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Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins still struggling four months after scary health battle

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Steps star Ian ‘ H ‘ Watkins revealed that he’s still battling with an illness after a months-long battle.

H, 48, worryingly shared that he’s lost a huge section of his vocal range due to an unnamed virus that took hold months ago, and that he still hasn’t been able to shake the illness off. The musician added that he had the virus back in November during the run of Steps musical Here &amp, Now, and it’s followed him through to 2025.

“When we launched Steps The Musical in Birmingham, I had this awful virus and I still have not recovered from that. So, if I had been asked to do a show, I would have had to have cancelled. Half of my range has just gone. It knocked me for six”, he told Heat.

While H hasn’t named his current health battle, he previously opened up about another lifelong struggle he’s faced, insomnia. Despite being known for his high-energy stage performances, he told HuffPost UK back in 2020 that he’d battled with the debilitating disorder for decades.

H shared that he’s been battling a virus for months, alongside previously sharing that he was ‘ wrecked ‘ from lifelong insomnia (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

He told the outlet: “Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and can be wide awake for two hours, then by the time I fall back to sleep, it’s time to get back up again”, adding that he often feels “pretty wrecked” in the mornings.

H added that his global travels with Steps have made the disease worsen, with him flying in and out of different time zones for years.

“It really did screw with my body clock for years and years, and I think that pattern has just settled with me now – it’s not great”, he admitted.

Alongside dealing with his health issues, H’s suffered a major blow to his personal life in 2017 when he split from his partner of a decade, Craig Ryder, barely a year after the duo became parents to twin boys Macsen and Cybi through surrogacy in March 2016. The former couple’s split wasn’t easy, devolving into a very public legal dispute.

H’s split changed his young family, making him a single father early on in the boys ‘ lives. Speaking with Sky News in 2021, H said: “I have been a single parent virtually from the beginning, I guess, so I know exactly what it’s like to be outnumbered if you are a single parent out there”.

The star admitted that it wasn’t always easy, sharing: “It’s tough… There is no traditional family unit anymore. Families come in all shapes and sizes”.

Detailing the parental balancing act, H continued, “When it comes to single-parent families, I’m outnumbered, completely. So I have to divide my time and I have to devote attention to what’s needed.

” I am a little bit of a, well, 90%, I’d say, I’m bad cop because I have to be, you know, I do rule my children with discipline, but I also put the fun dad hat on as well. So it’s a juggling act, really. And it’s tough. “

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Eubank fined £100,000 for slapping Benn with egg

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Chris Eubank Jr has been fined £100, 000 for slapping Conor Benn with an egg during a chaotic news conference last month.

As the pair prepared for the obligatory face-off, Eubank produced an egg from his pocket and hit his British rival across the cheek with his left hand.

Benn, with his father Nigel next to him, lost control and both boxers were held back by security guards.

In a statement, the British Boxing Board of Control said Eubank, 35, was in breach of regulation 25 in relation to misconduct.

The incident happened in Manchester on 25 February as the pair promoted their fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.

A scheduled fight between the pair in October 2022 was called off when Benn failed a voluntary drugs test, prompting a two-year battle with anti-doping authorities, before his suspension was lifted in November.

Benn has always denied intentionally doping and both fighters are being tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) for the contest.

An independent report by sanctioning body WBC in February 2023 said the 28-year-old’s failed drugs test was not intentional and could have been caused by a “highly elevated consumption” of eggs.

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Eubank Jr fined £100,000 for slapping Benn with egg

This video can not be played

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Chris Eubank Jr has been fined £100, 000 for slapping Conor Benn with an egg during a chaotic media conference last month.

As the pair prepared for the obligatory face-off, Eubank produced an egg from his pocket and hit his British rival across the cheek with his left hand.

Benn, with his father Nigel next to him, lost control and both boxers were held back by security guards.

In a statement, the British Boxing Board of Control said Eubank, 35, was in breach of regulation 25 in relation to misconduct.

The incident happened in Manchester on 25 February as the pair promoted their fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.

A scheduled fight between the pair in October 2022 was called off when Benn failed a voluntary drugs test, prompting a two-year battle with anti-doping authorities, before his suspension was lifted in November.

