Few families made as big an impact on Albert Square as the Slaters. And they had big shoes to fill back at the turn of the Millennium, replacing EastEnders’ mighty Di Marcos. Charlie Slater and his three girls Kat, Lynne, Little Mo and grandaughter Zoe (the other Slaters came later) made a huge impact from the start.
Just 14 when she cut her teeth on Byker Grove, alongside Ant and Dec, Jill Halfpenny has since played a soap opera seductresses in both Corrie and EastEnders, she’s won Strictly and become a stalwart of gritty TV dramas. Currently starring in the thriller, Girl Taken, on streaming channel Paramount TV+, she is also returning to ITV mystery drama After The Flood for a second series on Sunday (18 Jan) playing DS Sam Bradley. And she will be starring alongside another former soap actress, Sally Lindsay, in a new thriller Number One Fan, coming soon on 5.
On playing the detective, Jill, 50, says: “I liked the cast, so when they asked me to join it was a really easy yes. I didn’t even have to think about it. Sam comes across as someone who is very easy to talk to and very warm and approachable, but I’m not sure whether that’s exactly who she is.
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“She’s been doing it for so long she knows how to be affable and how to play the game and how to fit into a new team. She might ask people about their lives, but they might not find much out about hers – she’s one of those people.”
The second series picks up with newly promoted detective Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundell) juggling a new baby and childcare arrangements with her estranged ex Pat (Matt Stokoe) and her mum – councillor Molly (Lorraine Ashbourne) – while at the same time trying to expose her corrupt boss, Sergeant Phil Mackie (Nicholas Gleaves).
The first episode of the six-part thriller opens with Jo, clearly baffled when a dead body is found in strange circumstances on the moors. DS Bradley, newly transferred to the area, joins her in trying to solve the murder. Jill says: “I’m often cast as the ‘everywoman’. I tend to play characters that are quite grounded and no-nonsense.
“I can identify with that. I don’t come with a lot of bells and whistles. I’m straight to the point. Maybe that’s just who I am, maybe that’s how I was brought up, but I like people who are really direct. It makes me feel comfortable.”
Fans of Jill’s will remember her from early roles like Coronation Street, which she joined in 1999 as nurse Rebecca Hopkins, whose affair with Martin Platt ended his marriage to Gail, and EastEnders (2002) when she played Kate Mitchell, an undercover policewoman introduced as a honeytrap for Phil Mitchell, whose cover was blown when she fell in love and married him.
But the actress, who won Strictly’s second series in 2004 and has starred in dramas like Waterloo Road, Wild at Heart, Three Girls and The Long Shadow, says until a decade ago a lot of her roles were “dull.” She says: “It gets quite dull when you’re a young 20 year-old, playing the secretary, or the girl in the village. That gets quite boring after a while.
“You do find yourself in your mid to late 20s, where you’re like ‘come on! Give me something!’ It’s a fact that it’s a bit harder for women, because there are less parts, so you find yourself competing for the good stuff. When I went to drama school, I really believed that I was going to be given all these amazing opportunities when I left and I was going to be able to play a girl from a council estate and then go on to play a Russian princess and then a Spanish dancer.
“Then I left drama school and people went ‘oh, no, no, no!’ We all get typecast into a certain type of role, so it’s lovely when somebody says ‘do you fancy playing something like this’ and it’s something different. Thankfully, as time has gone on, I’ve been given more to do and in the last ten years, people have started to write more interestingly for women, which has been great.
“I’m getting meatier roles, because writers are allowed to tell stories from the point of view of the woman and being allowed to tell stories that are a bit messier and more complex. So, the woman is not just the person that’s with the lead character.” In the last four years Jill has done brilliantly, appearing in gripping TV dramas including The Feud, The Holiday, The Drowning and The Cuckoo.
But while her professional life couldn’t be better, away from the cameras she has been through the mill. In 2017, her life was turned upside down when her partner Matt Janes, 43, died after suffering a heart attack at the gym. His death also triggered tragic memories of her father Colin’s death, aged 36, also after a heart attack, during a game of five-a-side football.
She shared her experiences of loss and grieving in her memoir, A Life Reimagined, published last year. She says: “I didn’t write the last page and think ‘oh my God, that’s better,’ because I was re-visiting a lot of feelings. “But my whole philosophy is not to run away from grief – to be brave enough to cry and stay in the discomfort. So, I talked about how I felt and I hope that helped some people.
