Archive May 14, 2025

The Duke is all but estranged from the Royal Family – and his decision to give another bombshell interview has once again highlighted one of their major concerns

Prince Harry recently spoke of his desire to make amends with his family – but his decision to give yet another bombshell interview has only served to widen the gulf, an insider has revealed.

Harry has come under fire for remarks he made to the BBC, in which he divulged: “I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.” He also suggested the King could have changed the outcome of his security case, claiming it felt like an “establishment stitch up”.

Now an insider has revealed why a reconciliation with the royals is unlikely to happen. “There is zero trust,” the source told HELLO!. “The family feels that private conversations with Harry are not possible.”

READ MORE: Prince Harry’s ‘shock over going too far’ with King bombshell as he ‘faces consequences’

A former friend added. “He needs the world to forgive him. His family have never bent on their stance, which is that he should not take up issues in public.

Even a source sympathetic to the Duke, told the publication: “It’s taken its toll. He sees things everywhere, he picks battles with everybody and that’s tiring. You can’t live in permanent battle mode. You’re a 40-year-old man. You’ve got to stop fighting the world.”

Harry spoke to the BBC shortly after losing his legal challenge with the Home Office over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to when in the UK. Buckingham Palace released a rare statement after the interview: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Harry said: “I don’t know how much longer my father has – he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.”

READ MORE: Prince Harry’s friends left ‘disgusted’ by comments on King Charles’ health

He added that “some members of my family will never forgive me” for writing his memoir Spare, and went on to say: “It would be nice to have that reconciliation part now. If they don’t want that, that’s entirely up to them.”

Harry further described his court defeat as a “good old-fashioned establishment stitch up” and blamed the Royal Household for influencing the decision to reduce his security.

His approach has once again been criticised by experts. David Yelland, a former newspaper editor and current public relations advisor, has since pinpointed three key errors made by the Duke in the interview.

Firstly, he noted that Harry “went in hot”, saying: “You never go into an interview hot with your blood up. You have to be cool, and he wasn’t cool. You can see it in his body language and what he said.”

Secondly, Mr Yelland pointed out that the Duke “was not prepared because he thought he was going to win” the case. “And then the third mistake, which he made probably because he was angry and he did expect to win, is that he volunteered what has become an uncontrollable global news story,” he said, referring to speculation prompted by Harry about the King’s health. “This interview didn’t need to be like this,” Mr Yelland told the Express. “It could have been so much better, or maybe it didn’t need to happen at all, now.”

READ MORE: Prince William’s friend gives brutal verdict on Prince Harry after BBC interview

Harry and Meghan relocated to California in 2020 after stepping back from their roles as senior working royals. The couple has since built a new life in Montecito, California, with their children. But Harry has continued to fight a legal battle over the loss of publicly funded police protection when he visits the U.K. — a decision made by the government’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) following his royal exit.

Hollyoaks is now aimed at everyone, but back in the day it revolved around a core cast of seven teenage characters – and those teens are now all grown up and have very different lives

Back when Hollyoaks first hit screens on Channel 4 in 1995, it made an instant impression on viewers. In contrast to other soaps, the show was aimed at teens and young adults – with all the drama that goes with the age group.

Hollyoaks instantly dived into the world of its young cast, and was even criticised for the amount of drinking shown on screen as its college student crew unveiled a world of partying and love triangles in Chester. At the same time, the show was praised for tackling hard storylines, including drug addiction, murder, and mental health issues.

In contrast to its huge cast now, Hollyoaks kicked off with just 15 faces to follow, seven of whom were teens leading the story. Many of the attractive bunch became household names as the soap racked up plenty of awards, but while some have risen in the world of showbiz, others have taken unbelievably different paths. Here’s a look at what the original seven are doing today, 30 years after making history…

Will Mellor

Laid back Jack-the-Lad Jambo was one of the most popular original characters in the soap, which actor Will joined when he was 19. The star appeared in the show for three years before moving to Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps in 2001.

Will is now 49, and remains a successful actor. The Yorkshire native has starred in major hits such as Broadchurch and Line of Duty – proving he can do drama just as well as soaps and sitcoms. In 2021, he also joined Coronation Street as drugs gangster Harvey Gaskell, spending nearly two years in the role. Most recently, he worked on the show Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and also snagged a role in The Teacher.

Away from acting, Will switched things up with a stint on Strictly Come Dancing, finishing 11th in 2022. He’s also the co-host of Will & Ralf Should Know Better, which sees him and his Two Pints of Lager co-star Ralf Little travelling around and undertaking hilarious new activities.

Despite moving on, Will – who shares children Jayden and Renee with dancer Michelle McSween – made it clear that he still loves his past on the soap. Earlier this year, he admitted: “I am so grateful to Hollyoaks. I’ll always be in debt to that show. It was the show that changed my life.”

Nick Pickard

Nick has played Tony Hutchinson since Hollyoaks began, with his character experiencing testicular cancer and being stabbed and held hostage by serial killer Breda McQueen during that time. In 2017, the actor won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Nick, 49, originally only signed up for 26 episodes on the soap, but told Digital Spy he hopes it goes on for ‘as long as it can’. “I love the show and love the people more than anything – they’re like my family,” he said.

In 2023, the star joined the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, calling the opportunity to enter the jungle an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. He was the fourth campmate to be voted out, with the reality contest won by Made In Chelsea’s Sam Thompson.

Nick enjoyed a year long relationship with his former Hollyoaks co-star Joanna Taylor, who played Geri Hudson, back in 2001. He is now in a long term relationship with girlfriend Sarah Corrin with a grown up daughter, Ellie.

