The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has hailed the victory of Governor Chukwuma Soludo in Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
Soludo was returned for a second term in office after recording a landslide victory, winning all 21 local government areas in the election, which was generally adjudged peaceful.
Reacting to the outcome of the poll in a post on her X handle on Sunday, Ojukwu described the result as “a landslide” and thanked the people of Anambra for keeping faith.
READ ALSO: It’s Soludo! Governor Wins Anambra Election By Landslide
“IT’S OFFICIAL! APGA wins in ALL the 21 Local Governments of Anambra State. It’s a LANDSLIDE! Thank you, good people of Anambra, for keeping the faith!
“Congratulations, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the Solution Governor. One good term deserves another! God of Moses! May Your name be praised forevermore!” she wrote.
IT’S OFFICIAL ! APGA wins in ALL the 21 Local Governments of Anambra State. It’s a LANDSLIDE! Thank you, good people of Anambra for keeping the faith !
Congratulations , Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the Solution Governor. One good term deserves another! God of Moses! May your… pic.twitter.com/Z1kY1slJ5A
Announcing the result of the election on Sunday morning, the State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo the winner after the collation of results from the local government areas.
“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” Edoba said at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, the state capital.
Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.
Back in the heyday of X Factor, Frankie Cocozza was the lord of chaos, but now he lives a much more settled life in Australia…
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Frankie Cocozza was one of the biggest stars of The X Factor
X Factor wild child Frankie Cocozza gave the family-friendly show an injection of drama when he appeared – and then was unceremoniously booted off – more than a decade ago.
The star, now 32, was just a teenager when he first auditioned for the ITV programme and instantly caught the attention of Gary Barlow, earning his spot in the live rounds within the Boys category for young male soloists.
He wasn’t a run-of-the-mill star, with the names of no fewer than seven former conquests tattooed on his bum, and many still remember him wheeling about the X Factor stage in super-tight jeans and long shaggy hair – as well as for his, erm, expected exit from the show.
The 18-year-old’s journey was abruptly ended when Frankie departed the contest for rule violations, with him later admitting that his lifestyle had spiralled “out of control” whilst taking part in the programme.
However, it didn’t halt his reality TV career, with funtime Frankie going onto appear in the 2012 series of Celebrity Big Brother, where he was runner-up behind winner Denise Welch. While he hasn’t appeared on UK telly for years, he remains active in music when his duties as a parent allow.
Now aged 32, Frankie’s left his hell-raising teenage antics behind him and is devoted to his young old son, also called Frankie, whom he shares with Bianca Murphy. The couple wed in a Brighton celebration in 2018 after initially meeting on Celebs Go Dating, though they separated four years afterwards.
Frankie later discovered romance again with a woman named Emma, who frequently appears across his social media posts. However, it’s arguably Frankie’s dramatic transformation that has left fans most gobsmacked.
The reality personality has been flaunting his extensive collection of tattoos on social platforms, alongside his impressively sculpted frame. To complete his makeover, Frankie has swapped his trademark curly locks for a sharper, more refined style.
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He is still followed by fans from his X Factor and UK telly days, with one remarking: “Bloody hell I thought you were Robbie Williams!” Another begged the star, whose singles include Catastrophic Casanova and She’s Got a Motorcycle: “Frankie start singing again please mate.”
Numerous followers drew comparisons between him and ex-Take That frontman Robbie, with one saying: “Thought this was an old pic of @robbiewilliams.”
The first stars have begun arriving in Australia with the launch of I’m A Celebrity now just days away
The first star to be confirmed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has been announced after they were pictured arriving in Australia.
Kelly Brook flew into Brisbane Airport ahead of the ITV show starting next Sunday. Speaking to the Mirror, the model and presenter said: “It was a long flight. I am going to miss my dog Teddy and my husband Jeremy, and my food in general.
“I am looking forward to seeing my Auntie Sheila and distant cousin – I haven’t seen her for a long time. I am not sure how I feel about sleeping under the stars – hopefully I will have a spare room. I am looking forward to seeing koalas and the kangaroos.”
Other celebs set to fly Down Under include Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley, ex-EastEnder Shona McGarty, YouTuber Morgan Burtwistle, known as Angryginge, musician Martin Kemp, comedian Ruby Wax, TV presenter Alex Scott and Jack Osbourne. They are expected to be joined by comedian Eddie Kadi, rapper Aitch, and presenter Vogue Williams.
