Author: bang5

Ruth Langsford has made a rare comment about her sex life, following her split from husband Eamonn Holmes, as the Loose Women panellists discussed romps

Ruth Langsford, the Loose Women favourite, made a surprising reference to her love life on the show, hinting at its absence. The TV personality, 65, joined colleagues Coleen Nolan, Kelly Brook, and Nadia Sawalha on the ITV programme on Wednesday (May 14) for a chat about various issues.

During the latter part of the episode, the discussion took a turn towards personal intimacy as the panel touched upon whether they’d consider enhancements to aid their sex lives now that they’re older. In a candid moment, Ruth, who parted ways with husband Eamonn Holmes the previous year, divulged that she isn’t currently sexually active, reports Belfast Live.

With the conversation steering towards the possibility of pencilling in special moments, Kelly Brook the baton to Ruth asking: “What about you?”

Ruth Langsford shared a small detail on the ITV show (Image: ITV)

To which Ruth admitted: “Well, I’m not doing anything at the moment.”

Kelly continued to probe, highlighting that without placing it in the diary, finding time can be tough with a hectic lifestyle saying, “Because if you don’t schedule it, you’re not going to have time, are you? Because life just takes over.”

She added more context, noting the busy schedules they keep: “You’re working, you’ve got to get to the BAFTAs, you’ve got to get home to the dog.”

Meanwhile, fellow presenter Coleen, also single, expressed her scepticism about the idea of planning passion, remarking: “I think the problem is when you schedule it, it also becomes regimented almost.”undefined (

Fans were shaken by the news of Ruth’s split from her co-star husband, Eamonn Holmes, as the much-adored television pair signalled their divorce.

Eamonn and Ruth’s split after 24 years of marriage sent shockwaves through the TV world, leaving fans wondering what had gone awry behind closed doors.

Although their divorce is yet to be finalised, Eamonn has since made his new relationship with 42 year old Katie Alexander public.

Ruth and Eamonn Holmes split last year (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Speaking to Women and Home magazine, Ruth shared her thoughts on the split, stating: “I’m quite fine being on my own, but not forever. Relationship breakdowns are very difficult, but you deal with it and have to move on.”

She continued: “You can let yourself crumble or you pick yourself up and get on with life. It’s a choice.”

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV1.

The Sort Your Life Out star was up for two BAFTA awards

Stacey Solomon spent last night at the BAFTA awards(Image: Stacey Solomon Instagram)

Stacey Solomon spent last night at the BAFTA awards. The Loose Women panellist was up for two awards, entertainment performance and factual entertainment for her BBC show

Despite being up for two awards, Stacey was unfortunate as she left the ceremony empty handed. She missed out on entertainment performance to Joe Lycett’s Late Night Lycett on Channel 4 and in the second category to Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour, which airs on BBC Two.

After the late night, Stacey was up and about early this morning. She posted a video to her Instagram story, saying: “Good morning from the veg patch. I am just about to do the morning water.

“We didn’t win a BAFTA and I know I’m supposed to take it gracefully like a champ but I’ll be honest I’m devastated.” She laughed as she admitted that she wasn’t “handling it” very well or taking it very gracefully.

She expressed her feelings further by reiterating “I’m devastated for our whole team. Everyone got dressed up and really hopeful, I think because they worked so hard.”

Stacey told followers that ‘Sort Your Life Out’ is not an easy show to make and the team had worked hard to make it happen and they “deserved” the BAFTA award.

Although the TV personality has shared her feelings after the awards show, she said everyone else who won a BAFTA “absolutely deserved” it. She added that the Sort Your Life Out team deserved an award.

The show follows Stacey as she helps families transform their homes. With a life-changing declutter, they upcycle and recycle their way to a new home.

Stacey also mentioned the families that she had helped over the course of the show, saying she is “gutted” for them too. The show will be returning for season six, the former X Factor star finished her rant by sharing that the team are going to carry on through the new series with their “heads held high” and she is honoured to do the job.

Text layered over the video read “Gutted. What the hell BAFTA”, alongside laughing face emojis. The second video was captioned “Rant over I’m sorry.”

For the BAFTA awards, Stacey chose to wear a unique fashion statement. She upcycled her wedding dress from her marriage to Joe Swash in 2022.

