BBC presenter Laura Jackson has shared a heartbreaking tribute to her father after he died following a battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer
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Laura Jackson has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her dad following his death (Image: Dave Benett, Dave Benett/Getty Images for Walpole)
BBC presenter Laura Jackson has shared a heartfelt tribute to her late father, who sadly lost his battle with cancer.
The host of ITV2’s Take Me Out: The Gossip and BBC One’s Ready or Not took to Instagram to reveal her father’s diagnosis with Mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects the lining of the body’s internal organs.
She penned: “My darling dad. The last five months have been the hardest of my entire life.
“I’ve felt like an iceberg trying to hold it all together on the surface, trying to carry on through life but beneath the surface has sat the depth of my grief, waiting for the moment it would finally break through – but I don’t think I even believed the moment would actually come.
“We watched you die on Saturday night – I will never not unsee you leaving us – they said it would be peaceful but all I have is pain, loss and such sadness.”, reports Birmingham Live.
“There is nothing peaceful about the fact you are not here, Dad.
“The last few weeks were so hard when the Mesothelioma tried to take charge. You were so brave and so strong.
“I feel so sad, I really don’t know how to live my life without you.
“Things will never be the same again. I love you so much, I miss you so, so much already. xxxxxxx fantastico xxxxxxxx.”
Laura sweetly added: “It’s been a privilege to be your daughter.”
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Her post was met with an outpouring of support from colleagues and fans alike, including Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu who commented: “Oh Laura I’m so deeply sorry.”
One supporter wrote: “I am so sorry Laura, he sounded like an incredible man. Sending you love and strength.”
Richard Madeley has now been married to Judy Finnigan for 39 years, but before the pair took the plunge and moved in together, he went on a unique solo trip to seriously consider the decision
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Richard Madeley had an unusual method of deciding whether or not he was ready to move in with Judy Finnigan(Image: Getty Images)
Richard Madeley has opened up about the unconventional way he knew he was ready to take a big step in his relationship with his now-wife Judy Finnigan.
The Good Morning Britain presenter revealed he took himself off on a “solo holiday” before moving in with Judy, because he wanted to be absolutely certain he was prepared to become a stepfather to her twin sons, Dan and Tom, who were seven years old at the time.
While on Busted star Matt Willis’ On the Mend podcast, Richard explained: “Judy and I worked together for years before we even talked about the prospect of getting together. One of Judy’s main concerns was obviously her kids. They, you know, came first front and foremost in any move that she might make.”
He continued: “I remember her saying to me when it became clear that we were falling for each other and we were tentatively beginning to talk about maybe having a life together, ‘you’ve got to understand I come in a three pack — it’s me and Tom and Dan.’”
Richard said he took her words to heart and wanted to be sure he could truly commit to the role of stepdad.
He shared: “So I went off to Greece for two weeks on a kind of a solo holiday to think about it because I didn’t want to rush. I didn’t want to say with super confidence ‘Oh yeah, it’ll be fine, I’m happy to be a stepfather.’
“I needed to know that I could deliver and that I meant it, that I really meant it. So I went away for two weeks and just thought — basically sat on a beach for two weeks and just thought quite deeply about the future and about how I felt about it. And I felt very comfortable with it.”
When he returned, Richard told Judy he was ready, and the pair decided to test the waters as a family.
“We went away for a week together, all four of us. We rented a cottage in Cornwall just as a little trial to see how we all got on. And it was fantastic. We had a great time. And that kind of sealed it,” he said.
The couple got married in 1986 and went on to have two children of their own, a son called Jack and a daughter named Chloe, who has since become a TV personality and personal trainer.
Judy’s twins, who are now in their late 40s, have chosen to live their lives away from the public eye.
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Richard and Judy are one of Britain’s most loved TV duos. The couple co-hosted This Morning from 1988 to 2001, and went on to present their Channel 4 chat show Richard & Judy until 2009.