ITV are set to formally announce the line-up next week. Two names will be missing from the announcement as they are expected to enter the jungle as latecomers.
Her decision to head into the jungle is a U-turn on previous comments back in 2018 when she said there would be “a million” things she would rather do than head into the jungle.
Speaking on her Heart radio show, she said: “I don’t want to eat eyeballs or sheep testicles and all the things they have to eat on there.
“Even if I had a huge tax bill and I had to pay it really urgently, I still wouldn’t do it.”
In 2022 in another interview she insisted she still wasn’t keen. She said: “It’s never appealed to me! It’s never ever ever appealed to me. Like Mark Wright asks me at work if I would ever do it and I just couldn’t think of anything worse.
“But he loved it, for him, he just absolutely loved I’m A Celebrity, and it opened up so many doors for him and gave him so many opportunities. He also has some really great memories from doing it.”
Ant and Dec are returning to host the hit series, which is in its 25th year.
A source close to the show said: “Producers are expected to pull out the stops to ensure the 25th series is the most memorable yet.”
There has been fervent speculation as to the line-up in recent weeks. The Mirror revealed at the weekend how Nick Ferrari pulled out of talks with ITV to join I’m a Celebrity after his radio bosses vowed to match his lucrative jungle fee.
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The LBC star was wooed by show chiefs during what insiders say were “really productive conversations.”
But sources claim that after Ferrari mentioned the plans to his bosses at Global, they begged him to reconsider.
Big Brother icon Chanelle Hayes worries that her decision to sign up for OnlyFans will have an impact on her marriage, despite her husband Dan being ‘supportive’
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
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Chanelle Hayes fears her OnlyFans career could impact her marriage(Image: Ok! Magazine / Chelsea White)
Big Brother legend Chanelle Hayes fears her racy page will affect her marriage. The TV star stunned fans last week when she announced she’s quitting her nursing career to launch an OnlyFans page.
Alerting her Instagram followers to her new venture, the mum-of-two said: “I think life is too short to not take a step just because it’s controversial – so I stepped!” She then encouraged fans to ask “naughty” questions and revealed she will be taking “personalised requests”.
Asked how explicit her content will be, Chanelle teased: “How explicit is your imagination?” followed by a cheeky purple devil emoji. But despite her enthusiasm for her risqué new move, sources close to the star tell the Mirror and new magazine, she’s concerned that stripping off online could have a devastating impact on her marriage.
The 38-year-old, from Wakefield, wed accountant Dan Bingham in 2024, and while she claims he is “so supportive” of her controversial money-making endeavour, friends say she secretly fears doing OnlyFans could put unwelcome pressure on her relationship.
“Chanelle is concerned that posing for sexy pictures will have an impact on her and Dan,” our source says. “Dan is supportive and just wants to see her happy, and while she’s a strong-minded woman and this is what she wants, she is still desperate to ensure her relationship isn’t affected.”
Writing on her OnlyFans page, which costs $9.99 per month, Chanelle promises subscribers “the fun, flirty, and downright naughty stuff I can’t post anywhere else”.
In addition to charging a monthly subscription fee, she also gives fans the opportunity to buy her gifts from an Amazon wishlist that includes sexy underwear, a cellulite-firming body oil and false eyelashes. Chanelle adds: “I’m here to have a good time and give you an experience worth every penny. Let’s enjoy this together.”
As well as videos and lingerie snaps, the star says she’ll be offering “PPV [Pay-per-view] treats”, teasing: “When I’m feeling extra spicy, you’ll be the first to know.”
Despite a lucrative stint modelling for lads’ mags following her Big Brother fame, Chanelle went on to forge a rewarding medical career, gaining a First Class Honours in Adult Nursing. So it’s hardly surprising her followers are shocked she’s quitting after just one year.
According to a separate source, the former reality star felt overwhelmed by the “pressure” to give patients proper care and attention, and eventually, the burden became too much.
“Nursing was a path she pursued out of a genuine desire to care for others, but over time she found herself increasingly frustrated by the lack of time she could spend with patients,” they said. “The emotional strain of not being able to give the level of care she wanted eventually became too much to bear.”
As well as the toll on her mental well-being, our source says Chanelle was also struggling financially, as it doesn’t pay as well as her media career. “She absolutely adores being a nurse, but it doesn’t pay, so it’s hard,” says our insider. “She’s working every hour she can, but has realised she can make far more money from modelling for OnlyFans.
