Netflix actress Mia McKenna-Bruce hared her quirky audition technique while announcing the 2026 nominees for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award.
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Mia McKenna-Bruce, who leads the cast of the new murder mystery series Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials on Netflix, has revealed the unusual method that landed her breakthrough role.
The 28-year-old actress announced the nominees for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award at The Savoy hotel in London, having previously won the accolade in 2024 for her performance in How To Have Sex.
British nominees Posy Sterling, Archie Madekwe and Robert Aramayo were all in attendance at the ceremony, whilst American nominees Chase Infiniti and Miles Caton were unable to make it.
During a Q&A attended by Reach Screen Time and other media outlets, Mia revealed her unconventional approach during her audition for the role of Tara in 2023’s How To Have Sex.
The drama brought her widespread acclaim, securing her a British Independent Film Award alongside the BAFTA Rising Star Award, reports the Express.
When co-host Ali Plumb asked about her most memorable audition experience, Mia responded: “I think it’s going to have to be How To Have Sex.”
Drawing parallels with Posy’s portrayal of Molly Brown in 2024’s Lollipop, she explained: “A lot of it was improv and having to act drunk. So it’s like, ‘Ok, that’s a really hard thing to do.’
“So it was like, ‘Ok, how do I be drunk?’ And I figured, if I just spin around in a circle loads…” she added, prompting laughter from the audience.
“Then that makes you feel dizzy. Yeah, I find it’s a really good way to play drunk because it makes you dizzy and you kind of go ‘woah’ and your voice kind of goes a bit funny because you’re dizzy…
“So I spent a lot of time spinning around in a circle in the audition room hoping that I’d get the job!”
How To Have Sex, which boasts an impressive 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, tells a coming-of-age tale exploring female adolescence.
The synopsis states: “Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday — drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.”
Fast forward three years, and Mia now stars as Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent in Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, adapted from the author’s mystery novel of the same name, which debuts on Netflix today.
The stellar cast also includes Harry Potter legend Helena Bonham Carter, Sherlock’s Martin Freeman and fellow BAFTA Rising Star Award nominee Nabhaan Rizwan.
Netflix describes the new series: “England. 1925. At a lavish country house party, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly, murderously wrong. It will be up to the unlikeliest of sleuths – the fizzingly inquisitive Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent – to unravel a chilling plot that will change her life, cracking wide open the country house mystery.
“A witty, epic and fast-paced drama from the Queen Of Crime, Agatha Christie, is brought to life in a thrilling new version for Netflix.”
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Voting is now open via ee.co.uk/BAFTA and across EE social channels, with audiences also able to cast their vote on WhatsApp.
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials will arrive on Netflix on January 15.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a state of emergency is being declared for Ukraine’s energy sector, as repeated Russian attacks have left thousands of homes without heat and electricity amid freezing winter conditions.
Zelenskyy’s announcement came as temperatures dropped to -19 degrees Celsius (-2.2 Fahrenheit) in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, where hundreds of apartment buildings remain without heat following a massive Russian attack last week.
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“The consequences of Russian strikes and deteriorating weather conditions are severe,” said Zelenskyy in a post on X late on Wednesday, adding that “repair crews, energy companies, municipal services, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine continue to work around the clock to restore electricity and heating”.
Zelenskyy also said he had asked his government to review curfew restrictions during “this extremely cold weather” and that the country was working to increase its electricity imports to try to alleviate the dire situation.
In Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, 471 apartment buildings remained without heat on Wednesday, almost a week after a Russian attack left thousands of apartments without heat, electricity and water, according to city officials.
Electricians carry out emergency repairs on a power pole after a transformer burned out due to a voltage surge caused by regular Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Wednesday [Dan Bashakov/AP Photo]
The attack, which began last Thursday night, prompted Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko to urge people to leave the city, saying that “half of apartment buildings in Kyiv – nearly 6,000 – are currently without heating because the capital’s critical infrastructure was damaged by the enemy’s massive attack”.
Energy supply has been a frequent target during Russia’s war on Ukraine, with Moscow and Kyiv launching attacks on oil refineries, gas pipelines, pumping stations and nuclear and thermal power stations, which are powered by coal, oil and gas.
Russian-appointed local official Yevhen Balitsky said on Telegram on Wednesday that a Ukrainian attack had left more than 3,000 people without electricity in Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhia.