Although they no longer work side by side, they are closer than ever. While on Kate Thornton’s podcast White Wine Question Time recently, Judy shared: “We are incredibly close, we always have been. Obviously, I think working together for so long has bonded us more tightly than if we had two completely separate jobs.”
Who: India vs Australia What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 group stage When: Sunday, October 12 at 3pm (09:30 GMT) Where: Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, India How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 07:00 GMT before our text commentary stream for the action.
India will hope for a quick return to winning ways when they meet defending champions Australia in a blockbuster clash at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 on Sunday.
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Both teams began the tournament as favourites, but Australia hold a definite edge in the match as record seven-time world champions and the only undefeated team after the first three group-stage matches.
Meanwhile, India were handed their first loss of the World Cup when South Africa pulled off a stunning turnaround in a three-wicket win on Thursday.
All 15,087 tickets for the eagerly awaited clash were sold out earlier in the week, indicating huge interest in what is now seen as one of the top rivalries in women’s cricket.
India vs Australia rivalry ‘continues to grow’
Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy admitted the interest in the Australia-India rivalry “continues to grow”, and that Australia will be taking on the “sleeping giant” of women’s cricket.
“They’ve [India] been a sleeping giant in the women’s game for a long period of time,” Healy said on Saturday.
The wicketkeeper-batter highlighted the role of the Women’s Premier League T20 franchise tournament in helping India unearth talent and figure out a style of play that suits them.
While Australia haven’t lost a match in the tournament, they have recovered from wobbly situations to post two wins in their two completed matches.
“You’re going to be put under the pump in unfamiliar conditions, against unfamiliar sides at times,” Healy explained.
“We’re allowed to lose games of cricket and be put under pressure in World Cups, and I really back the depth in our side,” she said when asked to comment on Australia’s batting slump against Pakistan on Wednesday.
“We’re fortunate that it’s been a different person every time that stuck their hand up and said, yep, I’ve got this, I can get us to a total or I can take the wickets to restrict the team.”
Despite their unmatched record in women’s cricket, Healy said India will be “a real threat” playing in their home conditions.
India beat Australia in the semifinal of the Women’s World Cup 2017 in England [File: Rui Vieira/AP]
India not dwelling on loss
India’s all-rounder Sneh Rana believes her team can bounce back quickly after the loss to South Africa, as they don’t dwell on losses and focus on the next challenge instead.
“We regroup, we study the match, plan how to improve, take the positives, and look forward to the next game,” Rana said on the eve of the Australia match.
She termed the Australians “one of the strongest competitors” but was quick to highlight the fact that India have beaten the world champions in the (2017) World Cup as well as their recent bilateral series.
For the hosts, one of the major areas of concern will be the lack of big scores from their top-rated batter Smriti Mandhana.
The left-handed opener has scored a world record 972 runs in women’s one-day internationals (ODIs) in 2025, but her top score in the tournament stands at 23.
In fact, none of India’s top batters feature among the tournament’s top five run-scorers thus far, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh in fourth spot with 131 runs.
Rana, however, said the team is not worried about the lack of runs from the top.
“We have some of the best batters in the world, and it’s just a matter of one good knock [before they score big].”
Smriti Mandhana has scored 54 runs in her three innings in the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 [Anupam Nath/AP]
India vs Australia: Head-to-head in ODIs
Despite the relatively low frequency of women’s international matches in past decades, India and Australia have faced each other in 59 ODIs.
Australia dominate the head-to-head count with 48 wins compared with India’s 11.
Form guide: India
The hosts won their first two matches of the World Cup comprehensively before crashing to a loss against South Africa. Their pre-tournament form has been mixed, with a series loss to Australia at home and an away series win against England.
Last five matches (latest result first): L W W L W
Form guide: Australia
Australia have won two of their three matches in the World Cup, with their fixture against Sri Lanka abandoned due to poor weather.
Apart from the one loss against India in September, Australia have not lost an ODI since September 2024.