“She could do with the money, and this is the way she could do it. And she’ll probably do it very well. She’s up for it, and it will probably be a lot less work [than nursing]. “
Chanelle first shot to fame on Big Brother aged just 19 and, after falling for fellow housemate Zach “Ziggy” Lichman, became one of the UK’s most recognisable reality stars.
She tried to launch a pop career, but her single, I Want It, flopped, and she soon became better-known for her tumultuous love life than her singing skills. After splitting from Ziggy, she dated Jade Goody’s ex, Jack Tweed, between 2011 and 2013, before moving on to former Middlesbrough football player Matthew Bates – father of her 15-year-old son, Blakely.
She then embarked on a turbulent three-year relationship with PE teacher Ryan Oates – dad to son Frankie, eight – before finally finding The One in hubby Dan, who she met through a mutual friend in 2020.
After moving into nursing, she slowly retreated from the celebrity spotlight – until now. Opening up about her decision to become an OnlyFans star, she told her followers: “Plot twist: I’m building multiple income streams and I’m not apologising for it. Travel business, mentoring, health and wellbeing, and yes – OnlyFans. Every platform is a business move.”
Describing herself as “someone who’s learned that life’s too short to pretend everything’s perfect online”, she added defiantly: “If you’re here to judge, cool. If you’re here to build, let’s go. I only vibe with people who get it.”
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Chanelle, who was diagnosed with osteoarthritis two years ago, has finally learned to love her body after an almost two-decade-long battle with her weight. At her heaviest, she tipped the scales at 17st 4lbs, but after undergoing a gastric sleeve operation in August 2020, she lost a staggering 9st, dropping from a size 22 to a size 8.
Her pals now hope that reigniting her modelling career will help boost her confidence even further. “Doing OnlyFans is a no-brainer for her. Her body has never looked better and she feels really well,” says our insider. “She’s seen how Kerry Katona has made money from the platform and how she’s grown in confidence – and she wants the same for her.”
The Sex Pistols’ first spewed out their anarchic lyrics to a delighted gathering of a few dozen people at London’s St Martin’s School of Art in 1975. Fast forward 50 years and frontman John Lydon reveals why he won’t be reuniting with his fellow Pistols
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John Lydon on Good Morning Britain earlier this year.(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
In the true spirit of punk, John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten reputedly rounded off the night In November 1975 by fighting with the headline act.
Three members of the original line-up – Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock – reunited for a charity gig for the Teenage Cancer Trust at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this year.
Missing was Sex Pistols front man Lydon, who has been conducting a UK speaking tour – Untamed, Unscripted & Uncensored. Vowing never to reunite with his fellow Pistols, he says: “I don’t feel no pity for them, rage or hatred. I don’t feel anything for them.”
Now frontman of PiL, there has been no love lost between Lydon and his former bandmates, since he famously lost a High Court battle to stop the Sex Pistols music from being used in a six-part drama, Pistol, directed by Danny Boyle and based on Jones’ 2016 memoir.
READ MORE: Sir Ian McKellan: ‘I thought I was a goner, but I’m coming back as Gandalf’
Excluded from the documentary, he says: “It should be a very important part of our history and they threw that away and turned us into the David Cassidy show. “I hope those Disney dollars are rammed firmly up their b*ttocks.”
At 69, Lydon’s customary irreverence is still as present now as it was in 1977, when Pistols’ hit God Save the Queen was banned from the airwaves. To this day, he remains nonplussed by the single’s success.
“When we made God Save The Queen we did not know we were going to be massive, We were just having a laugh,” he says. “I was like ‘nobody is going to listen, who cares? There is no hope.’ The Royal Family at that time was sacrosanct. You weren’t even allowed to have an opinion on them!”
He is more reflective on the subject of Sid Vicious. The bassist brought in by Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren in 1977 to replace Glen Matlock, despite not knowing how to play an instrument, died of a drug overdose. Just 21 he was at a friend’s apartment in New York, while released from prison on bail for the second degree murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungin in 1978 in the city’s Chelsea hotel.
