ITV star died, too. Christine Talbot, an anchor for the ITV Calendar, revealed the sad news that Rick Pickard, a cameraman, had passed away. She shared a number of heartwarming photos of her late coworker.
The cameraman, affectionately known as Uncle Rick, has covered some of the most significant stories in the last 50 years, including the Hillsborough disaster and the miners’ strikes.
The 56-year-old presenter shared a number of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, particularly those that show his crew over the years and with cherished interviewee Hannah Hauxwell, the legendary First Woman of the Dales. One of the kindest and nicest men I’ve ever worked with in television, she wrote, “We said goodbye this week.”
Rick Pickard was praised by Christine Talbot (Instagram).
Rick Pickard covered the biggest stories in his and her career on YTV and ITV, from being called in late at night to filming the now-storied studio interview with Don Revie and Brian Clough, the miners’ strikes and Hillsborough, and many more.
Hannah Hauxwell, the legendary First Woman of the Dales, was a subject for the documentary that he and I shot on the moors close to her home. She cherished him and frequently inquired whether he would return every time we captured a video.
He later moved to Calendar to take up a senior management position, but he frequently joined us behind the scenes even after he retired. He adored his work.
The ITV Calendar host revealed that he was a talented young footballer who had been recruited by Sheffield Wednesday Under 21s in his youth, in addition to celebrating his professional achievements.
She said, “Rick was a modest man, we learned at his funeral that he had signed for Sheffield Wednesday Under 21s as a youngster until he broke his leg while playing for YTV football.” He also excelled cricket! He never mentioned [smiling emoji].
Two weeks prior to Rick’s passing, Christine Talbot and his family met up (Instagram).
I’ll never forget Rick’s kindness to me when my father passed away; he treated me like his own daughter when I returned to work [heart emoji].
Although we nicknamed him ” Uncle Rock ” or ” Jean Luc ” as in the Star Trek character (cry-laughing emoji), ” He was like a father to us all.” Although his family said he would have hated the attention, the enormous turnout of both old and current ITV Calendar faces at his funeral yesterday demonstrated how loved he was.
The mother-of-one made it clear that the final photo in her collection of photos of her former coworker was taken just before his passing. The last picture, according to her, was taken shortly before Rick passed away when a few of us met with his lovely wife Jane and daughter Sarah.
We planned additional meet-ups in the new year, and it was a memorable day reminiscing and laughing about all kinds of old stories. Sadly, that was not to be. Bye to Rick Pickard, a legendary YTV host and a man of integrity.
One user wrote, “Beautiful words for a true gentleman in every way,” while others quickly flooded the comments section with condolences.
Another person said, “Sounds like a fantastic career covering a lot at YTV. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and YTV employees. RIP, Rick.
A third person added, “A well-deserved and personally meaningful tribute, Christine, and thank you for revealing your very fond memories of Rick and how he helped make ITV Calendar the best news program on television [applause emojis].”
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When the band “Blazin’ Squad” gained notoriety, Kenzie, Rocky B, Freek, Melo-D, Spike E, Reepa, Krazy, Flava, Tommy-B, and Strider were the first to join the group. But where are they currently all?
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The ten Blazin’ Squad members both attended Chingford High School and both had previous educational backgrounds (Image: Getty Images).
Blazin’ Squad made their debut single Crossroads in August 2002. Before officially splitting in 2005, the hip hop group managed to rank six of the top ten songs in the UK singles charts and two of the top 40 albums.
The Beginning, an RnB-inspired album, and six more top ten singles were the result of the enormous success of the gelled-haired, shaved-eyebrowed teen heartthrobs. The young men broke two gold records and staged sold-out arena shows, including a Wembley headline show.
The ten people who met through secondary school all came together because they both adore music. However, the Squad ended up taking completely different paths after their successful careers in the show business. We examine the recent work of Rocky B, Freek, and Kenzie.