Taking to Instagram before the awards ceremony, Stacey revealed the personal reason behind her choice. She said: “I decided to have my wedding dress re worked for today because wearing it once feels like a travesty to me.

“I wanted to get her out of the box & take her out on another special day.” The star, who rose to fame after appearing on X Factor in 2009, uploaded a clip showing her stylist and pal Faye working on the dress, making it fit for the glamorous occasion.

Stacey expressed her emotions, admitting: “Today I’m wearing my wedding dress. It makes me so sad that this is my favourite most special dress I ever bought and I’ve only ever worn it once.”

Nadia Sawalha flashed her bra live on Loose Women as the panel discussed the importance of bras on Friday’s installment of the ITV show.

The 60-year-old panelist left little to the imagination as she lifted up her white top to show off her floral blue bra on set.

Nadia explained to the rest of the panel, which consisted of Jane Moore, 62, Judi Love, 44, and Sue Cleaver, 61, that she was told that her lingerie didn’t actually fit her properly by Fantasie Fit specialist Suzanne Pentland.

She was told that her item of clothing was two sizes to small and proceeded to ask: ‘Do you want to see it?’

The TV star then lifted up her top to show off her bra underneath her blue jacket suit and matching trousers.

Nadia said: ‘Look at that!’

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Nadia Sawalha flashed her bra live on Loose Women as the panel discussed the importance of bras on Friday’s installment of the ITV show

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The 60-year-old panelist left little to the imagination as she lifted up her white top to show off her floral blue bra on set

The live studio were left lost for words as she kept the top lifted to display her chest.

‘Now I’ve got to tell you girls, usually they are here, but a good bra…’

But co-star and anchor Jane had to interrupt her as she spoke about her bra, and told her that they didn’t have much time left to talk about her item of clothing.

Jane said: ‘We’ve run out of time…’

Nadia pulled her top down and said: ‘What I wanted to say is when you feel uncomfortbale, wear it a bit longer and it will stretch out.’

The show then had to go to an advert break.

Nadia is no stranger to stripping off – and loves to share lingerie snaps on Instagram.

Back in November Nadia went topless for a series of racy underwear snaps on Monday to celebrate her 60th birthday – and fans gushed that she looked ‘incredible’.

The Loose Women star stripped down to lacy lingerie for a clip shared to Instagram, followed by further snaps, including one where she ditched the bra altogether and covered her modesty with her arms.

She wrote in the caption of the advertisement: ‘Happy Birthday to me 60 today! What’s your favourite one???

‘I love that every piece of @understatement_underwear lingerie is so damn beautiful soft and comfy, so comfy in fact I sometimes worry if ive actually got it on! As I say I love everything about @understatement_underwear.

‘Go to my stories and click on the link to have a good look round their website! We are run by women for women in a world where women can be whoever they want to be – liberated and unrestricted. One butt at a time.’

Nadia added the hashtags: ‘#lingerie #styleinyour60s #over50style #gorgeousunderwear #style #bodyaccpetance #bodyconfidencemovement’

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Nadia Sawalha went topless for a series of racy underwear snaps on Monday to celebrate her 60th birthday – and fans gushed that she looked ‘incredible’

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The Loose Women star stripped down to an array of lingerie for a clip shared to Instagram

She began the clip in a busty pink and green matching set as she pranced around her kitchen, before going topless and slipping into mesh burgundy underwear.

The TV star then modelled a wide of array of sets from the brand, including orange, pink, burgundy, and leopord print designs, as she did chores in the house.

In a voiceover on top of the video, Nadia exclaimed: ‘This is 60 and I’m firing up the colour to celebrate with Understatement lingerie.

‘My kind of brand in every way because they love women who are unfiltered. They really dont care if I haven’t shaved, if I’ve left my socks on, if there’s a mop in shot.

‘They want Instagram versus reality, so, here you go – me, uncensored, happy, and free. Happy 60th to me.’

Fans rushed to the comments of the raunchy clip to share their admiration for the Loose Women star, penning: ’60?! Wow you look incredible. Love your energy, you’re very inspiring x’

‘Gorgeous you and the underwear.’

‘Wow love this ad Nadia. Love how real you are and running around in your socks. Looks fab underwear.’

