Month: January 2025

The Gavin & Stacey 2024 Christmas special is on track to become one of the most-watched scripted TV programmes of the 21st century so far, new figures suggest. The final episode of the hit sitcom enjoyed huge overnight ratings of 12.3 million when it was shown on BBC One on Christmas Day, but has since been watched by several million more viewers. Some 19.3 million people had seen the episode […]

Elon Musk has continued his criticism of the Government, calling on the King to step in and dissolve Parliament. The world’s richest man, who purchased the social media site Twitter and renamed it X in 2022, has shared and reacted to tweets critical of the Government and the Prime Minister after Labour rejected a call for an inquiry into child grooming. In his latest attacks on Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Musk shared […]

The first meteor shower of the year is expected to light up the sky on Friday night, with stargazers in the UK to see up to 50 “shooting stars” an hour. The Quadrantid meteor shower, which returns every year in early January, is expected to peak on Friday – but meteors will remain visible in the sky until January 12, according to the Royal Astronomical Society. Dr Robert Massey, deputy director of the Royal […]

The father of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif has been attacked in prison, according to reports. Urfan Sharif was allegedly ambushed by two inmates in a cell at HMP Belmarsh armed with the jagged lid of a tuna tin on New Year’s Day, the Sun reported. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on January 1. “It would be inappropriate to comment further while […]

People should be “protected from the catastrophic costs of upfront care” that see them forced to sell their homes, Wes Streeting has suggested. The Health Secretary was speaking as he announced the first steps towards creating a National Care Service, with an independent commission expected to begin in the spring. The timeline means that proposals for the long-term funding and major reform of social care in England may not be […]

Large parts of the country will face disruption from heavy snow and freezing rain over the weekend after forecasters issued two amber weather warnings. Stranded vehicles on the roads, delayed or cancelled rail and air travel and power cuts are all likely as the UK grapples with a week-long spell of wintry conditions, the Met Office said. There is also a “good chance” that rural communities could be cut off […]

The number of people in hospital with flu in England is rising at a “very concerning rate” and is more than four times the level it was a month ago, according to NHS data. Figures from NHS England show an average of 4,469 flu patients were in beds in England each day last week, including 211 in critical care. This is up 17% from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in […]

A “drab” December has capped a disappointing year for retailers and the second in a row of falling shopper numbers, figures show. Even the Golden Quarter, typically the peak of shopping activity ahead of Christmas, provided little relief, with shopper visits down 2.5% over the period on 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic Footfall Monitor. Total UK footfall over the year was down 2.2% on the year before. […]

EasyJet said it has become the world’s first airline to use a lower-weight paint method to reduce its planes’ fuel burn. The carrier is trialling a new approach which cuts the number of paint layers needed to create its orange and white livery. It said the system generates a “relatively modest” weight reduction of 27kg per plane, but it is part of “many incremental steps” to make its aircraft lighter, […]