Benn has always denied intentionally doping and both fighters are being tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) for the contest.

An independent report by the World Boxing Council (WBC) in February 2023 said the 28-year-old’s failed drugs test was not intentional and could have been caused by a “highly elevated consumption” of eggs.

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Yamal, Raphinha Fire Barca Past Benfica Into Champions League Last Eight

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Lamine Yamal and Raphinha dazzled as Barcelona thumped Benfica 3-1 on Tuesday, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.

Raphinha netted either side of a stunning Yamal strike as the Catalans dominated in the first half, building on their 1-0 last 16, first leg win in Lisbon.

Nicolas Otamendi had quickly levelled Raphinha’s opener but the visitors were blown away at the Olympic Stadium as Barcelona progressed comfortably from the tie and produced some moments of brilliant attacking football.

Hansi Flick’s side will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals as they aim to win the competition for the first time since 2015 and the era of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Barcelona’s German coach Hans-Dieter Flick throws the ball during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg football match between FC Barcelona and SL Benfica at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on March 11, 2025. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Flick said Barca would play for late club doctor Carles Minarro, who died suddenly on Saturday ahead of the team’s match against Osasuna, which was postponed, and the players observed a silence in his honour before kick-off.

Five-time winners Barca took the lead after 11 minutes when Spain international Yamal burst into the area, chopped his way past Florentino and then mishit the ball across to Raphinha for a simple finish.

Benfica levelled within two minutes when Otamendi escaped Ronald Araujo to head home from a corner.

Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny excelled in the first leg as the Catalans claimed an impressive win with 10 men after Pau Cubarsi’s red card, but might have done more to keep out Otamendi’s effort.

READ ALSO: &nbsp, Man Utd ‘ Need More Brunos, ‘ Says Amorim After Fine Fernandes Free-Kick

Barcelona’s Brazilian forward #11 Raphinha celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg football match between FC Barcelona and SL Benfica at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on March 11, 2025. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

However Barcelona, and particularly their wingers Yamal and Raphinha, were in sensational form and they quickly reclaimed their lead.

Yamal netted his first goal in seven matches, but it was worth the wait, with the 17-year-old cutting in from the right and arcing a sensational shot past Anatoliy Trubin and in at the far post from the edge of the box.

Raphinha grabbed his second before the break to give Barcelona a three-goal aggregate lead after a blistering run by Alejandro Balde.

The left-back won the ball back in his area and sliced open the Portuguese team on the counter, carrying it to the edge of Benfica’s area before teeing up Raphinha.

It was the winger’s 11th strike of the competition and he leads the scoring charts.

Bruno Lage’s side were without injured midfielder Angel Di Maria but even with him beating Flick’s Barca on this form would have been a difficult ask.

Benfica’s Italian forward #19 Andrea Belotti (C) is challenged by Barcelona’s Uruguayan defender #04 Ronald Federico Araujo da Silva (R) during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg football match between FC Barcelona and SL Benfica at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

Fredrik Aursnes netted for Benfica in the second half but the goal was disallowed for offside against Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a hat-trick as Barca won 5-4 in their first meeting this season, in the league stage in January.

For the most part Benfica struggled to trouble Szczesny, and Barcelona came close to scoring a fourth when Frenkie de Jong poked wide on the stretch at the end of a razor-sharp team move.

Barcelona now await their quarter-final opponent and can start preparing to visit Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, in a huge clash in the Spanish title race.

Katie Price’s next career move as she lands huge new movie alongside Harry Potter star

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Katie Price will star in a new comedy movie alongside a Harry Potter actor.

Katie will have a huge role in a brand new comedy spoof movie, which will also star Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas as well as singer Kimberley Wyatt. James Phelps – who stars as Fred Weasley in the hit Harry Potter movies – is also starring in the movie alongside Charlotte Kirk, who plays the role of Jackie / Lottie.

Hollyoaks actor Jamie will play Jack The Ripper, who heads up the secret organisation, whilst Gary Webster will play John Grey – the one man who decides to stand up to the Ripper.

A synopsis to the comedy spoof movie reads: “Set in London’s Whitechapel district in 1888, Kirk stars as Jackie/Lottie who finds herself plagued by the infamous Jack The Ripper (Lomas) who is head of a secret organization known only as The Court.