“One of the reasons why we struggle when we lose people is because we don’t talk about the fact that we’re going to lose people – ‘shut up, don’t talk about that, no point in talking about it until they’re gone.’ Well, there is actually. It’s called preparation. What made me decide to write it was that I’d read a huge number of books about grief when I lost my partner. They were brilliant, but a lot of them were written from a professional’s point of view.
“I would have loved to have heard from a normal person who had lost someone and was speaking from a very personal point of view about how they dealt with it and what they went through. Even things like what you do when someone dies. All the paperwork, how you book a funeral. It’s all shrouded in secrecy. No-one knows until it’s happening to them. They’re like: ‘why didn’t anyone tell me this?’ It’s because we don’t talk about it.”
Now living by the sea in her native North East with her 17 year-old son Harvey, from her previous marriage to actor Craig Conway, she is dating marketing manager Ian McAllister. They met in 2023 and she says she is in a good place. She says: “You think about all of the years and all the pain and the tears and then suddenly I’m here today and I feel good.
“Life isn’t perfect, but I’m happy to be where I’m at. Life is random. I lost my dad and then I lost my partner. I’ve lost friends and other members of the family. It’s just a natural cycle of life. For some reason we have it in our heads that we should all live to a ripe old age, but some of us don’t. It’s not that it’s ok, but there’s no comfort for me in being angry or wishing it was different.
“The only comfort for me is acceptance. Then I can open my eyes and think there might be other things now. Because when you’re still angry you close yourself off to a life that could possibly be waiting for you.”
*After the Flood returns on Sunday, 18th January, airing weekly on Sundays and Mondays on ITV. All episodes are available on ITVX
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Spanish musician Julio Iglesias has been accused of sexually abusing two women. One claims that she had been pressured into having sex with Iglesias, 82. She described acts of physical and verbal abuse and slapping. Another claimed that she had been subjected to insults and humiliation as well as inappropriate touching.
The allegations are being investigated by Spain’s judiciary. The Aduiencia Nacional – a high court in Spain – said: “Preliminary criminal investigation proceedings have been initiated, which, as you know, are confidential.”
One alleged victim, using the pseudonym Rebeca to protect her identity said: “I felt like an object, like a slave.” A second woman, Laura, which is not her real name, claimed that the musician kissed her mouth and touched her breasts without consent.
Speaking to eldiario.es, she said: “We were on the beach and he came up to me and touched my nipples.” She went on to claim that a similar incident took place at the pool of his villa in Punta Cana.
While Mr Inglesias is yet to comment on the allegations, the Spanish media have reported that a woman identified as a manager of one of his homes said the allegations were “nonsense”.
She told the publication that she only had “gratitude, admiration, and respect for the great artist and human being that he is,” adding that he was a “humble, generous, great gentleman and very respectful to all women.”
Spanish prosecutors have since confirmed they are investigating a formal complaint made against the musician. In a statement, the Aduiencia Nacional said: “In view of the news reports published today concerning Julio Iglesias and given the interest shown by the media, I would like to inform you that a complaint was filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Audiencia Nacional on 5 January 2026.
“Preliminary criminal investigation proceedings have been initiated, which, as you know, are confidential. Given the nature of the allegations and reiterating the confidential (secret) nature of the Public Prosecutor’s investigation, and in the interests of protecting the alleged victims, it is not appropriate to provide further information.”
Mr Iglesias found fame in the UK when his track Begin the Beguine, topped the charts in 1981. Across the globe, he’s sold over 300 million records.
edlDiario.es claims to have repeatedly attempted to contact Mr Iglesias for comment. The Mirror has approached his spokesperson.
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
Ugandan authorities have imposed a nationwide internet blackout days before presidential elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is expected to prolong his 40-year rule.
A government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access starting at 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Internet monitor NetBlocks later confirmed a “nation-scale disruption to internet connectivity”.
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The network outage has heightened concerns about repression in the run-up to the January 15 vote, in which 81-year-old Museveni, Africa’s third-longest-serving leader, is being challenged by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine.
Ugandan security personnel have rounded up hundreds of opposition supporters in advance of the vote and repeatedly fired live bullets and tear gas at pro-Wine campaign rallies. Meanwhile, opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who challenged Museveni in four previous elections, is jailed on charges of treason.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has criticised Uganda’s authorities for creating an environment of “widespread repression and intimidation” before the vote.
Brussels-based International Crisis Group has assessed that Museveni, “with his firm grip on the levers of state power … has re-election all but locked down.”
Wine views his candidacy as a campaign “against impunity,” reported Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi from Kampala, Uganda. But “he doesn’t believe that he is going to get a free or fair election.”