He says of Vicious’ heroin addiction: “I tried to get him off it. I tried to get several people off heroin. But it is a thankless job. They will go back into it. Watching Sid, he got very interested in the needle itself. “ Describing the process of injecting heroin as a “Japanese-tea ceremony kind-of situation” he continues: “It’s just rigmarole but they (heroin addicts) love it. They see that as their purpose. “
He also sees some heroin addicts as beyond help, adding: “It’s a form of enslavement that people walk into quite willingly. They’ve made that decision and you’re wrong to try and get in the way and stop it. I’ve learned that. The hatred they have for you afterwards is incredible and they never forgive you for trying to help them get out of a drug that they see as doing good for them. I have tried heroin once. I hated it.”
Lydon speaks with some authority about addiction, having successfully kicked a methamphetamine habit himself. He says: “I got myself a problem there with methamphetamine, 20 or 30 years ago. I had to come out of that all alone. But I did. I didn’t like what the lifestyle was turning into. I lost weight so rapidly and had teeth falling out and all of that business. That’s a notch on the belt of ‘been there, done that. No thank you.’”
Lydon has little respect for his late manager Malcolm MacLaren, who plummeted in his estimation after the celebrated obscenity trial in November 1977. Chris Searle, the 28-year-old manager of Nottingham’s Virgin record shop was charged with contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889 for not covering up the word boll*cks on the band’s Never Mind the Boll*cks album, displayed in the shop window.
Lydon says: “Malcolm did not turn up and that angered me, because he claimed he was inventing everything. He claimed he invented me. And he did not have the boll*cks to turn up in court. When I came out of the court room a reporter asked what I would like to have played and I said Devil Woman by Cliff Richard. I think that summed up Malcolm McLaren perfectly.” But he felt very differently about McLaren’s then partner, the late Viviene Westwood. He says: “Viv was a mate and a friend. Obviously a control freak. That is probably why she was so successful. It does help.”
The notoriety of being a Sex Pistol could make travelling a nightmare, according to Lydon, who recalls being subjected to a number of intrusive anal searches going through customs. He says: “They used to be like ‘oh it’s Johnny Rotten. Yeah, let’s give him an anal search.’ That used to happen a lot.” He laughs: “How many Brussels sprouts and baked beans can you eat before a flight? It would make the trip less delicious for them!”
Lydon, whose wife Nora died after battling dementia in April 2023, says he manages his weight by deep sea diving with an aqualung and he quit drinking six months ago. He says: “I was using alcohol after the death of Nora to put the pain away. I am utterly fearless about death. Wherever she has gone I want to be.”
With no desire to ever marry again, Lydon says he is happy alone. And he is cheered to see his fans growing old alongside him. He recalls: “A highlight of the last solo talking tour was in Leicester last year. It ended up with two women in wheelchairs fighting. Their husbands had their walking sticks and they were waving them about. It was bizarre.
“I thought ‘How do you handle this one?’ They all realised how silly it was. It was like a bingo riot. Talking to them after, I found out it was all over their wheelchair space. It was like a car park situation. I thought ‘life is full of surprises?’” Proudly original, Lydon is dismissive of bands who want to emulate The Pistols. He says: “It should be their own voice, not an imitation. I left the Pistols as I did not want to turn into The Rolling Stones – churning out the same kind of stuff. We did not want to sound like anybody else or fit in. If you follow the doctrines of the music industry, you are f*cked man.”
With strong opinions on just about everything, Lydon says of the royal family: “That lot are born in a bird cage. I have nothing against them as human beings, but I think I have overspent on them.” And he is vociferous about politicians. Of the Reform leader, he says: “Nigel Farage is like someone you would meet at a fairground who says ‘do you want to buy one of these watches?’” While, of Donald Trump, he says “I met him once and I did not like him. I met him at the VH1 music awards. I had a show called Rotten Radio and I was invited. My lovely wife came with me. Trump was going in with Jennifer Lopez and Nora trod on her dress and tore the train and they went nuts on us. It was a gorgeous fiasco. Trump is the Sex Pistols of politics.”
You can tell how Aryna Sabalenka is feeling with just one glance.
A missed shot is greeted by gritted teeth, an eye-roll, a choice word towards her coaching team. Winners and aces bring a huge roar to the heavens, clenched fist raised high.
Her emotions fuel her – but they can also hinder her. Nowhere was that more obvious than the French Open final. Seventy unforced errors flew from Sabalenka’s racquet as she was outsmarted by Coco Gauff on a windy Paris evening.
She broke down afterwards, apologising for “the worst final I ever played”. She went further in a news conference, saying Gauff won “not because she played incredible [but] because I made all of those mistakes”.