A screen displays a temperature of -14C in Kyiv on Wednesday [Sergei Gapon/AFP]
Black Sea attacks
The frequent attacks on energy supply during Russia’s war with Ukraine have also expanded beyond both countries’ borders, including to oil tankers in the Black Sea.
In recent months, a number of oil tankers have come under attack from drones in the Black Sea, prompting concerns from neighbouring countries, including Turkiye and Kazakhstan.
On Tuesday, drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea, chartered by United States oil giant Chevron, according to the companies involved. The ships were sailing towards a terminal on the Russian coast, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday blaming the attacks on Ukraine, which had yet to publicly comment.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that three oil tankers were hit in the attack and that they were heading to a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, where an oil pipeline from the central Asian country ends.
The ministry urged the US and Europe to help secure the transport of oil.
The latest instalment in the beloved apocalyptic horror franchise 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is released on January 14 in the UK, and January 16 in the USA. It picks up after the previous film, 28 Years Later
Everything you need to know before watching 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is part of the famous franchise but feels like more of a sequel to the 2025 blockbuster. For that reason, you should know a little about the previous film before watching this one. With that being said, here’s the all important context you need to know…
This film was shot back to back with the previous instalment, 28 Years Later, which was released in 2025 and fronted by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and newcomer Alfie Williams. The latter two will reprise their roles in The Bone Temple.
28 Years Later focused on Williams’ character, Spike, a young boy living in an isolated, post-apocalyptic world with his parents. The British isles have been placed under indefinite quarantine after the outbreak of the so-called Rage Virus, which turns people into mindless, aggressive killers.
Spike and his family live among a community on Lindisfarne, an island which is naturally defended from the rest of Great Britain by a causeway which floods with the tide. As part of a coming-of-age rite of passage, Spike is led inland with his father, Jamie (Taylor-Johnson) to kill an infected but they end up stranded by a group who are led by an ‘Alpha’, a stronger and more intelligent “infected”.
When they make their way home, Spike is disappointed when his father embellishes their exploits. Upon later discovering his father is having an affair, he takes off with his sick mother Isla (Comer) to track down an eccentric GP living in the wilderness (Fiennes).
Unfortunately, Dr Kelson deduces Isla is suffering from incurable brain cancer – and she wishes to be euthanised. Spike remains disillusioned and isn’t ready to go home, choosing to stay on the mainland where he encounters a gang – styled after Jimmy Savile – who manages to creatively kill an infected.
The new film also stars Jack O’Connell – playing gang leader Jimmy in the final scenes of 28 Years Later – as well as Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry. Cillian Murphy is returning to his role as Jim from the first film, 28 Days Later, which was released in 2002.
READ MORE: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple trailer’s chilling voiceover and where it’s from
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Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez has pledged to continue releasing prisoners detained under the presidency of Nicolas Maduro and described her first phone call with United States President Donald Trump since Maduro’s abduction by US forces as positive.
Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, said on Wednesday that she had a long, productive and courteous phone call with the US president, in which the two discussed a bilateral agenda that would benefit both countries.
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Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said the two discussed oil, minerals, trade and national security, describing how “this partnership” between the US and Venezuela would be “spectacular”.
“I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump said at the White House after the lengthy call, describing Rodriguez as a “terrific person”, adding that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also been in touch with the acting president.
Trump’s praise of Rodriguez follows after President Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were abducted by the US military in an attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on January 3. Maduro and Flores are now being held in prison in the US.
Trump said last week that a second wave of US attacks on Venezuela had been cancelled amid “cooperation” from leaders in Caracas, including the release of a large number of prisoners as a sign of “seeking peace” with Washington.
Earlier on Wednesday, during her first media briefing since Maduro’s abduction, Rodriguez said Venezuela was entering a “new political moment” and the process of releasing detainees “has not yet concluded”.
“This opportunity is for Venezuela and for the people of Venezuela to be able to see reflected a new moment where coexistence, where living together, where recognition of the other allows building and erecting a new spirituality,” Rodriguez said in her address.
Flanked by her brother and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the acting president also pledged “strict” enforcement of the law and credited Maduro with already initiating the release of prisoners.
“Messages of hatred, intolerance, acts of violence will not be permitted,” Rodriguez said.