James MacKenzie, better known as “Kenzie,”
Kenzie was one of the most prominent members of the group, and after they split he made a number of high-profile TV appearances. In 2006 he came second on Celebrity Big Brother and was propelled further into the spotlight when he started dating former glamour model Jodie Marsh. He went on to appear on shows including The Weakest Link, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Celebrity Juice – and even published an autobiography.
He collaborated with Adam Rickitt, Gareth Gates, Dane Bowers, and Kavana to form the supergroup 5th Story in 2014 and participated in ITV’s Big Reunion, which featured bands from the 1990s and ‘noughties.
Kenzie has undergone a significant physical transformation since then. He trains as a personal trainer and bodybuilder, posting his impressive results on social media. He is also a renowned DJ. Additionally, Mackenzie is a devoted member of his family. With his long-term girlfriend, he has two daughters, Wynter and Wyllow.
Rocky B, also known as Marcel Somerville
Kenzie wasn’t the only group member to venture into reality TV. After years away from the limelight, Marcel appeared on the third series of Love Island in 2017, finishing in fourth place with Gabby Allen. He was known on the show for his dating advice, and was quick to write his own book, Dr. Marcel’s Little Book of Big Love, soon after leaving the villa. He and Gabby were together for almost a year before announcing their split – amid reports of infidelity on his part.
Marcel made his way back to reality TV in January 2025 when the Love Island villa hosted its South African All Stars series. Before being fired from the show, he lasted just over a week.
Marcel fell in love with Rebecca Vieira a distance from the small screen. In Portugal, they tied the knot in August 2022, and they welcomed Roman as their son in January 2021.
After it became clear that Rebecca had been having an affair with American rapper Slim Jxmmi in 2024, they split up. Rebecca later apologized in full and thanked her for her “foolish” deeds. They are currently going through a divorce.
Ollie Georgiou, better known as “Freek,”
Ollie turned his back on the music industry after Blazin’ Squad hung up their microphones and began working in corporate banking. He now works as a music manager to promote the careers of other emerging artists, though.
He’s also appeared on reality TV, just like Kenzie and Marcel. He requested that a tattoo on his left bicep be updated in 2017, asking the experts to do so and the day the band received their first number one song and signed their record deal.
Ollie has a daughter Emilia, who, he previously joked has his band posters on the wall. “She’s not allowed anyone else,” he joked. “Just One Direction.”
Chris McKeckney, better known as “Melo-D,”
Chris has tried his hand at two very different careers since they were legally split, but he still regularly performs at reunion shows with the band. He started his own business, Stronghold Glazing Ltd., in January 2017 and began his career as a window fitter for a double glazing company.
However, it was only a short-lived endeavor. By January 2018, Chris had already left as the company’s director in May 2017. According to his LinkedIn profile, Chris has been employed by Virgin Media as a Field Services Engineer since February 2017.
Reepa, Stuart Baker aka “Reepa”
Stuart might have ditched the hair gel but he is still working in the media industry as a manager at the BBC, and he also occasionally appears along with his bandmates for reunion performances. He is married to wife Zoe.
Lee Bailey, also known as “Krzy,”
Speaking to Manchester Evening News way back in 2004, Lee said he’d like to stay in the industry if the band ended. “I might have a solo career or start to write. I might become an actor or do something similar – I’ve always wanted to be an entertainer from being a small boy.” he said.
Since the band’s dissolution, Lee has kept a low profile and has largely shunned the spotlight. The singer, who sang the extremely catchy chorus on the band’s number two hit, Flip Reverse, is married to wife Karina, and they have two children, both of whom are daughters.
Sam Foulkes, also known as “Spike-E,”
Sam has also shied away from the spotlight, but he is obviously very proud of his accomplishments with the band, with a number of photos shared on his X page despite not posting since 2017. He is believed to currently work in the import/export sector, but he still occasionally performs with a select few group members.