‘Happy 60th birthday from a 58 year old. You’re inspirational. Love your politics and humour. Stay positive x’

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She began the clip in a busty pink and green matching set as she pranced around her kitchen, before going topless and slipping into mesh burgundy underwear

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Nadia wrote: ‘I love that every piece of @understatement_underwear lingerie is so damn beautiful soft and comfy, so comfy in fact I sometimes worry if ive actually got it on!’

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She quipped: ‘We are run by women for women in a world where women can be whoever they want to be – liberated and unrestricted. One butt at a time’

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She wrote in the caption of the advertisement: ‘Happy Birthday to me 60 today! What’s your favourite one???’

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Nadia added the hashtags: ‘#lingerie #styleinyour60s #over50style #gorgeousunderwear #style #bodyaccpetance #bodyconfidencemovement’

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The TV star then modelled a wide of array of sets from the brand, including orange, pink, burgundy, and leopord print designs, as she did chores in the house

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Fans rushed to the comments of the raunchy clip to share their admiration for the Loose Women star

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Nadia’s husband Mark Alderley also shared a cheeky message of his own in the comments

‘Happy birthday!! Looking GORGEOUS in all of them!’

‘You look fantastic! Happy birthday x’

‘Amazing Nads. So glad you’re trying to give the reality. Too many people think Instagram IS reality. You look gr8. Happy Birthday.’

Nadia’s husband Mark Alderley also shared a cheeky message of his own in the comments.

He wrote: ‘Another compilation I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED editing … and then re-editing … and then tweaking it again … then another re-edit … a bit of a playback … a few more edits … a few more tweaks …’

In August, Nadia and her rarely seen daughter Kiki posed for a birthday photo on Instagram. 

Nadia’s husband Mark shared the rare picture of the mother-daughter duo to his Instagram alongside an emotional birthday message.

In the snap Nadia beamed next to her daughter Kiki, 17, while out for a meal at a hilltop restaurant while on holiday.

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In August, Nadia and her rarely seen daughter Kiki posed for a birthday photo on Instagram

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Nadia’s husband Mark Alderley shared the rare picture of the mother-daughter duo to his Instagram alongside an emotional birthday message

The Loose Women host rested her chin on her hand and put her arm around her youngest daughter.

She wore a hot pink strappy dress and accessorised with turquoise bangles and matching earrings.

Her mini-me daughter also smiled for the camera and was wearing a red and white polka dot dress.

Mark wrote alongside the adorable snap: ‘Ah … a Huge Happy Birthday to our dear dear Kiki-Bee … or Kooks as I call her …

‘Words cannot express how much I look up to and admire your bravery, your wit, your creativity, your dogged persistence and your total total insight regarding “people places and things” …

‘What I LOVE about you is that you don’t suffer fools gladly … you are able to pinpoint the root of any problem with the accuracy of an MRI SCAN …you’re a truly beautiful woman with a wise wise head on those shoulders …

‘Have a beautiful day … you truly deserve it … and remember – I am ALWAYS here to put kisses in your pockets whenever you need them …

Of course needless to say … you have your strongest and most ardent wing woman and friend in the form of your dear dear Mom … again @nadiasawalha thank YOU for being such a wonderfully kind wise and selfless mother to our girls.’

Devoted gran Linda Robson says she loves her grandchildren, if anything, more than she loves her own kids – but there are aspects of her relationship with them that she finds difficult

Linda is devoted to her grandchildren (Image: Dave Benett, Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)Although, at 67, Linda Robson is very much an empty-nester, she still devoted to family life. During a Loose Women podcast on the subject of grandparents looking after their own children’s children, Linda said she’s always enjoyed the experience.

“But I love having my grandchildren more than anything else in the world,” she said on the podcast. “I love them more than my children.”

Linda added that she couldn’t wait to see them after coming home from a work trip: “I really, really missed them. So as soon as we got back, that was the first people that I went to see. After the dog, obviously, because Dolly Parton needs me.”

Linda was unable to see her grandkids for a while, something she found very upsetting (Image: ITV1)
She added that, now her grandkids are getting older, it’s harder to spend time with them: “Lila in particular, because she’s 13 now, so she’s got a phone, and now there’s no sort of conversation with her anymore.