Last five matches (latest result first): W W W L W
Team news: India
India may want to swap a spinner for a pace bowler, in which case Shree Charani could make way for Renuka Singh Thakur.
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 12 October Time: 19:45 BST
Steve Clarke admits he didn’t expect to “last this long” as Scotland boss, but is “greedy for more” as his side target a first men’s World Cup since 1998.
The 62-year-old will manage his country for the 72nd time against Belarus at Hampden on Sunday – live on the BBC – eclipsing the previous record mark set by Craig Brown.
Victory over the pointless visitors would take Scotland top of their World Cup qualifying group. Leaders Denmark host Greece later on Sunday, with defeat for the latter guaranteeing a play-off place for Clarke’s side should they beat Belarus.
Getting three points against a side they overcame 2-0 in Hungary last month is the main focus for Clarke, but he conceded the milestone is something he is “proud” of.
“I’d be daft if I wasn’t because I’m the first guy to reach that amount of games,” he said. “That’s nice for me, but it’s a little personal thing.
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Clarke succeeded Alex McLeish as national team boss in 2019 and has led Scotland to two European Championships.
Having narrowly missed out on the 1990 World Cup as a player, and lost to Ukraine in the play-offs for the last finals as Scotland head coach, he is determined to add the global showpiece to his list of career achievements.
“The brief was to qualify for tournaments,” he added when reflecting on his time in charge. “We’ve done that twice and we want to do it again because we’re all greedy.
“Did I think I’d last this long? Probably not, but here we are.
“We’ve put together a strong nucleus that we’ve managed to build upon. That’s what creates the environment because they know each other – and good results help.
‘These are the games you have to win’
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After recovering from a different first hour or so to come back and beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday, Scotland will make changes for what will be a different kind of test.
Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie are suspended and Aaron Hickey injured, meaning Billy Gilmour, Lyndon Dykes and Tony Ralston could be in line to start.
Clarke expects Belarus to sit deep at Hampden and make it difficult for Scotland, but said the onus was on his side.
“In my time here, we’ve done well against the so-called lesser teams and it’s very important you get the points off them,” he said.
“They’ll come here and be organised, they’ll be difficult to break down and until you break them down, it’ll be a long night.
“It’s up to us to approach the game properly, which we will. It’s up to us to create enough chances to get the crowd excited, which we hopefully will.”
Clarke also insisted he was not thinking beyond Sunday’s match, with a trip to Greece and a home match against the Danes following next month.
“All I ever try to emphasise is that if you want to qualify, these are the games you have to win,” he said. “If you drop points to the teams ranked below you, it makes qualification difficult.
“No room for complacency. At no point am I looking too far ahead.
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 12 October Time: 19:45 BST
Steve Clarke admits he didn’t expect to “last this long” as Scotland boss, but is “greedy for more” as his side target a first men’s World Cup since 1998.
The 62-year-old will manage his country for the 72nd time against Belarus at Hampden on Sunday – live on the BBC – eclipsing the previous record mark set by Craig Brown.
Victory over the pointless visitors would take Scotland top of their World Cup qualifying group. Leaders Denmark host Greece later on Sunday, with defeat for the latter guaranteeing a play-off place for Clarke’s side should they beat Belarus.
Getting three points against a side they overcame 2-0 in Hungary last month is the main focus for Clarke, but he conceded the milestone is something he is “proud” of.
“I’d be daft if I wasn’t because I’m the first guy to reach that amount of games,” he said. “That’s nice for me, but it’s a little personal thing.
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1 day ago
Clarke succeeded Alex McLeish as national team boss in 2019 and has led Scotland to two European Championships.
Having narrowly missed out on the 1990 World Cup as a player, and lost to Ukraine in the play-offs for the last finals as Scotland head coach, he is determined to add the global showpiece to his list of career achievements.
“The brief was to qualify for tournaments,” he added when reflecting on his time in charge. “We’ve done that twice and we want to do it again because we’re all greedy.
