Category Entertainment News

The Prince and Princess of Wales will miss tonight’s BAFTAs as they are on holiday 4,000 miles away.

As the president of BAFTA, Prince William has attended the annual film awards in London for several years running – and has been joined in the past by wife Kate on the red carpet. However, earlier this week, Kensington Palace revealed that neither of them would be at the glitzy event tonight at the Royal Festival Hall.

The awards fall at the start of their children’s half-term holiday from school, with both William and Kate often taking time away from royal duties to spend time with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis when on their breaks from class.

According to the Mail On Sunday, the family is using the school holiday to enjoy a sun-drenched getaway on the exclusive luxury Caribbean island of Mustique. The publication reports that the family flew business class on a commercial British Airways flight to St Lucia before then heading on to Mustique, where Kate’s mum, Carole, is also believed to be on holiday.

The island is a favourite among A-list celebrities and was a particular favourite destination of William’s great aunt, Princess Margaret. The Wales family has been to Mustique several times before, including in 2019, when George spent his sixth birthday on the island. It is owned by a private company and has no hotels, meaning visitors must own a villa there or be invited to stay in one.

The royals will also be able to enjoy their privacy on the trip as Mustique enforces a no-fly zone, preventing paparazzi from getting any photographs from the air.

The trip is believed to have been their second holiday in as many months after it was reported the family enjoyed a New Year skiing break. The getaway also comes just weeks after Kate revealed she is now in remission from cancer and has been gradually returning to royal duties.

However, despite missing the BAFTAs tonight, William did drop in on budding moviemakers during a special visit last week. The Prince of Wales operated a camera while sitting on the dolly and track as he took shots for part of a film scene at the London Screen Academy (LSA) in Highbury, north London, on Wednesday.

The free-to-attend academy provides students skills and training with courses in film production, costume, editing and animation – and was created to address the skills shortage and lack of diversity in the UK screen and creative industries.

Among the academy’s co-founders are David Heyman, producer of all eight Harry Potter films, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who oversee the James Bond franchise.

William has been the president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) since 2010, when he succeeded the actor and director Richard Attenborough.

Kensington Palace has been contacted by The Mirror for comment.

Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer, has now bid farewell to the Althorp estate, to the apparent relief of staff.

For 13 years, the countess was married to Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Princess Diana. During her time at Althorp, Lady Spencer threw herself into ambitious efforts to restore the well-loved stately home. It’s here that the late princess spent her childhood years and was laid to rest following her death at the age of just 36.

Once a united team devoted to the preservation of the Spencer family’s rich history, the couple, who share a daughter, Charlotte Diana Spencer, announced they were planning to divorce in June 2024 amid reports of Earl Spencer’s new romance with archaeologist Professor Cat Jarman.

Unfortunately, there have been some dramatic moments in the months since, with Professor Jarman having previously confirmed she is suing Lady Spencer after she allegedly informed the Earl about her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis – something she had not yet felt ready to share with her new partner.

Now Lady Spencer, 52, is looking ahead to a “new chapter” beyond Althorp, sharing the news with Instagram followers. Uploading a pic of her two sheep, Lucky and Minty, the countryside-loving Canadian social entrepreneur wrote: ‘Well… at long last, three weeks ago, we finally moved into our temporary new home.

“Still waiting for the horses to arrive – hopefully next week! Doesn’t quite feel like home without them. This new chapter is already taking shape.”

This followed an earlier post, where she’d revealed: “It hasn’t been easy finding a temporary rental that can accommodate seven horses, two sheep, four cats, and a dog… but we’ve finally found one.”

While the countess is apparently looking forward to new beginnings, staff at Althorp are apparently pleased to see the end of what has reportedly been a somewhat tempestuous chapter in the estate’s 500-year history.

One staff member told the Mail Online: “Having Lady Spencer on the estate for the year since the split has been very challenging indeed. She was a very big presence at Althorp and one that won’t be missed.”

It’s understood the former couple are no longer on good terms, but mud is being slung around the divorce court. According to High Court papers seen by People, Lady Spencer claimed that her estranged husband had advised her he wanted a divorce via text message.

These documents assert that Earl Spencer’s “behaviour in the run-up to this had been uncaring and deliberately provocative”, adding that “the fact that he finally brought their marriage to an end by text, completely refusing to have any conversation with her in person or even provide an explanation at all, despite her repeated requests over the weeks that followed, was both cruel and inexplicable.”

Lady Spencer also accused her aristocratic ex of carrying on an affair with Professor Jarman behind her back since 2022 “and more likely since 2021,” referring to her as Earl Spencer’s “long-term mistress”.

