Hollyoaks’ Nick Savage star welcomes baby and shares sweet name

Ben Ryan Davies rose to fame by playing the role of Nick Savage on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and now he has become a dad

A Hollyoaks star has secretly welcomed his first child as he also shared their sweet name. Ben Ryan Davies has become a dad for the first time after welcoming a baby boy with his partner Lottie.

The actor is best known for playing the role of Nick Savage on the Channel 4 soap and he took to his Instagram this week to repost a snap from Lottie’s account of their new little baby. In the photo the couple can be seen smiling from ear to ear as they went on a festive day out. Another photo was also uploaded of Lottie holding the baby boy.

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Lottie went on to reveal the name of the tot in the caption as she wrote: “And Jensen was asleep for the whole thing.” The couple announced in July of this year that they were expecting their first baby together after getting together in 2024.

Sharing the exciting news, they shared a picture of them holding a baby sonogram photo. They wrote over the top of the sweet photo: “Big news! Incoming October 2024!”

Ben and Lottie only revealed their relationship in April after getting together in October last year. Going Instagram official with their relationship, the actor shared photos as well as writing: “What an amazing 6 months.

“I’m so excited for our future together. You’ve changed my life and I’m so happy.” Ben first joined Hollyoaks back in 2016 as evil character Nick Savage.

He has been involved in several big storylines and was in one very shocking one in particular. His character raped Ellie Nightingale, after he slept with her when she was too drunk to give her consent.

This wasn’t his only sexual assault, as he raped his girlfriend Holly Cunningham, even though she stood by him after he attacked Ellie.

Nick didn’t get away with it as his crimes caught up to him and he went to prison. Ben then left the soap in 2017.

Ben was praised for his portrayal of evil Nick and was nominated for a British Soap Award for that role. Before he joined the Hollyoaks cast, Ben was on our screens in Waterloo Road.

He played the role of student Ronan Burley and stayed on the show for two years and 36 episodes in total. Since he left Hollyoaks, he has also taken on several other acting jobs.

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He has made guest appearances in Casualty and Father Brown. Ben’s latest role will be on stage playing the titular character in The Further Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan, according to his Instagram page.

The star is is the middle of a month long schedule of shows where he is performing at the Forum Theatre in Billingham.

Heartbroken Holly Hagan says she’s plagued with guilt over sister Darci’s death at 19

Former Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan has opened up about her overwhelming guilt after the death of her 19-year-old sister Darci from a drugs overdose

Holly Hagan has said she feels “guilty” over the tragic death of her sister. The former Geordie Shore star recently lost her half-sister, Darci, who died in October at the age of 19 following an accidental drug overdose. The teenager passed away 48 hours after taking crystal MDMA.

Holly is expecting her second child with footballer husband Jacob Blyth, and has opened up about the devastation she feels at the loss. The reality TV star says she feels an overwhelming sense of guilt and regret that she did not warn her sister about the dangers of taking drugs the night she fatally overdosed at Warehouse Project in Manchester.

She told the Mail: “The grief I have for Darci is guilt. When good things are happening to me and the life I have been able to live, not that it hasn’t come with difficulties sometimes, but I have been so lucky overall.

“I have the perfect man, I have a child, I am pregnant, I got married, and I have been on the holidays. My life hadn’t even started at 19 and she doesn’t even have the chance to see any of it. Every event that she was a part of was mine.

“The guilt that the only thing she had was her prom. It breaks my heart because it’s not fair. What is the purpose? What’s the lesson in all of this?”

Holly also said that Darci “had a lot to live for” and that her biggest regret was “not messaging her that night” to tell her to be careful with the substances she was consuming. Darci had done drugs in the past but had never consumed MDMA in its crystal form.

She added: “Darci had a lot to live for, she had just passed her theory test, she was looking to get a little car, she said all she wanted to do was go to Starbucks and get a matcha and listen to her music, she worked as a cocktail waitress, which she loved.”

But Holly also admitted that she doesn’t know if there’s “anything she could have done to change anything.” She added: “She’s in a dark club and being naïve and not realising how much a quantity is because she’s never taken a version of this drug before, she has poured it into her drink.

“Her friend said there was still a lot left but if you have seen that drug before you know it comes in powder and there are rocks in there as well. What happened is possibly the bigger rocks had gone into her drink, and it still looked like there was a lot left in the bag, but it was enough for it to be an overdose.”

The two girls’ stepdad, John, had driven Darci and her best friend to Manchester for the night out. Holly and her son Alpha-Jax were planning to meet with John and Darci the next day.

Holly also shared how she knew something was drastically wrong when she was woken by a light knock at her door and discovered she had 130 missed calls on her phone, as her heart sank.