Katie will join the cast of a new movie
James Phelps, pictured alongside his brother Oliver, is best known for playing Fred Weasley
James Phelps, pictured alongside his brother Oliver, is best known for playing Fred Weasley (Getty)

” Only one man, John Grey (Webster), stands up to the Ripper, vowing to fight against the tyranny, carnage and male oppression that is left in the court’s wake. Cut to modern day, and a group of kick-ass female assassins, led by their leader Jackie, plan a series of hits that will leave The Court dead in their tracks, “according to Deadline.

It is not known who Katie Price will play – but will she be one of the” kick-ass female assassins”?

Katie recently revealed she had decided to make a career change inspired by her son Harvey.

” I feel focused and want to achieve all my goals this year. Oh, and guess what else I am doing this year? “she said before revealing she had planned to finish her life-coaching course and wants to become a paramedic.

She added:” I’m going to find time to start that course. I just love helping people and I want to be on the road, or Air Ambulance, it is a long course. “Explaining those at Harvey’s supported living unit had backed her plans, she added of her plans to change her career:” So I said I’d be a volunteer once a week to do that… The life coaching because I love anything about mental health. These are things I want to achieve for myself. And the paramedic thing. I will have to do the access course. “

Katie also recently teased she would be doing a new reality show despite backlash over her IVF documentary. Katie had documented her IVF journey with Carl Woods, but it was fiercely criticised by viewers.

Discussing reality shows, she said:” The thing is, I always say, I don’t need to do other people’s reality shows because I have my own. So watch this space for this year, “before asking the interviewer:” Did any of you watch the Boyzone documentary? There’s a hint, “

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Man Utd’s new stadium – 11 key questions

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Manchester United have announced ambitious plans to build a new £2bn 100, 000-capacity stadium close to their current home at Old Trafford.

Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the “world’s greatest football stadium”.

But when? And how can they afford it? What does it look like? And what happens to the current stadium?

How long will it take to build?

Manchester United believe the new stadium can be completed in five years.

A project of this size would normally take about 10 years to complete.

However, the club think they can halve the building time by making full use of the Manchester ship canal.

How will the new stadium be built?

The club plan to build large parts of the stadium off-site before shipping it to the Old Trafford site via the Manchester ship canal.

“It will be a modular build – that means it can be built far more quickly”, said Ratcliffe.

“There are yards which specialise in building very large structures, which are then shipped to locations around the world”.

When does building work start?

There is no confirmed starting date.

Ratcliffe says the project will depend on how ‘ quickly ‘ the government are with kick-starting their regeneration project of the area.

“On the timeline for this, it starts with a discussion”, said Ratcliffe.

“It depends how quickly the government get going with their regeneration programme. I think they want to get going quite quickly, because they want to see progress in this parliament.

” I’m assuming that will go well and it will go quickly. “

United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche says the club will work closely with the authorities to make the project proceed” as smooth and quick as possible”.

” One of the things we are establishing is a mayoral development corporation, that gives a lot of rights to speed these things through, “she added.

What will happen to Old Trafford?

It is unclear what will happen to United’s existing home – but it looks unlikely the current Old Trafford will be kept.

Architects Foster and Partners had suggested Old Trafford would be demolished – and there is no sign of the current stadium in the new artists impressions.

Given the proximity of the new stadium to the current site, this option looks likely.

” By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, “Ratcliffe said.

It had been suggested in 2024 that the current stadium could be scaled back and used as a home for United’s women and youth teams.

United chief executive Omar Berrada said the club may revisit that plan, but it is” unlikely”.

Will Man Utd Women play at the new stadium?

That’s the ambition.

Berrada says the club wants to grow the women’s team fanbase enough for them to play at the main stadium, which could incorporate matches or events with smaller capacities.

He added they were looking at pitch technology that would allow for the surface to be in” mint condition “for both the men’s and women’s teams.

Roche added:” The great thing about having this type of stadium is it can actually be creative for different venues.

How much does the new stadium cost?

Manchester United say the new stadium will cost about £2bn.

How can United afford it?

The club have not said how the stadium will be financed.

There are several options on the table, such as loans, private investment or investment from co-owner Ratcliffe.