Sabalenka was heavily criticised for the comments. She apologised to Gauff, but some questioned if her emotions, such a crucial part of her game, would prevent her from winning another Slam.
“Women get criticised a lot for emotion,” the great Billie Jean King told BBC Sport at Wimbledon.
“Girls are taught to be perfect and boys are taught to be brave. But nobody’s brave all the time, and nobody’s perfect.
“The best players, everybody always talks about ‘they’re mentally stronger’ – no, they’re emotionally stronger.
“When you’re on the court, you have to feel you deserve it.”
Sablenka ended the year a Grand Slam champion, having defended her US Open title, and kept the top ranking for 55 weeks in a row.
Sabalenka is one of the most powerful hitters in the women’s game, but that was her undoing in her first few seasons on the tour.
She initially struggled at the majors, suffering a string of early exits before reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021.
Slam success seemed assured – but her serve, and her sheer desperation to win, got in the way.
In a match in Adelaide in early 2022, Sabalenka hit 21 double faults. At one point, she resorted to underarm serves. It was so bad that the umpire asked Sabalenka if she was OK, thinking she was injured.
After serving out the next game to love – and hitting an ace on the final point – Sabalenka hunched over next to her coach, hid her face in a towel, and cried.
She ended 2022 with 428 double faults – 151 more than anyone else on the WTA Tour – and no titles.
There was also the emotional stress Sabalenka had experienced. Her father, Sergey, died in 2019, and she was desperate to fulfil their shared dream of a major singles title.
“I really wanted to win a Slam for him, to put our family name into history,” Sabalenka said in 2022.
Sabalenka previously worked with a psychologist but stopped during the 2023 pre-season, saying she realised “nobody other than me would help me”.
She began the year with a tweaked serve and her first title for 18 months. Four weeks later, she was at long last a Grand Slam singles champion. Her new serve, and sheer determination, led her to the Australian Open title.
Three more Grand Slams came over the next two years and Sabalenka seemed to find a healthy balance with her emotions.
She faltered in the 2023 US Open final, overwhelmed by the 24,000-strong pro-Gauff crowd, and obliterated her racquet backstage afterwards. But four months later she defended her Melbourne title in serene fashion, losing just 31 games overall.
Afterwards, she said a conversation with her mother had brought a form of “relief”.
“When I told her I want to win a Slam for my dad, she said ‘what are you talking about? He was proud of you after each match you won. Every match for him mattered and titles weren’t a big deal for him’,” she said.
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Sabalenka started this year bidding to become the first woman since 1999 to win three successive Australian Open titles, but lost to a brilliant Madison Keys. She then let her emotions run riot on and off court in her Roland Garros loss to Gauff.
“You lose the final of the biggest tournament and you don’t think cleanly,” she said.
“I had to sit back and reflect on everything, and make sure that people understand my point – that I was completely wrong.
“It was a tough lesson but it helped me in so many different ways.”
Sabalenka battled her emotions at Wimbledon, most impressively against home favourite Emma Raducanu in the third round. “Maybe earlier in my career, I would just go crazy and lose that set,” she said afterwards.
“I was like, ‘do not waste your energy – keep everything you have left inside’.”
After a semi-final loss where Sabalenka felt she was not as “brave” as opponent Amanda Anisimova, she opted for a holiday. There, Sabalenka thought about why she let her emotions “take control over me in those two finals”.
She made a decision – during her US Open title defence, she, not her emotions, would decide her fate.
Sabalenka made her way through the draw and found herself facing Anisimova in the final, with the American aiming to overcome a brutal Wimbledon final loss. Given the pressure Sabalenka already felt to ensure she didn’t finish the year without a Slam, it was a huge test of her mental strength.
It was, arguably, Sabalenka’s most mature performance of the season. Even a missed overhead as she served for the title was greeted with a wry smile. Sabalenka was broken in that game but put together a dominant tie-break to triumph.
“I knew that [because of] the hard work we put in, I deserved to have a Grand Slam title this season,” Sabalenka added.
“Getting this trophy means I learned a lesson. I became a better player, I have better control over my emotions, and I am super happy.”
There is still work to do, as missing out on the WTA Finals title shows. But Sabalenka was able to shrug the loss off quickly – a positive sign for her after a tricky year.
“After a little time, I feel actually great. The bad thing this season [is] I lost most of the biggest finals I made,” she added.
“So I guess I’ll just sit back in the Maldives having my tequila and think that actually, it’s been pretty good so far.
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