Museveni’s government said security forces are acting to stop what it described as lawless conduct by opposition supporters. The Uganda Communications Commission defended the internet shutdown as necessary to “curb “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.”
In addition to cutting off the internet, the government on Tuesday ordered two local rights groups that have been critical of authorities – Chapter Four Uganda and Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda – to halt their work.
The state-run National Bureau for NGOs accused Chapter Four Uganda of engaging in activities “prejudicial” to Uganda’s security and “should cease operations … with immediate effect”.
Kristof Titeca, a Uganda expert based at Antwerp University, said the government’s clampdown has made it “too dangerous” for the opposition to effectively organise.
“The price people have to pay for engaging in political opposition has become very high,” said Titeca.
Uganda also blocked internet access during its last election in 2021 – a vote marred by reports of state violence and electoral manipulation. Authorities had repeatedly promised the internet would remain available this time, saying as recently as January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public”.
A group of cross-party MPs have called on Fifa to consider expelling the United States from the World Cup until the country demonstrates “clear compliance with international law and respect for the sovereignty of other nations”.
It follows the seizure by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital city Caracas this month, along with warnings that US president Donald Trump has recently issued to a host of other countries.
Back in December, Fifa awarded Trump its inaugural ‘Peace Prize’ at the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony in Washington, saying he had “played a pivotal role” in establishing a ceasefire and promoted peace between Israel and Palestine, and that he has sought to end other conflicts.
In the few weeks since, the US has taken military action in both Venezuela and Nigeria and has hinted at possible further operations in Greenland, fellow World Cup co-host Mexico, and two other participants in the tournament – Colombia and Iran.
Now, 23 politicians from Labour, the Lib Dems, Green Party and Plaid Cymru have signed a motion in parliament, calling on international sporting bodies to consider expelling the US from major international competitions, including the World Cup.
They say such events “should not be used to legitimise or normalise violations of international law by powerful states”.
The MPs express concern about the “escalation of US actions against Venezuela”, including “the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro”, claiming that they amount to “a direct intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign state”.
While the White House is yet to respond to the BBC about the MPs’ motion, it has previously claimed that the capture of Maduro was a law-enforcement operation against an illegitimate leader responsible for both drug-trafficking and terrorism. Trump said the US will now control Venezuela and its oil industry.
Maduro insists he is a prisoner of war, and Trump faced strong criticism at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected” during the US action.
Meanwhile, Trump has also told Cuba to “make a deal” over Venezuelan oil exports “before it is too late”, and said a military operation targeting Colombia “sounds good”.
As with Venezuela, Trump has accused Colombia of not doing enough to tackle drug trafficking. Colombia president Gustavo Petro has told the BBC that he believes there is now a “real threat” of US military action against his country.
Trump has also claimed that drugs are “pouring” through Mexico into America, adding “we’re gonna have to do something”, amid reports that he has started planning a mission to send in US troops.
Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum says she has rejected any US military action on Mexican soil.
Trump has also insisted his country needs to take over Greenland for national security reasons and has not ruled out using military force.
The mineral-rich Arctic territory is controlled by Denmark, a fellow Nato member, and potentially also in the World Cup if its team comes through the play-offs.
Fifa declined to comment on the MPs’ motion, and whether it may now reconsider the annual awarding of its peace prize in light of Trump’s recent foreign policy.
But few believe it will take any action against a country that is hosting the majority of its matches at the World Cup, especially given the close relationship the governing body’s president Gianni Infantino has cultivated with Trump.
Such ties have led to accusations that Fifa has become politicised, although it insists that as an organiser of football events it has a statutory duty to remain neutral.
This is not the first time Fifa has come under pressure over the political actions of a World Cup host.
In 2018, the tournament went ahead in Russia despite the country annexing Crimea four years earlier. Russia also stood accused of cyber attacks, meddling in western elections and carrying out the Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
However, comparisons have also been drawn with the way Fifa subsequently banned Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a sanction that remains in place.
“Let’s have consistency,” Brian Leishman, one of the MPs who has signed the motion, told the Daily Mirror when asked about the US action in Venezuela.
“It’s an invasion of a sovereign nation and the kidnap of a president in Venezuela. I’m very critical of Maduro, I want to be very clear on that, but what we’ve seen is a breach of international law. When you see how Russia has been treated, which is absolutely correct, I just want there to be consistency.”