However, the proposal to build a new £2bn stadium runs alongside the cost-cutting measures being made by Ratcliffe since his investment in the club.

‘ What we’re doing now is try to put ourselves in the best financial position to be able to finance a stadium and other infrastructure projects, “said Berrada.

” Our aim is to be the most profitable club within three years. We think this will put us in the best financial footing to make this investment and to work with private investors who are willing to work with us. “

The club are more than £1bn in debt.

However, football finance expert Kieran Maguire says the club have more headroom to borrow money.

” The good news for Manchester United is that the club is in a position to borrow substantial sums, despite existing levels of debt, “Maguire told BBC Sport.

” If the club does borrow a substantial amount of the estimated £2bn cost of the new stadium, it is likely to do so with some form of interest only loan.

“When Tottenham took a similar approach to building a new stadium in London a few years ago, they negotiated at very low interest rates. These loans have resulted in Tottenham’s interest costs rising from £12m in the final season at White Hart Lane in 2016-17 to £46m in 2022-23. During that same period matchday income had increased by £72m and commercial income by £155m.

” The increase in commercial income is due to the club having a bigger multi-function stadium, used for a myriad football and non-football events such as NFL, music concerts and boxing. “

Speaking to BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Ratcliffe said:” The financing is not the issue, I think it’s eminently financeable. But the detail of that we’d rather talk about in the future. It will be financeable, I think. “

Ratcliffe told the Overlap podcast that no public money will be used to build the stadium, but the project will not be possible without wider regeneration funded by the government.

” We can’t afford to regenerate southern Manchester. It is too big a bill for the club, “he said.

Will this stop Man Utd buying new players?

According to Berrada, no.

” We don’t want to inhibit our ability to invest in the team, for us to continue being competitive while we are building a new stadium, “he added.

” There are various ways around that. One of the things we are looking at is to shorten the construction timelines.

“In the meantime, by getting our finances back in order and becoming profitable, we believe that we can be very competitive.

” The big, big benefit that this club has is that it has the biggest fanbase in the world and therefore the ability to be the number one in terms of revenues that it generates. “

Where is the new stadium’s location?

The new stadium is to be built next to Old Trafford, which Ratcliffe hopes will” preserve the essence “of their current home.

The new stadium will form part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given Government backing to the plans.

Will Man Utd fill the new stadium?

Old Trafford’s current capacity is 74, 310, so the new stadium will accommodate more than 25, 000 new spectators.

How will United fill it? And who will they be?

” Those Manchester United fans on the waiting list for season tickets may be disappointed if they thought the additional capacity of the stadium would result in many more season tickets becoming available, “said Maguire.

” Manchester United have a huge global fanbase who are more likely to be willing to pay higher prices than those available to season ticket holders. Liverpool have in recent years increased the capacity of Anfield from 45, 000 to over 61, 000 as owners Fenway Sports Group have made most of the extra tickets available to fans in the membership scheme rather than those who want to have a coveted season ticket. “

In a statement, the Manchester United Supporters ‘ Trust (MUST) said fans” remain anxious “about the plans and whether ticket prices will be driven up, forcing out local supporters.

” We look forward to further consultation with supporters discussing these vital questions with the club. If they are able to produce a new stadium as stunning as the plans suggest without harming the atmosphere, without hiking ticket prices and without harming investment elsewhere, then this could be very exciting.

What does it look like?

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Architects at Foster and Partners, who will design the project, said the new stadium would feature an umbrella design and a new public plaza that is “twice the size of Trafalgar Square”.

The design will feature three masts described as “the trident”, which the architects say will be 200 metres high and visible from 25 miles away.

“As you move away from the stadium, it’s not a fortress surrounded by a sea of cars. Its open, and it’s contained by an umbrella that harvests solar energy, harvests rainwater but it’s protective and it encloses arguably the largest public space in the world”, said architect Norman Foster.

“And then the three masts, the trident, visible from 40kms, 200 metres high. So, this becomes a global destination.

” And then we rebuild the Old Trafford station and that becomes the pivot. The processional way to the stadium, welcoming at the heart of a new sport-led neighbourhood. It’s walkable, it’s well served by public transport. It’s endowed by nature.

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