In an email seen by Hello!, Lady Spencer also urged Professor Jarman to keep away from her beloved Althorp, warning: “Not sure what Charles has shared with you of this, but I won’t have you at Althorp while I still live here.

“That is a boundary I intend to hold. It’s not fair to me, our daughter, or to all the staff, who are already distraught at the news of our divorce though having to serve Charles’ long-term mistress. It’s just too much to ask.”

In a frosty sign-off, the furious chatelaine continued: “Good luck Cat, you’re in for a hell of a ride. I think that you’ll find having him to deal with full-time will be much trickier than the odd five-day escape to Norfolk and a night or two in London here and there.”

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Earl Spencer, 60, dismissed his ex-wife’s version of events as “an absurd attempt to blacken [his] name”. He told the publication: ‘The notion that I would end my marriage by text is an absurd attempt to blacken my name. Karen ended the marriage in early March after endless threats to do so over the years.

‘She asked me to confirm the end of the marriage in a text of 18 March and my reply that day was a simple acceptance of her decision. I have those texts still, and will share them in court when I clear my name.’

Meanwhile, Professor Jarman spoke of her “dismay” after Lady Spencer divulged her MS diagnosis to the earl before she had the chance to discuss her sensitive health issue with her new lover. Professor Jarman said: “I am shocked and utterly dismayed that my rightful attempt to stop the unlawful dissemination of my status as a person with Multiple Sclerosis – a protected disability – has been hijacked in such an appallingly untruthful way.

“It seems that Karen Spencer is not so much mounting a legal defence to my legitimate action, but has rather stooped to make a hideous and defamatory attack on Charles and me. In the meantime, the stress of this matter, which could have been resolved by Karen Spencer in a few minutes many months ago, further seriously impacts my health. Stress is a well-known driver of MS.

“My full response to this outrage will be with the Courts at the earliest possible opportunity, and at the same time, we are urgently looking at all available legal redress, including that relating to the breaking of legally binding oaths.”

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Stranger Things actor David Harbour appears to be back on the dating game after the breakdown of his marriage to singer Lily Allen. According to sources close to the couple, he’s now reportedly dating 27-year-old aspiring actress and model Ellie Fallon.

Poor Lily, 39, allegedly knows all too well about the new love interest in the latest blow for the Smile hitmaker, who has experienced many ups and downs in her love life. Here, The Mirror revisits the mother-of-two’s rocky dating history.

Lily dated London-based DJ Seb Chew for two and a half years before calling it quits in 2007. She told The Sun at the time: “Seb and I aren’t together any more. I split with him a month ago so I’m single now. I’m back on the market, and I need to practice. I don’t know if I can pull any more.”

However, romance was in the air soon after the split as Lily began dating Chemical Brothers star Ed Simons that same year. They announced they were expecting their first child together in December 2007. Sadly, Lily confirmed she’d suffered a miscarriage and their relationship ended in 2008.

She told Q Magazine: “We never were not friends, it just became… difficult. Because there was so much pain associated with everything that happened, for me I just needed to get away, you know?”

Later that year, she was romantically linked to Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, with the pair being spotted leaving a London restaurant together.

A source told the Daily Star: “After Lily’s split from Ed [Simons], Rupert offered a shoulder to cry on. Last week they enjoyed a Japanese meal together. They had a really long and intense talk, but also lots of fun, too.

“They get on really well, and he makes her laugh… Rupert drove Lily to the restaurant in his black mini and sheltered her from prying eyes. She is still dealing with the terrible start to the year she’s had to face, losing her baby and splitting with Ed, but these two would really work as a couple.”

She was connected to Jay Jopling in 2009 after being pictured kissing the art dealer on a yacht in St Barts. However, the Mail Online reported their whirlwind romance was over in a matter of weeks.

Lily claimed in her memoir, which was released in 2018, that she slept with Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher on a flight to Japan in 2009. Liam’s never commented on the allegation.

In 2009, Lily struck up a romance with a builder called Sam Cooper, and they became pregnant the following year. However, Lily tragically had a stillbirth following complications during her pregnancy.

She told Woman’s Hour with a heavy heart: “The hardest thing about that was losing a child, but there were complications with the actual delivery. He was so small he actually got stuck halfway in and halfway out, so to speak, during the delivery. I went into trauma and I don’t think I’ll ever really recover from that.”

Lily went on to welcome two daughters with Sam, named Ethel and Marnine. Ethel was born in 2011, and Marnie was born in 2013.