Some at Fifa privately point out that the Russian Football Union is still a member association and that the ban on playing internationals was more down to teams refusing to play against Russia and security concerns, rather than the governing body taking a moral position.
An insight into Fifa’s approach came in October when Infantino said Fifa “cannot solve geopolitical problems” amid pressure to sanction Israel after a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that it had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also maintains a ban on Russian teams at the Games, with individual athletes only allowed to compete as neutrals, as long as they are admitted by the relevant sporting federations.
However, it has ruled out the exclusion of any American athletes from February’s Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina in Italy.
In a statement issued to BBC Sport, it said: “As a global organisation, the IOC has to manage a complex reality. The IOC has to deal with the current political context and the latest developments in the world.
“The ability to bring athletes together, no matter where they come from, is fundamental to the future of values-based, truly global sport, which can give hope to the world.
“For this reason, the IOC cannot involve itself directly in political matters or conflicts between countries, as these fall outside our remit. This is the realm of politics.”
IOC sources have told BBC Sport a distinction has to be made with Russia because it took over Ukrainian territory and put athletes there under the control of the Russian Olympic Committee, which is against the Olympic Charter.
Some believe that, depending on Trump’s next moves, the situation could become harder for sports bodies to navigate.
“Fifa and the IOC could be heading towards one almighty headache,” according to John Zerafa, a veteran advisor to countries and cities wanting to host major sports events.
“Both organisations’ charters emphasise peace, respect for sovereignty, and non-discrimination.
“In Russia’s case, that led to bans and restrictions on athletes and teams. If, in a worst-case scenario, the US were to use force against Greenland – a Nato ally’s territory – would those same principles apply? If Denmark qualifies via the play-offs, would it boycott the World Cup? Would European or Nato leaders refuse to attend US-hosted events?
“This isn’t just geopolitics. It’s a looming stress-test for sporting institutions that pride themselves on neutrality, yet repeatedly find themselves forced to take political positions when international law and conflict collide with global competition.”
Trump’s hardline immigration policy could also have an impact on the World Cup, which begins on 11 June.
Fifa vowed to have a welcoming and unifying tournament, but there are now four competing countries – Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast – whose fans face full or partial travel bans, with the White House referencing a need to manage security threats.
Meanwhile, domestic tensions in the US have intensified after Renee Good, 37, was shot dead by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week, triggering large protests in the city.
Even before the incident, human rights organisations had claimed the World Cup was at increasing danger of being “weaponised for authoritarian aims” and criticised “escalating attacks on immigrants in the US… and threats to press freedom and the rights of peaceful protesters”.
Former Scotland and Chelsea player Eddie McCreadie, who was once hailed by Tommy Docherty as the best left-back in Europe and went on to manage the London club, has died at the age of 85.
Born in Glasgow, McCreadie scored Chelsea’s winning goal in the 1965 League Cup final against Leicester City and helped the Blues lift the FA Cup five years later with a replay victory in extra time over Leeds United.
One of his 23 Scotland caps came in a famous 3-2 victory over England at Wembley a year after the hosts had lifted the World Cup there.
Growing up in Cowcaddens in Glasgow, McCreadie was overlooked by scouts at local club Partick Thistle and instead joined Falkirk outfit East Stirlingshire.
It was while there that he was spotted by Chelsea manager Docherty, who took him to Stamford Bridge for just £5,000, a transfer deal that included provision for Chelsea playing two friendlies against East Stirlingshire – the second of which never happened.
McCreadie, though, would go from the Scottish Second Division to being hailed by Docherty as the best left-back in Europe and making 410 appearances for Chelsea.
His combative, attacking style was reminiscent of modern-day wing-backs and he memorably stood in for the injured Barry Bridges as an emergency centre-forward in that 1965 League Cup final victory, scoring a fine solo goal where he ran almost the whole length of the field before slotting past England goalkeeper Gordon Banks.
McCreadie also courted infamy in their FA Cup win over Leeds as an estimated television audience of 28 million watched him make a kung-fu style flying challenge on Scotland team-mate Billy Bremner, his feet at head height, but he received no caution from referee Eric Jennings.
After retiring from playing, McCreadie joined Chelsea’s coaching staff in 1974, with Ron Suart’s side sliding towards life back in the second tier.
The Scot took over from the departing Suart in April 1975 and, although he could not prevent relegation, he rebuilt the side around 18-year-old midfielder Ray Wilkins and took Chelsea back up to the First Division in 1977.
However, he left before the start of the new season after a row with chairman Brian Mears, expressing surprise that his offer to resign after being refused a company car was accepted.