The renewed promise to continue freeing prisoners followed after Jorge Rodriguez announced in parliament on Tuesday that more than 400 detainees had been freed recently.
While Venezuelan authorities deny that they hold political prisoners, the release of people held for political reasons in Venezuela has been a long-running call of rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures.
Rights groups in recent days have criticised the slow release of prisoners by the post-Maduro leadership.
Trump is scheduled to meet on Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House, their first in-person meeting since the abduction of Maduro.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in China for a visit that comes at a pivotal moment in relations between the two countries.
Carney, the first Canadian leader to visit China since 2017, is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
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Relations between Canada and China plunged into a deep freeze after Canadian authorities arrested a key official of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei as she was transitioning through the Vancouver international airport in December 2018.
China retaliated against the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, which was carried out at the request of authorities in the United States, by detaining two Canadians.
Relations have continued to face challenges.
In 2024, Ottawa, following a line set by Washington, slapped Chinese electric vehicles with 100 percent tariffs, prompting Beijing to impose tariffs on certain Canadian agricultural goods, including canola.
Ottawa has also accused China of political interference.
Against that backdrop, Carney’s visit “marks a recalibration and change in tone and signals Canada’s desire to improve relations”, said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
“This is probably Prime Minister Carney’s second-most challenging trip after his first visit to the White House,” Nadjibulla told Al Jazeera.
Carney is keen to diversify the Canadian economy and reduce its dependence on the US, the destination for nearly 80 percent of Canadian exports.
While Canada has historically been among the US’s closest allies, the relationship has gone south since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump has slapped Canada with a 35 percent across-the-board tariff and separate duties on steel, aluminium and lumber, while repeatedly threatening to make the country the 51st US state.
Carney has travelled extensively, including to the European Union and the Gulf – he heads to Qatar after Beijing – to find new markets and investors for the economy. The Canadian leader has said he wants to double Canada’s non-US trade in the next decade.
In a first step towards a thaw with China, Carney met Xi in South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in October.
“The Prime Minister is being pragmatic, and his trip will focus on specific economic deals – selling Canadian energy and agriculture products,” Nadjibulla said, adding that she did not expect to see the full lifting of tariffs between the sides.
The trip, as a review of the trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, is under way. The USMCA has allowed Canadian and Mexican goods that are covered under the agreement to enter the US tariff-free.
In Canada’s case, that means about 86 percent of US imports from Canada and Mexico are compliant, making the effective tariff rate on Canadian goods about 6 percent, Tony Stillo, director of Canada Economics at Oxford Economics, said in a note on Wednesday.
While Canada clearly would benefit from USMCA continuing, Trump, as recently as Tuesday, said the trade agreement was “irrelevant” to the US.
But if an agreement to extend or modify the USMCA is not reached, it will enter a period of mandatory annual reviews until 2036, after which it would expire, resulting in a “prolonged period of trade policy uncertainty”, Stillo said.
“If the North American trade agreement eventually disintegrates, the three parties could return to bilateral trade agreements to maintain market access to one another, but this would impose costs on North American trade and investments.”
‘Political and narrative win’
While Carney is keenly aware of the stakes, the visit holds significance for China, too.
Beijing is not only on the lookout for new export markets and the removal of trade restrictions, such as the electric vehicle tariff, but a “political and narrative win” as well, Nadjibulla said.
China has often criticised Canada for following the US too closely and will portray Carney’s visit, and any policy changes that may follow, as Ottawa “trying to correct mistakes of the past,” she said.
Beijing’s ultimate hope would be compliance from Canada on sensitive issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Earlier this week, two Canadian MPs from Carney’s Liberal Party wrapped up a visit to self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, ahead of schedule on the advice of the government.
The lawmakers cited the need to avoid “confusion” in Canada’s foreign policy ahead of Carney’s visit.
United States Vice President JD Vance has cast the tie-breaking vote to defeat a war powers resolution that would have forced President Donald Trump to seek Congress’s approval before taking any further military action in Venezuela.
The Senate’s session on Wednesday evening came to a nail-biting conclusion, as the fate of the resolution ended up resting on the shoulders of two Republican politicians.
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Senators Todd Young of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri had voted last week, as part of a group of five breakaway Republicans, to put the resolution to a full Senate vote. With unanimous support from Democrats, the measure advanced with 52 votes in favour, 47 against.