Jeremy Edwards

Like Will, Jeremy played his character Kurt Benson for three years, which saw the wannabe rock star experience a turbulent love life and a long-running feud with villain Rob Hawthorne. Later on, heartbroken viewers believed Kurt had been killed in a jet ski accident abroad, but the character had actually been on the run – and in 2020 he returned to the village on his motorbike, leaving his pal Tony reeling in shock.

Actor Jeremy said the pandemic had made his show comeback after 21 years difficult. “I was supposed to be there for six months to a year but Covid impacted that massively,” he said. “There was so many restrictions with filming that I couldn’t go near anyone and I only had one storyline.”

After his original stint on the show, Jeremy played student nurse Danny Shaughnessy in Holby City and appeared on reality shows including The X Factor: Celebrity, and Celebrity Big Brother. The actor was engaged to S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens but married Lydia Metz in 2009, going onto have children Scarlett and Theodore.

Acting jobs drying up in lockdown saw the 54-year-old parting ways with his agent and he is now working as a drama teacher, saying he ‘never enjoyed being famous’. “There are so many reasons why you can be out of work and I thought, this is so unpredictable and I have a family,” he told The Sun. “I thought I’ve got thirty years of experience here, what am I doing?”

Lisa Williamson

Dawn was the first member of the long-running Cunningham family to appear on Hollyoaks and was at the centre of many hard-hitting storylines, including an unwanted teenage pregnancy after sleeping with her best friend Ruth’s dad Jack. Actress Lisa appeared on the show for two years and went onto star in Dream Team and Siren’s Bay.

After years on screen, the performer turned largely to voice acting on commercial adverts, and also started a career as a very successful published author too. Her debut novel The Art of Being Normal was a bestseller which won the 2017 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for best older fiction.

Shebah Ronay

Described as the Hollyoaks poster girl, Natasha Anderson was the first character to die in the show when her drink was spiked with an ecstasy pill. The storyline came a year after the real-life death of Leah Betts, who died after taking ecstasy on her 18th birthday.

Shebah, 53, went onto appear in 1998 film Things We Do for Love before moving to a career in modelling, presenting, and journalism. She is married to artist Jonathan Yeo, with whom she shares two children, and often acts as muse for her husband’s artworks.

Yasmin Bannerman

Restaurant owner Maddie Parker was a background character for two years before an intense storyline involving her stalker ex propelled her to the forefront. Yasmin left the show after two years, and has racked up plenty of other acting credits since then.

The star’s first role after leaving the soap was in Red Dwarf, followed by a recurring role as Jessica in the cult series Cold Feet, in which her character had an affair with married posh financier David. She also snagged a main role in Merseybeat.

Since then, Jessica has appeared in episodes of several shows, including Doctor Who, Torchwood, Holby City, and Life on Mars. Her last role was in Casualty in 2009, suggesting she might now be done with acting for good.

Brett O’Brien

Free-loving Louise Taylor was Dawn and Natasha’s best friend, claiming to see the latter’s ghost after her passing. The short lived character left Hollyoaks after just eight months when she fell in love with hippy traveller Tree.

James Argent, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, was arrested and taken into custody by the Spanish Civil Guard in Costa del Sol on suspicion of domestic violence on May 5

James Argent recently said he was ‘happy’ in his relationship while discussing girlfriend Nicoline Artursson weeks before allegedly attacking her in Spain. The reality star, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, was arrested and taken into custody by the Spanish Civil Guard in Costa del Sol on suspicion of domestic violence on May 5.

Onlookers who witnessed the incident earlier told the Mirror “heard an aggressive man yelling” and “throwing objects from the terrace of a nearby house”. The 37-year-old TV personality admitted “mistreating” Swedish model Artursson in the Court of Violence Against Women in Fuengirola.

It was reported that the reality TV star received a suspended jail sentence and must carry out a “resocialisation course in the field of gender violence.” He was also reportedly given a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Ms Artursson.

The Guardia Civil confirmed his arrest to the Mirror, saying: “We can confirm Mr Argent was arrested by ‘Policia Local’ of Mijas for an alleged crime of domestic violence on 5th May.”

“We were frightened by his shouts,” an onlooker told us. “We couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” they added before stating that Nicoline “appeared to be physically and emotionally devastated.”

Weeks before he allegedly attacked his girlfriend, he gushed over their relationship while attending Jess Wright’s Have A Heart Charity Ball on April 22.

“My girlfriend is back in our beach house in Marbella but I’m representing us both tonight. Everything is good with us, it’s going really good, I’m happy,” he said to The Mirror about their relationship.

When asked whether seeing Mark Wright welcome a baby with his wife, Michelle Keegan, made him broody and want kids of his own, he awkwardly laughed for some time before saying he had ‘no comment’.

Meanwhile, a source close to Argent recently told The Sun that TOWIE star is “remorseful about what happened but is insisting he never meant any harm.”

Argent and Artursson met last summer after meeting by chance in Marbella and went public the following September.

He previously explained to OK!: “I was walking to my gig at Elliott Wright’s restaurant in Marbella. All of a sudden I see this woman coming towards me. I was like, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful.’ She was just in her gym clothes, wearing no make-up. She’d actually just fed a stray cat.“

Speaking about her, he added: “To have her beside me is like a dream. She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s a combination of Julia Roberts and Claudia Schiffer. What I love about Nicoline is, even though she’s very humble, she’s very classy.”

*For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk