Category News

With Helen Flanagan’s new warts-and-all book months away from for the shelves, she has taken a poke at her ex Scott Sinclair – but that could be the least of his problems

View 3 Images

Scott Sinclair is bracing for Helen Flanagan’s new book after she gave him a little taste of what might be ahead.

The former Coronation Street star has announced she’s writing a no-holds-barred tell-all – and vowed to reveal all, with no “airbrushing” of what really happened in her life. That puts footballer Scott firmly in the firing line, especially after she offered a fresh poke this weekend.

Scott and Helen, who share three children Matilda, 10, Delilah, seven, and Charlie, appeared to be keeping things friendly. The pair separated in 2022 after 13 years together and had been co-parenting under the same roof earlier this year – despite the actress previously claiming they “don’t like each other”.

READ MORE: Helen Flanagan surprises fans with adorable snap with ‘grown up’ daughterREAD MORE: ‘I’m a wine connoisseur and this wine advent calendar is the best I’ve found’

View 3 Images

View 3 Images

She made a fresh dig on Sunday when she shared a post from @pettycoparenting101 which read: “You can’t just go around calling your kids’ dad a b*****” – it was paired with a meme of rap star Usher putting a knowing face. It left fans wondering if the pair had fallen out again.

Last year, it was revealed Scott was dating an old family friend, Lauren Davies, 34, and had been for “several months”. During a rocky few years, Scott even blocked Helen’s number – but the pair managed to put their differences aside in March, when they came together to celebrate son Charlie’s fourth birthday.

“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we still end up telling each other to f**k off. But we’ve managed to keep things quite nice and we’ve been fair to each other,” Helen said in April. “It’s helped that our families get on and I have a good relationship with his mum.”

Helen’s new book was announced last week and will hit shelves in January. It’s available to pre-order now. She says it’s vital for her to show the person she really is – not the one we first saw on our screens as the 10-year-old face of Weatherfield’s Rosie Webster.

“I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been hurt and I’ve had to rebuild from rock bottom, but I’ve also learned, grown and come out the other side a better, stronger person,” she said. “Telling my truth meant no hiding – no glossing over or airbrushing.” The actress joined Corrie as Rosie in 2000 and stayed for 12 years, before going on to become a lads’ mag favourite in the early 2010s and has never left the limelight since.

Now diagnosed with ADHD, Helen, who lives in Bolton, has also faced money troubles and, earlier this year, was banned from driving for six months after twice failing to disclose the identity of the person behind the wheel of her car when it was caught speeding.

The book is one of the latest releases from Mirror Books, following the likes of Amanda Barrie’s I’m Still Here and EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison’s Behind the Scenes, which were both released last month. Helen will detail the highs and lows of her life in the spotlight – and it’s put her exs on red alert.

Mirror Books Commissioning Editor Clare Fitzsimons says: “Helen Flanagan has grown up in the public eye, having played Rosie in Corrie for 12 years, and documents her life to her million-plus followers on Instagram.

“But for the first time, Helen will share her full, unedited story, from truly difficult struggles to fighting back for her beautiful family. We’re thrilled to be releasing Helen’s powerful, frank and moving memoir.”

Prince Harry’s potential reconciliation with his estranged father, King Charles, after their long-awaited meeting last month, could be at risk following a move by the Duke of Sussex

View 3 Images

Prince Harry’s latest move concerning his UK security risks derailing any reconciliation with King Charles as it “complicates things”, according to a source.

An insider close to the Duke of Sussex said that he wrote to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood shortly after her appointment to the role and submitted a formal request for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), overseen by the Home Office. It comes after Harry lost an appeal in May challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of Ravec that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.

READ MORE: King Charles makes major announcement on historic event happening in just weeksREAD MORE: Prince Harry’s weakness exposed as he ‘learns hard lesson’ in latest crushing blow

View 3 Images

He is not automatically entitled to police protection since he quit his royal role and currently receives ‘bespoke’ protection on a case-by-case basis.

But now a source has told The Sunday Times that his letter to Ms Mahmood, will make the King ‘wary’ of speaking to his younger son, saying: “It’s not going to help matters. We’re back to where we were.”

Last month, Harry and Charles had their first face-to-face meeting in almost 20 months when father and son had tea together at Clarence House during Harry’s trip to the UK.

Sources close to Harry had previously suggested that the King could have intervened in the case, but palace sources have shut this down.

The Sunday Times reports that the King and his advisers had hoped the Court of Appeal ruling would draw a line under the issue – and help get his relationship with Harry back on track. But following this latest move, a source added: “The King cannot and will not lobby, that’s inappropriate. His representatives cannot advocate for policy outcomes, particularly in relation to his own family.

“The royal household representative on the Royal and VIP executive committee [Ravec], overseen by the Home Office, is not there to advocate a position for a member of the royal family. They are purely there as a liaison to the household.