She said: “The first message I saw was in capital letters, saying, ‘We are with your sister, you need to get to Manchester Royal Infirmary right now, please call us back’, and that was at 2am. My whole body was in fight mode; I sat on the toilet shaking.”

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Holly then shared her praise for the “phenomenal” care that the medical staff at the Manchester Royal Infirmary provided. She said the support could not have been better and that although it was “traumatic”, it was “so comforting” knowing she was “in the best hands.”

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Shettima Arrives In Abidjan For President Ouattara’s Inauguration

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for the inauguration of Cote d’Ivore President, Alassane Ouattara.

83-year-old incumbent was declared winner of the presidential election on October 2. He won a fourth term with 89.77 percent of the ballots cast.

His swearing in ceremony would hold at Presidential Palace in Abidjan on December 8, and Shettima is representing President Bola Tinubu.

“He was received on arrival at the airport by Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister, Mr. Robert Mambe; the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs. Item Akpama; and other senior government officials,” Shettima’s spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said in a Sunday statement.

READ ALSO: Shettima To Represent Tinubu At Alassane Ouattara’s Inauguration In Cote d’Ivore

He said Shettima will join other African leaders and international dignitaries at Monday’s inauguration ceremony

According to the statement, Nigeria has maintained a longstanding commitment to supporting sister nations in West Africa and upholding the principles of constitutional governance.

“At this inauguration, VP Shettima will again reaffirm Nigeria’s dedication to promoting democratic values, respecting the will of the people, and ensuring that constitutional processes remain the foundation of leadership transitions across the region.

“Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire work closely together on multiple fronts. The two countries partner through ECOWAS and the African Union on issues ranging from security to trade and development.

Their cooperation is backed by a Bi-National Commission and several agreements covering everything from fighting human trafficking to boosting agriculture and growing the digital economy. A large Nigerian community living in Côte d’Ivoire has also helped strengthen business ties and social connections between both nations.”

I’m A Celeb’s Angry Ginge did ‘the one thing’ his family ordered him not to do in camp

Angry Ginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, went against his family’s wishes and did the ‘one thing’ his family asked him not to do in camp as his sister speaks out

I’m A Celeb’s Angry Ginge, who has made it into the final of the ITV show, has done the “one thing” his family asked him not to do in camp. Angry Ginge’s sister Tasha has made a big admission as her brother bids for the I’m A Celebrity crown.

The social media star from Manchester, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, is favourite to be crowned King of the Jungle as the ITV series comes to a close, and his sister has now spoken up on the iconic sweet-gate moment.

Ginge, Aitch and Kelly Brook had won 20 milk-bottle sweets for camp and sneakily decided to keep half for themselves, eating them before returning to base after winning a Dingo Dollar challenge.

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His sister Tasha said on the action: “It was literally the one thing we told him not to do though! But I guess that’s what makes it even funnier.”

At the time Ginge tried to argue that it was “only fair” that they ate extra sweets as they won the challenge. He also tried to pin it on campmate Kelly as he told the camp: “But Kelly is the blame for it, I will say that. You’ll see when you get out!”

Ginge’s sister Tasha also opened up on how much the experience would mean to her brother, as it was on his ‘bucket list’. She said: “[It is] Something he never thought he’d actually get to do, so I was just really happy for him.”

Tasha had a brief taste of camp earlier this week as relatives surprised campmates and sinhe now gushed over her pride of her sibling’s achievement. She admitted she is thrilled with how far he has come in his career already, saying he is “smashing it”.

Tasha admits watching her brother on TV has been “amazing and honestly hilarious,” claiming “he’s surprised me with all the things he’s done in there”. She gushed: “I couldn’t be any prouder of him.”

And when it comes to winning the show, Tasha reveals she knows how much it would mean to the star. “He’s gone in as ‘the streamer’ and look at him now!” she added after saying her brother wouldn’t have expected such success.

We will soon know who the winner is and will find out during a long final. Sunday’s main episode has a runtime of one hour and 40 minutes, airing from 9pm to 10:40pm on ITV1. Then, an extra-long episode of Unpacked will air for just over an hour on ITV 2 from 10:40 to 11:45.

This totals two hours and 45 minutes of TV, which is 20 minutes longer than every other I’m A Celeb and Unpacked double bill. The episodes will crown one of the remaining celebs as King or Queen of the Jungle.

During the final episode, the three finalists will face one last Bushtucker trial each to win stars for a banquet in the evening. Reports claim that the final challenge will be the ‘worst’ as bosses saved the ‘worst for last’.

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I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

‘Future of darts’ – Lawrie, 15, denied world title

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Scotland’s Mitchell Lawrie was denied in his bid to become the youngest-ever winner of a world darts title by Dutchman Jimmy van Schie, who tipped the runner-up to be “the future of darts”.