But supporters of the resolution could only afford to lose one vote in order to secure the bill’s passage. By Wednesday, it had lost two: both Young and Hawley.
The final vote was evenly split, 50 to 50, allowing Vance to act as tie-breaker and defeat the resolution.
Hawley signalled early in the day that he had decided to withdraw his support. But Young was a wild card until shortly before the final vote took place.
“After numerous conversations with senior national security officials, I have received assurances that there are no American troops in Venezuela,” Young wrote on social media.
“I’ve also received a commitment that if President Trump were to determine American forces are needed in major military operations in Venezuela, the Administration will come to Congress in advance to ask for an authorization of force.”
Young also shared a letter, dated Wednesday, from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, offering lukewarm assurances that Congress would be notified ahead of any future military action in Venezuela.
“Should the President determine that he needs to introduce US Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operation in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorizations in advance (circumstances permitting),” Rubio wrote.
Josh Hawley signalled early on Wednesday that he would not vote to pass the war powers resolution in the Senate [File: J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]
Legal questions about the Venezuela attack
The latest war powers resolution arrived in response to a surprise announcement on January 3 that Trump had launched military action to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Explosions were reported in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and nearby military bases, and Trump appeared in a broadcast hours later to announce that the US had abducted Maduro and transported him to the US to face criminal trial.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also captured as part of the operation.
Two US service members were injured in the attack, and as many as 80 people in Venezuela were killed, including Cuban security personnel involved in guarding Maduro.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said in his speech announcing the attack.
He and Rubio then fielded questions about whether Congress had been notified about the operation. They acknowledged they did not notify lawmakers in advance.
“This was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on,” Rubio said. “It was a trigger-based mission.”
Trump, meanwhile, argued that congressional notification had been a liability to the mission’s security. “Congress will leak, and we don’t want leakers,” he said.
Normally, the US Constitution divides up military authority between the legislative and executive branches. While the president is considered the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, only Congress has the power to declare war and authorise military action.
But that division of power has become gradually eroded, as the executive branch has exercised greater authority over the military.
In recent decades, presidents have often justified unilateral military action by referring to authorisations of military force (AUMFs) approved by Congress in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001.
But military action in Venezuela falls outside of the purview of those authorisations, raising questions about the legal justification for the January attack.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice published a 22-page memo it originally wrote in December to justify the forthcoming attack. That memo argued that, since Maduro’s abduction was an act of “law enforcement”, it fell short of the legal threshold that would have required congressional approval.
In addition, the document asserted that, since the planned military operation was not expected to trigger a war, it also landed outside of Congress’s powers.
“The law does not permit the President to order troops into Venezuela without congressional authorization if he knows it will result in a war,” the memo explained. “As of December 22, 2025, we have not received facts indicating it will.”
Senator Todd Young said he had received assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the executive branch would communicate to Congress about further military actions [File: Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
A Republican breakaway
But not every Republican agreed with that explanation, and several sought to claw back Congress’s power to oversee US military action.
They included senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine, all seen as pivotal swing votes in Congress’s upper chamber.
Young and Hawley joined the three rogue Republicans for an initial vote to advance the war powers resolution on January 8. But afterwards, all five came under acute pressure to switch sides and rejoin the Republican caucus for the final vote.
President Trump, in particular, denounced the five Republicans on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” he wrote in a post.
“This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief.”
Reports emerged that Trump even called some of the senators in advance of Wednesday’s vote, in an effort to gain their support. But the publication The Hill indicated that Trump’s conversation with Collins devolved into a “profanity-laced rant”.
Paul, another Republican who has courted Trump’s ire, was among the senators to speak before Wednesday’s final vote.
He defended his decision to back the war powers resolution, calling his vote a necessary act to uphold the Constitution’s separation of powers.
“This isn’t really and shouldn’t be Republican versus Democrat. This should be legislative prerogative versus presidential prerogative, and it should be about the Constitution,” Paul said.
“The Constitution — specifically, thoughtfully — vested the power of initiating war and declaring war to Congress,” he added.
“The spectrum of our founding fathers concluded they didn’t want the president to have this power.”
Risking Trump’s ire comes at a higher cost for some Republicans than others. Of the three Republicans who joined Democrats on Wednesday to vote for the war powers resolution, only one is up for re-election this year in the US midterm races: Collins.