The lovers tied the knot at a romantic ceremony in Gloucestershire after getting engaged on a trip to Bali in 2010. However, Lily confirmed they’d divorced in 2018 and were sharing custody of their girls.

According to reports, Lily started dating Meridian Dan in 2015. They reportedly managed to keep their romance a secret, but it emerged in court documents related to a home intruder that they’d been dating since 2015.

She addressed their break-up in 2019 on the How To Fail podcast with Elizabeth Day, telling the author: “I’m single, for the first time since I was about 15.”

It wasn’t long before she met husband number two, David, on a dating app called Raya. After dating for months, they tied the knot at a Las Vegas wedding in September 2020.

David told People in 2021: We can share this experience of walking through life together. I’m always so overcome with gratitude for that because I’ve been alone for most of my life.”

However, it wasn’t meant to be. In recent weeks, news broke that the pair were going their separate ways, with a source telling People, “She’s devastated and not in a good place.”

In light of rumours swirling about David’s new love interest, a source told Mail Online: “Lily is aware of the romance and is very upset. Seeing the picture Ellie posted of herself smoking a cigar, taken weeks before Lily and David called it quits, has convinced her that Ellie and David had been seeing each other before they split.”

David’s representatives have been contacted by The Mirror for comment.

Samantha Barks has revealed that she was forced to endure a cruel comment about her body when she left a BBC reality show.

The Manx actress, who won the latest series of the Masked Singer, made the revelation to West End star Kerry Ellis during an unearthed episode of the Keep Calm And Kerry On Podcast from 2020.

Samantha shot to fame at age 17 after securing third place on the 2008 BBC talent series ‘I’d Do Anything’, which featured Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Barrowman as judges.

She explained that the show had a profound effect on her life but she would be criticised “in front of everybody”. However, she conceded that it gave her a “thick skin”.

When asked about the positive and negative aspects of leaving the show, Samantha said: “Well, the positives were all the things I’ve talked about and all of a sudden, I got to, you know, go to auditions that I never dreamed I’d get to go to and it did open up so many doors, which I’m just forever grateful to.

“But massively challenging in terms of the personal side of it because where I’m thankful for it was – this was before social media properly blew up – but it was still like very…a lot of people online, a lot of stuff, and the first time you’re like, ‘Oh’, realise how nasty people can be.”

Samantha then recounted an incident where she faced a cruel comment about her physical appearance after she had to perform a number in a “little pair of hot pants”.

She went on to say: “Somewhere I read this and someone was like, ‘Oh my god; how bad like – she’s got awful cellulite and she’s only 17, and I was like, ‘Do I?’ Looking back, I didn’t have a scrap of cellulite. Do you know what I mean?

“When you’re 17, it’s like, be grateful because it’s all coming! You know what I mean? It’s like, I remember thinking, ‘Do I?’ And I don’t think I did but it’s just like, and then I sort of, so for years, I was just like, ‘Well, I can’t because of my cellulite’, and people would be like, ‘You don’t have cellulite’.”

In the finale of the Masked Singer, the final three celebrities, Wolf, Pufferfish and Dressed Crab, fought it out for the crown after eight weeks in the popular ITV contest.

However, it would be Pufferfish who was named the 2025 winner, with fans discovering that it was the Mamma Mia: I Have A Dream host underneath the mask.

Speaking to the panel, Samantha said: “For me, because I’ve played Elsa for three years, it’s been so fun to do lots of different stuff and each week, I wanted to do a new kind of style and new kind of song.”

Tasha Ghouri has finally spoken on her split from ex Andrew Le Page after he was left sobbing as he moved out of their joint home.

The Strictly star, 26, admitted that she is “still processing” the split as she shared an emotional message with fans on Saturday. It comes after Andrew shared a selfie outside of their home this weekend and said he has “cried more times” than ever this year and would be heading back to his homeland of Guernsey.

Love Island finalists Tasha and Andrew, who met on the ITV2 show in 2022, shocked fans earlier this year after abruptly ending their relationship just months after purchasing their first home together. The couple had been going strong since they left the villa and had even sparked engagement rumours. However, it was not meant to be and the pair called it quits.

Taking to Snapchat while walking their dog, she said: “Hi everyone. Just on a walk. I know a lot of you are asking me a lot of questions and want to know what has been going on.

“I won’t be speaking on the situation – it’s a private side of my life which I’m still dealing with internally and mentally. It’s private for me and as much as I do want to share it with you all, one day I will, but I’m still processing everything that has happened and going on. I hope you can all understand on why I’ve not spoken out on the situation.”

