlight.

According to People, the ‘entire situation has been blown out of proportion’ and isn’t as it was portrayed ‘in public’.

They added that the pair were ‘just trying to navigate their new relationship in private’ but reiterated that both were separated when they began seeing each other.

Neither has publicly commented on the rumours, with Ariana posting solely about her beauty business and music releases.

Metro has reached out to Ariana and Ethan’s representatives for comment.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

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