Flava, James Murray, aka “Flava”
After Blazin’ Squad ended, James and his bandmate Mustafa Omer (Strider) formed a songwriting and production duo called Mojam. Working with an impressive roster of artists, including Emeli Sandé, Sam Smith, and Naughty Boy, they have been very successful. Paid co-wrote Sam and Naughty Boy’s hit single La La, which went on to become the sixth best-selling single in the UK in 2013, the song was the sixth best selling single in the country overall.
A son and daughter are the parents of James and Leah Jade Stowell, their long-term partner.
Mustafa Omer, also known as “Strider,”
Through Mojam, Mus and James have made significant strides in the music industry. Additionally, the duo has collaborated with Khalid, KSI, Aitch, Sam Ryder, David Guetta, and Anne-Marie. Mus is reportedly married and has at least one child, despite having a down-low personal life.
Tommy-B, or Tom Beasley,
Tom has left the music industry to pursue a career in the arts and culture sector and held leadership positions at companies like Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He reportedly held the positions of Executive Director for the Nibley Music Festival and CEO of Active Gloucestershire. Tom is a devoted father as well.
The village of Auchinleck will be rocked the most by playing against Celtic on Sunday since The Who.
In preparation for their historic performance at the Woodstock music festival, the English Mod groundbreakers played Auchinleck Community Centre in 1969.
When you consider that one section of one of Celtic Park’s stands could accommodate all 3, 000 people, it’s an amazing accomplishment.
Even if every man, woman, and child purchased a ticket for the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at Rugby Park on Sunday, they would still be outnumbered by the away supporters.
Due to the “surrounding infrastructure” around the 4, 000-capacity Beechwood Park being deemed unsuitable for such a big occasion, the game had to be moved 15 miles away to Kilmarnock’s home.
It is the most recent “what if” in Auchinleck Talbot’s illustrious career.
Scottish Cup: Auchinleck Talbot vs. Celtic
Sunday 18 January, 17: 30 GMT
On iPlayer, watch
What about Hearts’ Nearmiss?
Gordon Pope, a former Talbot left-back, recalls the day the part-timers faced fierce opposition 14 years ago in a moving situation.
With six minutes left, Hearts were held to a goal by goalkeeper Andy Leishman, who had earlier saved a penalty, collided with teammate Bryan Slaven and Gordon Smith.
Talbot won a free kick, and Pope was played through the Hearts defense before the linesman flagged offside as he slotted his equalizer five minutes into stoppage time.
As he watches a replay of the incident, Pope says, “It leaves a “what if” and continues to quote Pope from BBC Scotland. It’s a difficult choice, and it’s just one of those club’s historical moments.
Going back to Rugby Park for a replay would have been huge for the club because we had never played at that level [fourth round] before.
The first time James Latta led Talbot that day, he recalls, “We knew we would have a chance depending on how Hearts played,” he said. “Most of our team had played at senior level at some point.
The former defender is aware that they have a much more difficult task than Scottish champions, who have found new life since Wilfried Nancy’s dismissal.
Auchinleck Talbot, who are they?
SNS
It will be the best day for Talbot program director Jim McAuley to play against a renowned team like Celtic. It will rival The Who’s performance at the Auchinleck Community Centre. David and Goliath
Being a club historian, McAuley has documented more than 100 awards since their founding in 1909.
For a club that is second in the West of Scotland League Premier Division, two points behind Troon but still has two games in hand after entering the senior pyramid, 14 Scottish Junior Cups are awarded, eight of which were this century.
He claims that he is “absolutely devastated” that the tie has been moved, “I would say we are the biggest weeist club in Scotland.”
Down here, I believe we would have had that first chance, but I believe Rugby Park will be too much for us. Celtic travel to Bologna in the days following. In Glasgow’s west, we travel to Pollok.
Can Talbot actually defeat Celtic?
SNS
If Argyll McCoist had been able to play, this would have generated bigger headlines.
Ally, the 27-year-old son of former Rangers striker Ally, who has scored many goals for Celtic, is a cup-tied loanee from Drumchapel United.
He claims that his father has been calling him each day to make sure a rule has changed.
Due to the freezing conditions of the pitch, Talbot’s chances have not improved, as Captain Neil McPherson pointed out.