Tasha, who recently shared a post of herself and pro dancer Aljaz with the Strictly Tour Glitterball, finished the video by saying that she couldn’t wait to see her dad and “have a big hug”.

On Saturday, Andrew shared a heartbroken selfie in front of their home declaring it the “end of an era”. He wrote: “o guys it’s been a pretty c**p start to the year and one I didn’t expect. However, life goes on and I’m doing everything in my power to stay positive. All the support has meant the world. I’ve cried more times this year then I have my whole life. @lepageproperties is on hold for now but I will be looking for a new project soon so keep your eyes peeled. Luna girl I’ll be getting you a new garden to play in 1 promise. Back to Guernsey I go… I’ll be back.”

Tasha and Andrew, 29, quietly split last month and she has since set up a dating app profile. The TV star has reportedly joined exclusive app Raya and included photos that she had previously shared on Instagram in December.

“Tasha was madly in love with Andrew but the cracks started to show when she appeared on Strictly,” a source told the Sun. “She gave her all in that competition. Her focus was purely on her dances with Aljaz and that drove a wedge between them as time went by.” Tasha had previously called Andrew her “future husband” and insisted she wasn’t worried about the infamous Strictly curse.

Before joining the BBC dance competition, Tasha said: “Andrew, to me, is the hottest man on this whole planet. I look at him and I’m like: ‘Yeah, that’s my man’. Me and Andrew trust each other 100 per cent.” Tasha was confident their relationship would sail through the Strictly experience, as she added: “It’s not a make-or-break for us. We’re going to breeze through this because we’re going to marry each other one day, you know.”

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Gregory Porter’s remarkable voice and his unique style have made him a standout figure in the music industry. The singer-songwriter, who was unveiled as the Dressed Crab as he finished second on The Masked Singer, has won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album twice, but it’s his distinctive black deerstalker cap, which covers his ears and chin, that often piques curiosity.

The 53 year old musician has previously explained why he always dons this accessory during performances. “I’ve had some surgery on my skin, so this has been my look for a little while and will continue to be for a while longer,” he confessed to Jazz Weekly in 2012.

In a 2016 interview with the Telegraph, he revealed that he acquired some facial scars when he was around ‘seven or eight’ years old, without going into further detail. Speaking to Metro in 2020, he said: “It started off covering some scars from surgery, but it’s become my style.”

He added: “I was in Denver, and it was cold. I was wearing five layers of clothing, and I wore a hat. It warmed up, and I thought, ‘Actually, this is comfortable; this is a look.’ I started to sing in a jazz club in Denver, and people were like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the guy with the hat.’ So it became a thing.”

Tragically, Gregory Porter suffered a heartbreaking loss in May 2020 when his brother, Lloyd Cornelius Porter, died from complications related to COVID-19, reports Birmingham Live.

After weeks of hospital treatment, Lloyd’s condition worsened dramatically. Before the ventilator was turned off, Gregory sang to his brother.

Gregory shared the poignant details of singing to his brother during his final moments with The Irish Times, revealing: “I sang to him. But at the opportunity that I sang to him, I said, ‘He’s gone.'” He confessed his sense that his brother was no longer present, admitting, “I don’t know if he’s clinically dead. In the middle of my song I was, like, ‘He’s not there.'” Recounting the situation in New York during the early pandemic wave, Gregory noted, “He was intubated. He was in that early [wave] that came through New York. They were super careful.”

The impersonal nature of his loss was felt deeply as Gregory described the process, saying, “They were burning the bodies or freezing them. He disappeared. He went in, intubated that day – and he just disappeared.”

This wasn’t Gregory’s first encounter with bereavement; his mother passed away when he was only 21. Recalling her words, Gregory said, “She said to me… two days before she passed, she said, ‘Gregory, music is the best thing you do. Don’t forget about your music. We talked about kids, buying a house…” He remembered vividly how his mother struggled for air, despite her oxygen machine being turned up to its highest level.

“She said, ‘Turn it up.’ And I twisted the knob, even though the knob didn’t move. She said, ‘Ah, that’s better.’ It was already up on maximum. She knew her time wasn’t long.”

On a lighter note, Gregory spoke affectionately of his own family life. Gregory Porter’s household includes his wife Victoria and their two sons, residing in Bakersfield, California.

He fondly discussed his wife’s artistic talents and cultural background, mentioning, “My wife is a painter, and so she does a little bit of painting with him [their son].”

Detailed insights into their family activities included language learning, with Gregory sharing, “My wife is Russian as well, so both he and I take Russian lessons. It’s fun, working on my wife’s native language – and I guess it’s half of my son’s language as well, because he goes to Russia every summer.”