View 3 Images

“If you put yourself in the mind of a father who is repeatedly told he should and could intervene, that is not very helpful, complicates matters and shows a lack of understanding about the reality of the situation.”

It comes after during Harry’s last visit to the UK in September, a “known stalker” came “within feet” of him on two occasions, it was reported. A source close to Harry said the duke’s letter to Ms Mahmood was sent prior to the two incidents during his September visit.

After losing the Court of Appeal challenge in May, Harry said in a TV interview he “can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK”.

The 41-year-old told the BBC he would ask then-home secretary Yvette Cooper to “look at this very, very carefully”, and warned that the royal family’s power over security means it “can be used to control” family members. He also said he would ask Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “step in”.

The legal challenge came after Harry and the Duchess of Sussex left the UK and first moved to Canada, and then California, after announcing they wanted to step back as senior royals.

In a summary of the ruling, judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said Ravec’s decision was “understandable and perhaps predictable”. The duke said the Court of Appeal decision meant it is now “impossible” for him to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet back to the UK safely.

A Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”

Watching The Inbetweeners made me feel better about being an blundering teen in the 2010s – now that it’s set to make a comeback I hope the show sticks to its relatable roots

View 3 Images

For a socially maligned teenager growing up in the early 2010s, The Inbetweeners was the ultimate equal-parts comic and cathartic watch – now I can only hope its comeback can do it justice.

Debuting on E4 in 2008, the dry irreverent comedy quickly gained a cult following due to its realistic depiction of the misadventures of an unpopular group of British school friends. It smashed ratings records and became a cultural institution, which means it’s probably little surprise that the award-winning series might be returning.

Banijay UK and Fudge Park Productions, the company founded by show creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, have struck an agreement which they say “paves the way for the return of the hit comedy title.” However, what exactly this will look like, they haven’t said – though they have suggested it will still revolve around the original characters.

READ MORE: Jane Austen has audiobook revival as ‘yearning’ becomes the hottest dating trendREAD MORE: Sims 4 fans concerned over future of LGBTQ+ representation after EA buyout

View 3 Images

As a massive fan who still quotes the show over 10 years later (“bus w**kers”, anyone?) and who felt bereft when its third season ended, I’m absolutely excited. My only ask is that the franchise doesn’t lose the relatable edge that allowed disjointed teenagers like myself to see themselves in it.

I first discovered The Inbetweeners at 14 years old, when I was condemned to spend the summer stuck in a temporary home out in the sticks of Ireland. It was my twelfth time moving house (which comes with moving countries several times) and I was about an hour away from any form of transport that might let me see my friends.

I was bored, isolated and the WIFI barely worked – just enough that if I angled my laptop just right I could stream the show that would become the awkward symphony to my cringey teenage life.

For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror’s Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox.

As a chronic new kid, I related right from episode one. The show follows the story of Will, a bespectacled socially unaware posh kid who is forced to move from his private school to a public one in the suburbs. After getting shoved around in the hallways for a bit, he manages to get himself adopted by the school’s ‘inbetweeners’, hapless friends Jay, Simon and Neill, who haven’t quite managed to land themselves in popular circles.

While thankfully I hadn’t been put through some of Will’s worse tribulations (getting photographed by school bullies while on the toilet), there was something about watching a blundering character free-float in an unfamiliar social eco-system that resonated deeply. His painful attempts to make friends and obliviousness to his own ‘uncoolness’ were deeply cringe, but also all-too understandable.

But that is the beauty of the show. No matter what your school experience was like – whether you had an unreciprocated crush or embarrassing parents or you did bizarre things to impress your mates – there isn’t a quintessential teenage gaffe that The Inbetweeners hasn’t managed to capture.

View 3 Images

Plus, unlike stereotypical high school movies, where bullies ruthlessly harass nerds for their lunch money, in The Inbetweeners, you can see how, often, the ‘losers’ kind of ostracize themselves.

Doubtless to say, much of its success comes from the show’s authenticity. In an interview with the iPaper, Iain Morris, the show’s writer, admitted that three of the main characters are based on him and co-writer Damon Beesley as teenagers, while several scenes in the show emulate real situations they both ended up in.

Morris said: “Ultimately I suppose The Inbetweeners made all the failure and embarrassment worthwhile. If we hadn’t written the show it would have been a very tragic but funny life, but an undocumented one. And the same goes for Damon, who I should point out also has a lot of his life failures in the show.”

In a way, The Inbetweeners has become a document for my own teenage experiences. I remember cry-laughing with my laptop held up to the ceiling as Will excreted himself in an exam hall after drinking too many energy drinks (“I thought it was safe sir”). The show made me feel like I wasn’t alone in my own teenage cringe – after all, no matter what, it’s hard to top that.

All I can say is I hope Iain and Damon still have some hysterical memories to draw on for their potential new series.