“I had them, they stayed overnight, and at one o’clock in the morning, her Snapchat was still going.”

Linda said that things have changed a great deal as the girls have gotten older and developed their own friendship groups: “When they were younger, the pair of them, we could do lots of things together, go to the cinema and everything. Now Lila’s got her own little group of friends, so she wants to be out with them all the time. So I’ve struggled with that really.

“But Betsy’s happy to be with me 24 hours a day.”

She lets the children get away with a lot (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Linda has admitted that she’s a bit a soft touch when it comes to looking after her granddaughters. While their mum Lauren is quite strict about allowing them to use their phones and laptops, Linda finds it hard to say ‘no.’

Describing one afternoon, Linda recalled: “I said, ‘Bets why don’t we play a game? Let’s play cars or something or let’s watch a film together.’

“But she was fixated on getting the phone or the laptop. Eventually, I just handed her the laptop.”

She added: “I have noticed that their behaviour has changed because of the phones and the laptops.”

Linda says electronic devices are having a bad effect on family relationships (Image: Mike Marsland, Mike Marsland/WireImagevia Getty Images)
She said that electronic devices have had a major impact on family life: “Instead of spending time doing things together, the three of us, even if we go to a restaurant they’ll want my phone, or they’ll want something.”

Earlier this year, Linda opened up on a difficult time in her life when she hadn’t been able to see her grandchildren for a while: “Four years ago I had really bad mental health problems and depression and was on suicide watch for a while as well,” she told Lorraine presenter Ranvir Singh.

“I started drinking anything and everything just to get through the day,” she admitted. “I still feel a lot of guilt for what I put my children and my grandchildren through.”

The most upsetting part of that difficult episode, she said, was that she “wasn’t allowed to see her grandchildren for a while,” which she found particularly hard.

Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, who are locked in a bitter feud with Brooklyn’s parents and siblings, were loved-up as they attended a glitzy party for Airbnb

Brooklyn Beckham passionately kissed his actress wife, Nicola Peltz, as they put on a united front at a party amid their reported family feud. The duo, who matched in all-black outfits as they attended an AirBnb party this week, looked hopelessly in love as they embraced and kissed while posing for many photos.

“Big thanks to @airbnb for having me at their Summer Release,” Nicola captioned her post for her 3.1million followers. “They’re rolling out some amazing new experiences and you can book mine on May 15th! We’ll be mixing cocktails, plating perfection, and experiencing the heat of my @cloud23 hot sauce.”

The two looked loved-up at a lavish party ( 
Image:
Getty Images for Airbnb)

She shared a slew of loving snaps, including one of her sitting on Brooklyn’s lap as he wrapped his hands around her waist. There was also a picture of aspiring chef Brooklyn planting a kiss on her forehead as she beamed for the camera.

Brooklyn also took to his Instagram page to share a carousel of similar photos as he used the caption to promote Airbnb.

The former aspiring photographer, 26, and billionaire heiress Nicola, 30, have kept their distance from the Beckham clan both online and in the real world over recent works, with the pair even snubbing David Beckham’s 50th birthday earlier this month.

Nicola sat on his lap for one sweet snap
The family issues with Brooklyn and Nicola reportedly started from Romeo Beckham, 22, finding love with Kim Turnbull, 24, who is thought to be one of Brooklyn’s exes. Things got so bad in the family that Brooklyn had been ignoring his parents attempts to chat.

It comes after the married couple, who are locked in a bitter feud with Brooklyn’s parents and siblings, recently enjoyed a star-studded night out with Nicola’s brother and pals.

Amid the family rift, David seemingly tried to make things better by reaching out as he shared a united post on American Mother’s Day – which is almost two months after the annual holiday was observed in the UK.

Despite being British, David took advantage of the symbolic day to post a photo of wife Victoria with all four of their offspring.

The iconic footballer posted a throwback snap of his wife Victoria, cradling their daughter Harper Seven as a baby on her chest, sided by their sons Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz hugging the singer-turned-fashion designer.

With the sweet photo, he penned: “Happy Mother’s Day to the best mommy. To all our friends in the U.S. Happy Mother’s Day.”