The 15-year-old Lawrie, the first teenager to reach a WDF World Championship final, was beaten 6-3 at Lakeside Country Club.

Lawrie has drawn comparisons with world number one Luke Littler, who reached the PDC World Darts Championship final on his debut at the age of 16 in 2024.

He impressed this week with an unmatched tally of 56 maximum 180s across his nine matches, and maintained a three-dart average of 93.15.

But tournament top seed Van Schie battled back from 3-0 down in the final, winning six sets without reply to claim victory on Sunday.

Van Schie told S4C: “He is such a phenomenal player. He’s a power scorer, so mature for his age and the sky is the limit for him.

Lawrie had earlier been crowned WDF Open Youth World Champion in Surrey, after beating Germany’s Florian Preis 4-2 in the first final of the day.

He said that victory, which made him the first Scottish winner of the trophy, meant “everything”.

Deta Hedman ended her long wait to win the women’s event for the first time.

Having lost each of her three previous finals in 2012, 2014 and 2016, Hedman, 66, defeated Dutch opponent Lerena Rietbergen 4-1.

Hedman’s triumph came in the absence of 2024 winner Beau Greaves, who has accepted a place in the PDC World Darts Championship, which starts on Thursday at Alexandra Palace.

Zehra Gemi became the first-ever Turkish darts world champion in the girls’ event.

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‘Forget about the league’ – Brackley eye first FA Cup third round spot

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Brackley Town know all about being patient – they finally won promotion to the National League earlier this year after reaching the play-offs six times between 2018 and 2024.

In the FA Cup, the Saints have reached round two on five occasions without managing to go any further, but maybe this could also be the year to put that right.

They will take on Burton Albion from League One on Monday (19:30 GMT) and unlike their four previous second-round ties, this one will be at their St James Park ground.

“I think it’s huge [being at home] in terms of going on to win the tie – I think it will play a massive part,” said Brackley boss Gavin Cowan.

“Our fans are incredible. When you think about the ratio between our population and the people that turn up every week, they come out in their droves for these games.

“We have evolved from a community club into a professional community club. The way things are done now around the club have improved dramatically.

“We are now in line with how clubs in the National League should be, on and off the field. That’s taken a lot of growth, a lot of time and effort from some brilliant people around the club.

‘Being ready for big moments’

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Promotion in May meant Brackley did not have to enter the competition until the final qualifying round and following a 1-1 draw at Woking, they secured their place in the main draw with a thumping 6-2 home win in the replay.

Experienced forwards Matt Lowe and Danny Waldron both scored twice against opponents reduced to 10 men by a first-half red card, before Scott Pollock and Kyle Morrison added late goals to underline their victory at St James Park.

Lowe was also on target against Notts County in the first round and Brackley will again look to him as they plot an upset against Burton.

“He’s huge for us in terms of his leadership, his character, his endeavour. Big moments you have to be ready for, and Matt’s been there for them,” said Cowan.

‘Burton have a high skillset’

Gary Bowyer gives instructions to Burton's Charlie WebsterShutterstock

Despite the modern reliance on data analysis, Cowan is a firm believer that ‘the eyes don’t lie’ and has been to watch the Brewers in the build-up to their cup collision.

“We’ve looked at Burton in great detail. You’ve got a real top football club there, a squad with a high skillset,” he told BBC Radio Northampton.

“We took in the game against Wigan the other night (Burton lost 1-0) and we know what we’re up against and we know what we’re going to have to do if we want to win the game.

“It’s really important to try and get eyes [on them]. We’re really fortunate now where we can watch games via laptops but there’s nothing like being there in reality.

“It was great to take in a game the other night and to learn something as well, understand about them and what they are and how they’re going to set up.

Right ‘mentality’ could decide tie

Gavin Cowan celebrates with Brackley's supporters following their win over Notts CountyGetty Images

Despite the two-division gap between the sides, Cowan says the chance of an upset in front of TV cameras is there if Brackley show the right mentality.

“Ours will be at the highest level we can reach,” he said. “We’ve just got to hope that mentality then manifests itself in the physical world and we can run faster than them, jump higher than them, run further than them.

“This is the test the FA Cup brings. I suppose it’s a level playing field, you can forget about the league, it’s a one off so go out and try to be the best version of yourselves and try to win the game.”

Brackley have been in poor form of late, losing their past five league games to leave them precariously perched just above the relegation places.

But Bowyer’s Burton have also lost their way a little and were beaten in their past two matches after winning three of the previous four.

“Our form hasn’t been great in the league but this is the FA Cup – anything can happen,” added Cowan.

“In the history of the FA Cup there’s been many an upset, we’ve managed to create one [against Notts County] and want a second – there’s no reason why we can’t.”

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