He points out that Celtic and Rangers fans have taken Monday off from their full-time jobs in anticipation of having to recover from giving it their all in on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Tommy Sloan, a forklift driver for Auchinleck, is the company’s manager, and he never anticipated that he would experience the same fate as O’Neill when he would eventually sit in O’Neill’s opposite dugout.
He claims that “they have certainly brought in a man who can do the job.” It’s amazing to be facing him in the other dugout, and he has a lot of experience.
On the day “We turned over”Ayr United in 2019 and how close they came to Hearts in 2012, Sloan will be drawing.
He recalls that the linesman’s face is still visible when he raises the flag. Nighttime sportsscene demonstrated that it was onside.
“It will be a difficult ask,” he said. I’d be happy if we could score first and put them under some light pressure for a while.
The village of Auchinleck will be rocked the most by playing against Celtic on Sunday since The Who.
In preparation for their historic performance at the Woodstock music festival, the English Mod groundbreakers played Auchinleck Community Centre in 1969.
When you consider that one section of one of Celtic Park’s stands could accommodate all 3, 000 people, it’s an amazing accomplishment.
Even if every man, woman, and child purchased a ticket for the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at Rugby Park on Sunday, they would still be outnumbered by the away supporters.
Due to the “surrounding infrastructure” around the 4, 000-capacity Beechwood Park being deemed unsuitable for such a big occasion, the game had to be moved 15 miles away to Kilmarnock’s home.
It is the most recent “what if” in Auchinleck Talbot’s illustrious career.
Scottish Cup: Auchinleck Talbot vs. Celtic
Sunday 18 January, 17: 30 GMT
On iPlayer, watch
What about Hearts’ Nearmiss?
Gordon Pope, a former Talbot left-back, recalls vividly but ultimately painful times when the team faced fierce opposition in the top flight 14 years ago.
With six minutes left, Hearts were held to a goal by goalkeeper Andy Leishman, who had earlier saved a penalty, collided with teammate Bryan Slaven and Gordon Smith.
Talbot won a free kick, and Pope was played through the Hearts defense before the linesman flagged offside as he slotted his equalizer five minutes into stoppage time.
As he watches a replay of the incident, Pope says, “It leaves a “what if” and continues to quote Pope from BBC Scotland. It’s a difficult choice, and it’s just one of those club’s historical moments.
Going back to Rugby Park for a replay would have been huge for the club because we had never played at that level [fourth round] before.
The first time James Latta led Talbot that day, he recalls, “We knew we would have a chance depending on how Hearts played,” he said. “Most of our team had played at senior level at some point.
The former defender is aware that they have a much more difficult task than Scottish champions, who have found new life since Wilfried Nancy’s dismissal.
Auchinleck Talbot, who are they?
SNS
It will be the best day for Talbot program director Jim McAuley to play against a renowned team like Celtic. It will rival The Who’s performance at the Auchinleck Community Centre. David and Goliath
Being a club historian, McAuley has documented more than 100 awards since their founding in 1909.
For a club that is second in the West of Scotland League Premier Division, two points behind Troon but still has two games in hand after entering the senior pyramid, 14 Scottish Junior Cups are awarded, eight of which were this century.
He claims that he is “absolutely devastated” that the tie has been moved, “I would say we are the biggest weeist club in Scotland.”
Down here, I believe we would have had that first chance, but I believe Rugby Park will be too much for us. Celtic travel to Bologna in the days following. In Glasgow’s west, we travel to Pollok.
Can Talbot actually defeat Celtic?
SNS
If Argyll McCoist had been able to play, this would have generated bigger headlines.
Ally, the 27-year-old son of former Rangers striker Ally, who has scored many goals for Celtic, is a cup-tied loanee from Drumchapel United.
He claims that his father has been calling him each day to make sure a rule has changed.
Due to the freezing conditions of the pitch, Talbot’s chances have not improved, as Captain Neil McPherson pointed out.