Intriguingly, he made it a point to tag his sons, including Brooklyn. Fans are speculating whether this could be the footballer’s way of reaching out to his son through the Mother’s Day tribute.

Emmerdale and Coronation Street boss John Whiston has announced that he will be retiring from the role after nearly 30 years at ITV, revealing: ‘It’s the right time to leave’

ITV has announced that its Managing Director of Continuing Drama and Head of ITV in the North, John Whiston, is retiring after 27 years in the company. The executive’s role was to oversee Coronation Street and Emmerdale, having spent over 40 years in the television industry.

In a statement, John said that the role is “the best job in TV”, adding: “I used to say it privately in case ITV stopped paying me. It has been nothing short of an honour, as well as a blast, to work on the Soaps this last decade or so. We’ve had joy, we’ve had fun and we’ve had seasons in the Sun. We’ve also had misery and mayhem.

John Whiston is retiring from his role overseeing Coronation Street and Emmerdale ( 
Image:
ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

“We’ve had motorway crashes, tram crashes and floods. We’ve had stories which have squeezed your heart till tears came out of your eyes. And we’ve covered pretty much anything and everything that people have to face in their own lives and we’ve done that with care and humanity.

“And all that is down to the 600 or so people – the writers, crew, cast and editorial – who have kept the show on air and at an incredible quality day in day out. And it’s them who have made my job ridiculously easy. Just don’t tell ITV.”

He went onto say that Iain MacLeod and Matt Cleary will be taking over after his exit. “With the appointment of Iain MacLeod as Creative Director and Matt Cleary as Chief Operating Officer and with fantastic stories in place for the move to five episodes a week next January, and a never-before-seen mega mash-up between the two shows, the future for our ITV Soaps is set fair.

“So it’s the right time to leave and for me just to say thank you… to colleagues, to ITV and to our loyal, appreciative audience.”

It comes after the ITV soaps announced big changes over the last few months – including an upcoming Corrie and Emmerdale cross-over special and a move to slash episodes next year.

Back in February, ITV announced that Coronation Street and Emmerdale will face a big schedule shake-up next year, resulting in the soaps being reduced by an hour each week.

It meant that the soap staff were entering redundancy talks with an insider telling The Mirror that 75 roles were expected to be made redundant out of the 600 people working across both soaps.

It meant that the soap staff were entering redundancy talks with an insider telling The Mirror that 75 roles were expected to be made redundant out of the 600 people working across both soaps.

Clarkson’s Farm returns for a new series on Prime Video later this month and Jeremy Clarkson has just addressed some speculation following the release of a trailer for it recently

Jeremy Clarkson has addressed the suggestion that he has “replaced” Kaleb Cooper on Diddly Squat Farm. It comes ahead of a new cast member of Clarkson’s Farm taking on his role on the farm in the upcoming season.

It comes following the release of a trailer for the fourth season of the Prime Video show last week. In the promotional video, Jeremy, 65, revealed that assistant Kaleb, 26, had left him “just a little bit in the lurch” by taking on another project. It was then teased that he had hired someone else to help him on the farm, located in Oxfordshire, whilst Kaleb was away.

Jeremy has revealed that he struggled without Kaleb, who was on a tour following the release of several books, on hand at the farm. The situation prompted attention, and it was suggested just days ago that Jeremy had ‘replaced’ Kaleb, who has worked with him for several years, with fellow farmer Harriet Cowan, 24.

Former Top Gear host Jeremy however has now addressed the suggestion in a video message. He shared it with his followers on Instagram yesterday and confirmed that Kaleb is still working with him on the farm after returning from his tour.

Jeremy Clarkson has addressed the suggestion that he’s ‘replaced’ one of his colleagues at his farm(Image: Instagram/jeremyclarkson1)

Jeremy, who was filming the message in a field, told viewers: “Bad news, I’m afraid, from Diddly Squat. It’s this … this relentless drought. It means we’re so busy, moving animals mostly, that we don’t have the time to do all the planned press and PR activity to mark the launch of season four on May 23, I think.”

He went on to share that he found that “annoying” because he wanted to address something. Jeremy then dismissed any suggestion that Kaleb has been “replaced” and even appeared to show his companion at work again.