“Did I think I’d last this long? Probably not, but here we are.
“We’ve put together a strong nucleus that we’ve managed to build upon. That’s what creates the environment because they know each other – and good results help.
‘These are the games you have to win’
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
After recovering from a different first hour or so to come back and beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday, Scotland will make changes for what will be a different kind of test.
Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie are suspended and Aaron Hickey injured, meaning Billy Gilmour, Lyndon Dykes and Tony Ralston could be in line to start.
Clarke expects Belarus to sit deep at Hampden and make it difficult for Scotland, but said the onus was on his side.
“In my time here, we’ve done well against the so-called lesser teams and it’s very important you get the points off them,” he said.
“They’ll come here and be organised, they’ll be difficult to break down and until you break them down, it’ll be a long night.
“It’s up to us to approach the game properly, which we will. It’s up to us to create enough chances to get the crowd excited, which we hopefully will.”
Clarke also insisted he was not thinking beyond Sunday’s match, with a trip to Greece and a home match against the Danes following next month.
“All I ever try to emphasise is that if you want to qualify, these are the games you have to win,” he said. “If you drop points to the teams ranked below you, it makes qualification difficult.
“No room for complacency. At no point am I looking too far ahead.
Jessica Pegula fought back to end Aryna Sabalenka’s perfect record in Wuhan with a dramatic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory in the semi-finals on Saturday and will face Coco Gauff for the title.
Contesting an eighth consecutive three-setter, Pegula clawed her way back from 2-5 down in the decider to shock the world number one and set up a final against fellow American Gauff, who squeezed past Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
“That was crazy, I can’t believe I came back and won that,” said Pegula, who has won seven of the eight consecutive three-set matches she played in the last 17 days.
“I’m just really proud of myself. I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that as best I can.”
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USA Jessica Pegula celebrates her victory against Belaruss Aryna Sabalenka at the end of their womens singles semi-final match during the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
The sixth-seeded Pegula is through to her sixth final of the season having dethroned the reigning Wuhan champion Sabalenka, who came into the match with a perfect 20-0 record at the tournament.
Played in significantly cooler temperatures compared to the rest of the week, both semi-finals of the day featured a whopping number of service breaks due to the slower conditions.
There were five breaks of serve in the first six games of the contest before Sabalenka managed to consolidate her advantage and create a 5-2 gap.
Pegula, 31, threw her racquet in frustration when Sabalenka fired a return winner to get to set point the following game and the Belarusian scooped the opening set as the match clock hit 40 minutes.
Despite her struggles on serve Pegula was playing great off the ground, which helped her course-correct in the second set.
Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka serves to USAs Jessica Pegula during their womens singles semi-final match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
The American squandered a 2-0 lead early on but recovered to wrestle the second set away from Sabalenka’s hands and force a decider.
The final set was another see-saw affair but it looked almost over when Sabalenka served for the win at 5-3. Pegula had other ideas and flipped the script to lead 6-5.
Serving for the victory, Pegula double-faulted four times and let two match points slip away, allowing Sabalenka to force a deciding tiebreak.
Pegula upped her level when she needed it the most to claim just the third victory from 11 meetings with Sabalenka.
Gauff ousts Paolini
USA’s Coco Gauff hits a return to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during their women’s singles semi-final match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province on October 11, 2025. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
Gauff survived a battle of wills and some serving wobbles against Paolini in their semi-final.
The two-time Grand Slam champion had lost all three meetings she had with Paolini in 2025 but turned things around with a clutch effort on Saturday.
“It was 3-0 this year but I think our head-to-head is even now,” said Gauff of her record against the Italian.
“I’m really happy with how I played today, it was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through.”
In a semi-final dominated by the return, Gauff edged Paolini by the slimmest of margins.
A run of 11 consecutive breaks of serve swung the momentum like a pendulum but it was Gauff who finally held serve in game seven of the second set en route to an 82-minute victory.