He points out that Celtic and Rangers fans have taken Monday off from their full-time jobs in anticipation of having to recover from giving it their all in on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Tommy Sloan, a forklift driver for Auchinleck, is the company’s manager, and he never anticipated that he would experience the same fate as O’Neill when he would eventually sit in O’Neill’s opposite dugout.
He claims that “they have certainly brought in a man who can do the job.” It’s amazing to be facing him in the other dugout, and he has a lot of experience.
On the day “We turned over”Ayr United in 2019 and how close they came to Hearts in 2012, Sloan will be drawing.
He recalls that the linesman’s face is still visible when he raises the flag. Nighttime sportsscene demonstrated that it was onside.
“It will be a difficult ask,” he said. I’d be happy if we could score first and put them under some light pressure for a while.
A small group of people led by far-right influencer Jake Lang, who had announced a march on a neighborhood that is primarily made up of immigrants, have been chased off by hundreds of protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After the killing of a mother-of-three by a federal agent and the subsequent shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant a week later, the city’s tensions soared.
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The protesters gathered downtown near City Hall on Saturday, waving signs and screaming chants urging ICE and Border Patrol to leave Minneapolis.
After serving a number of criminal convictions related to the US Capitol on January 6, Lang, one of more than 1,500 people who received pardons from President Donald Trump, organized a “anti-fraud” rally.
Hundreds of counterprotesters gathered at the site, yelling at his attempts to speak, and chasing away his supporters within an hour to a nearby hotel, while about 10 people showed up for Lang’s anti-Islam, anti-Somali, and pro-ICE demonstration. The Reuters news agency only observed a small number of scuffles, but no serious violence.
Later, Lang claimed that he was stabbed in a scuffle but that his protective vest prevented the attempt. His account could not be verified by Reuters.
No official report to the department was filed with the city, despite the city’s police telling Reuters in an email that the city was aware of Lang’s social media post. Police claimed that there haven’t been any reports of injuries from victims of the protests.
A protester who opposes immigration, including one from Minneapolis City Hall, lifts Jake Lang’s vest following an altercation at the “March Against Minnesota Fraud” rally on January 17, 2026 [Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo]
Since the Department of Homeland Security hired more than 2, 000 federal agents to increase immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, protests have been occurring daily.
Demonstrators have protested aggressive tactics used by masked immigration officers to remove people from cars and homes. At least one life has been lost as a result of the operation in the deeply liberal Twin Cities.
According to the Trump administration, she has been accused of telling blatant lies about what happened in Good’s death, which are being refuted by numerous videos, and she has been labeled a “domestic terrorist” without any supporting evidence.
Trump has repeatedly cited a scandal as the justification for the arrival of thousands of immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota as a result of the theft of federal funds intended for social welfare programs. The state’s community of Somali immigrants has been repeatedly targeted racist by the president and administration officials. Trump has referred to the neighborhood as “garbage.”
Before an armoured van and fully equipped city police arrived in Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown on Saturday.
Democratic Governor Tim Walz “mobilized” the state guard in a statement to support the Minnesota State Patrol “to assist in providing traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully,” according to a statement.
The guard’s spokesperson, Major Andrea Tsuchiya, described it as “staged and ready” but hasn’t yet been deployed.
A federal judge upheld the immigration officers’ right to detain or use tear gas on peaceful protesters who were obstructing authorities, including when they were observing them during the Minnesota crackdown.
Trump has warned that if state officials do not work to calm the protests there against federal immigration authorities, who he said are “only trying to do their job,” he might invoke the Insurrection Act to send US troops there.
The Democratic leadership of Minnesota and Trump are engaged in a fierce conflict due to the tense situation.
In response to rumor that the Trump administration is looking into comments he made while attempting to stop violent immigration raids in the city, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has stated that he will “not be intimidated.”
During a pro-ICE rally organized by anti-Islam “influencer” and Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang, anti-ICE protesters and counter demonstrators clashed in Minneapolis. When protesters confronted Lang, he fled the scene and was thrown objects at him.
