Archive November 8, 2025

Former Top Gear and Fifth Gear presenter Quentin Willson has sadly passed away at the age of 68 after a brief battle with lung cancer, his family have confirmed.

In a moving statement, the family called Quentin, who died on Saturday, a “true national treasure”. They also said he “brought the joy of motoring, from combustion to electric, into our living rooms”.

The statement read: “The family of Quentin Willson, television presenter and producer, motoring journalist, author, and campaigner, wish to announce that he passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Saturday 8th November, following a short battle with lung cancer. He was 68.

“A true national treasure, Quentin brought the joy of motoring, from combustion to electric, into our living rooms.

“He helped shape the original Top Gear as one of its first hosts, working alongside Jeremy Clarkson and the team who took the pioneering show global.”

Born in Birmingham in 1957, he was a well-known motoring journalist and broadcaster who graced our screens on Top Gear throughout the 90s before making the switch to Fifth Gear in 2001.

Quentin first joined the BBC in 1991 to co-host the original version of Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson. Until the show’s original format was cancelled in 2001, he was a weekly fixture on the programme, typically sharing his expertise on used cars.

Throughout his illustrious career spanning several decades, he penned motoring columns for national newspapers and magazines, authored numerous books on cars and buying guides.

Beyond journalism, Willson became a prominent campaigner on motoring issues. He co-founded FairFuelUK in 2010.

It is a pressure group lobbying for lower fuel duty and more transparent fuel pricing. Quentin frequently represented motorists on radio and TV, discussing taxation, road safety and transport policy.

He also presented several other TV series, including Britain’s Worst Driver, The Car’s the Star, All-Revved Up and property-focused programmes such as Property Ladder. In addition to broadcasting, he ran a classic-car consultancy and was involved in the heritage car sector, including work promoting British automotive history, reports MyLondon.

Among those paying their respects with message of condolence following the news was owner of Lister Motor Company, Lawrence Whittaker. He shared a number of images to his Twitter/X account.

And he penned alongside the snaps: “I am so utterly devastated to hear that Quentin Willson has passed away. He was the architect of the Warrantywise plan and revolutionised, not just the car warranty market, but through his campaigning and journalism – made the entire UK Motor Trade a better place.

“He was the most knowledgeable person I ever met when it came to cars and was such a pro behind the camera. We worked closely together for over 10 years and my thoughts go out to his wife and family at this difficult time. He will be sorely missed by all. God speed Q!”

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Georgia Tennant met her husband David Tennant when they were both working on the set of Doctor Who and have been inseparable ever since

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David Tennant’s wife Georgia Tennant has revealed that she has been receiving death threats. The actress took to social media to tell her fans about the scary situation.

She said that she has reached out to the police to get involved after the situation began to escalate. The 40-year-old found fame through her acting career.

She is known for playing Detective Inspector Samantha Nixon’s daughter Abigail in The Bill, Jenny in the Doctor Who episode The Doctor’s Daughter and Lady Vivian in the show Merlin. She is the daughter of Doctor Who actor Peter Davison and his ex-wife Sandra Dickinson.

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Georgia tied the knot with David Tennant back in 2011 after they first crossed paths on the set of long-running BBC Doctor Who.

The couple have been vocal about their support for the LGBTQ+ community over the years, especially trans people. Georgia tagged the Metropolitan Police when she shared the vile messages she had received.

Back in September, Georgia called for Facebook bosses to take action when a post was shared that said: “Whoever kills Georgia Tennant immediately will receive a reward from me.”

Posting a statement, she wrote: “Just been sent this by a friend. Out of curiosity, Facebook, what would constitute a breach of community standards?”

The star then went on to share a screenshot of a moderator’s response who said that it did not need breach the platform’s rules so didn’t need to be taken down.

The same account had already written nasty comments to Georgia before. This included ‘Soon there will be an obituary to read of a certain person’ and ‘Georgia Tennant must be killed’.

The account then wrote: “David Tennant and I are meant for each other, we both belong together, and I will do everything to make David Tennant and I together.”

Georgia and David has five children together including Wilfred. Georgia has previously posted photos of her who family wearing rainbow colours for Pride. Back in July 2023, David took part in a promotional photoshoot for hit Amazon Prime programme Good Omens where he wore a t shirt that said “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks”. Last year’s Baftas saw Georgia show off the tattoo on her wrist that reads: “Trans rights are human rights.”

The Mirror contacted Georgia Tennant’s reps for comment.

Loose Women’s Charlene White broke the news of her family member’s tragic death during a post on Instagram last month, admitting “two weeks ago our lives changed forever”

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ITV News presenter Charlene White has opened up on the outpouring of love and support she has experienced following the tragic death of her dad, who took his own life earlier this year.

Last month, the Loose Women panellist took to Instagram to share the saddening news, speaking of the “hurt, pain, shock [and] grief” that she and her family had been going through.

Now, in her latest column for The i Paper, she opened up about the support of family, friends, neighbours and even school parents in the days and weeks that followed the loss.

Addressing the tragedy, she wrote: “My body and mind haven’t really accepted what has happened, and it will probably be some time before I am able to express how I feel or the impact on our family.”

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However, while she is still struggling to come to terms with the huge bereavement, she added that one thing has brought her huge comfort: “But what I can share is how much the outpouring of kindness from those near and far has helped my family navigate this collision course.”

Recalling how she stayed at her aunt’s house in the days following her dad’s death, she explained how she was overcome with the amount of love and support that her friends and neighbours provided, saying that they brought a “constant stream of freshly cooked food, drinks, snacks and alcohol” to help comfort her and her family.

After finally returning back to her home address for the first time, she recalls how she was hit with a wave of emotions once again: “Six days later, when I finally went to my own house for the night, I burst into tears.

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“I was standing in a kitchen full of flowers from friends and colleagues, and cards written with words that hit my heart in so many different ways. Frozen food was delivered by neighbours and families from school.”

Over the years, Charlene has become an ever-present star on our screens having presented news coverage on ITV since 2008.

She has also made history by becoming the first black woman to present the ITV News at Ten.

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Meanwhile, Charlene also regularly appears on Loose Women after first landing the position back in 2021. She has also tried her luck on reality TV, appearing in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2022.

Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be replaced on the show next year, after revealing that the current series will be their last

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Amanda Holden has shared her thoughts on the rumoured names in the mix to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Come Dancing. Last month, the presenters announced they will be leaving the show after co-hosting together for over 10 years.

Since then, many famous names have been put forward as potential replacements including Bradley Walsh, Zoe Ball and Alex Jones.

Sharing her thoughts about the latest predictions, Amanda appeared apprehensive about Bradley, before insisting she’d prefer the replacements to be females.

Speaking with her co-stars Ashley Roberts and Jamie Theakston on Heart Radio Breakfast, she said: “I like the idea of Alex Jones, and I love Zoe and I also love Bradley, I don’t know, I still keep thinking girls more than boys.

“I quite like the idea of Alex Jones, she’s funny. I’m enjoying the sort of lottery of people, I’m enjoying it, the guess work.”

Previously discussing the topic on an earlier edition of the show, the 54-year-old said replacing Tess and Claudia will be “tricky”.

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While she didn’t name anyone specifically, the presenter went on to say that some of the names mentioned so far were “just boring”.

“I’m like, think left-field, think of somebody that can dance, that’s been on the show,” she said.

In response, her co-star Ashley, who competed on Strictly in 2018, said: “Could it be me? Let’s toss my name in the mix.”

Amanda replied: “I’ll tell you the other thing, as well, is it’s a big commitment, there’s, you know, lots of weekends taken up, but I think you’d be alright.”

Ashley went on to say she’d “absolutely love it”, though confirmed Strictly bosses “haven’t reached out yet”.

Tess and Claudia announced that this series will be their last in an Instagram video. As part of a joint statement, they said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.

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“We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”

They went on to say: “We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’ but we will continue to say it to each other. “Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”

Tess has been fronting the show since the very beginning, firstly with the now late Bruce Forsyth followed by Claudia.

The latter joined the main show 2014, having hosted Strictly’s sister show It Takes Two since 2004.

For now, the pair continue to front the current series, where nine dancing duos remain in the hope of winning the Glitterball trophy.

Loose Women presenter Ruth Langsford has opened up about her overwhelming concerns over being diagnosed with a devastating condition, which could run in her family

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TV star Ruth Langsford, 65, has admitted she constantly feels “really frightened” about her health after her late father, Dennis Langsford, started showing “signs” of dementia when he was in his late sixties.

In an exclusive interview, the star, who became a household name while hosting ITV’s This Morning alongside her estranged husband Eamonn Holmes, explained that when she has a “complete and utter blank” and can’t remember someone’s name, she always fears the worst.

Ruth’s concerns quickly escalated when her mother, Joan Langsford, was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. When asked about whether she worries about a potential genetic link, Ruth admitted: “All the time, literally all the time, if I ever have a senior moment where I go, ‘what’s her name again?’, somebody that I know quite well, and I have a complete and utter blank, it really frightens me.

“I’m 65 now, my dad was officially diagnosed when he was 72. But looking back on it, we think he was displaying signs, we just didn’t know what they were – but he was in his late 60s and I’m 65.

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“And so I do have those moments, and I just, I tell myself, ‘no, no, it’s just because you’re busy, or mind’s busy’. You never know, and I don’t want to know, actually.”

The Loose Women presenter went on to insist that she would refuse to take a test to find out if she’s at risk of developing the condition, as there’s no cure.

Ruth explained: “They all say, ‘if there was a test, would you take it?’ I go, ‘why? What’s the point unless there’s a cure?’

“If I could take a test, and they said, ‘if you take the test, we could stop it happening’, 100% I would take the test, but they can’t, and I know what’s ahead.

“Of course I worry about it with both parents having had dementia, but I just think, what will be will be.”

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The mum-of-one went on to say that she tries to do everything she can to boost her cognitive health as she gets older.

Ruth shared: “I do crosswords and things like that. And I’m very active because I’m still very busy with work, they say that helps. So, yeah, I do worry.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Society website, the majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there might be a strong genetic link, but these are only a small proportion of overall cases.