He’s spoken out over the prospect of Kaleb Cooper (centre) being replaced by new Clarkson’s Farm cast member Harriet Cowan (right)(Image: Youtube/Amazon Prime Video UK & IE)

Speaking about not having time for PR activities, Jeremy said: “And that’s annoying because there was something I wanted to address. There have been loads of reports recently saying that Kaleb has been replaced. Well, he hasn’t, he’s over there now rolling the dribble of moisture we had yesterday into his mustard.”

He continued: “Now, what happened is this, okay? He went away on his speaking tour for a couple of months because he imagined that after four years, I’d be able to manage on my own.”

Jeremy said: “And I didn’t! I made a complete mess of everything and had to bring in a young farmer called Harriett, who was brilliant and looked after the fort until [Kaleb] got back. That’s it! That’s the story.”

Jeremy has told fans that Kaleb hasn’t been ‘replaced’ and still works on Diddly Squat Farm(Image: Youtube/Amazon Prime Video UK & IE)

The message comes after Prime Video announced last week that the fourth season of Clarkson’s Farm will launch later this month. It’s been suggested that the season will be split in three volumes, released separately, though.

It’s been announced that the season will launch on the streaming platform on May 23, with this understood to be the first four episodes. Prime Video added that the fifth and sixth episodes will be out on May 30, ahead of the seventh and eighth episodes becoming available on June 6.

BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent was missing from the start of Wednesday’s show

BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent caused a stir among her colleagues after she was noticeably absent at the beginning of Wednesday’s programme.

On the morning of May 14, Jon Kay found himself flying solo for the initial 15 minutes as his usual co-host, Sally, was yet to arrive.

Jon, before passing the baton to weather expert Carol Kirkwood for the day’s first forecast update, informed the audience he could hear Sally’s “footsteps” approaching the studio and suggested she would soon be there to fill in the details.

Once Carol finished her segment, Sally finally appeared. She expressed her regrets for being tardy by saying, “Hi, I made it, everyone. Morning Carol! It’s so nice to be here. Sorry, I’m a little bit late!”

The show’s co-host Jon expressed his concern by asking, “A little bit of drama, are you alright?”

Sally Nugent was unable to reach the set in time(Image: (Image: BBC))

Sally explained: “Oh, Jon, yeah, I’m ok, thank you. I got stuck in a car. You know where our studios are, it’s by the Quays, there’s lots of water and bridges, I got stuck because a bridge came up to let two boats through and the bridge couldn’t close again,” reports the Express.

She went on to describe the ordeal: “So there have been lots of people trying to close the bridge. People in high-vis jackets pointing at it, staring at it. So that took about 40 minutes.”

To add to the day’s misadventures, Jon recounted: “You were the best part of an hour. Sally was texting me like ‘I can’t get out, I can’t leave the car!’”

Sally explained what took place to her co-stars(Image: (Image: BBC))

Sally opened up about her frantic morning experience, revealing that her colleague John Watson came to the rescue and accompanied her across the bridge to ensure she got to work safely.

Viewers quickly noticed Sally’s temporary absence, with one playfully commenting on social media: “Has Sally Nugent slept in or has she just had enough of working with Jon Kay?”.

Another viewer remarked: “Was wondering why Jon was on his own at the start of the programme.”

Not only did Sally share her ordeal on air, but she also took to Instagram to post about her challenging morning, uploading a photo of the closed bridge with the simple caption “stuck.”

BBC Match of the Day host, Gary Lineker, shared then deleted an anti-Zionist post on Instagram, which referenced the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine

BBC boss, Tim Davie, has broken his silence after Match of the Day star, Gary Lineker, shared a controversial anti-Zionist post(Image: James Gill – Danehouse, Getty Images)

BBC boss, Tim Davie, has broken his silence after Match of the Day star, Gary Lineker, shared a controversial anti-Zionist post on Instagram, which referenced the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine. The former footballer, 64, shared a video with his 1 million followers from the group Palestine Lobby, which was titled ‘Zionism explained in two minutes.’

The post featured a picture of a rat, which has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used in Nazi Germany to characterise Jews. Gary immediately deleted the post after realising the significance of the symbol, according to his agent.

Responding to the controversy at a press conference this morning, Tim Davie was asked what he thought of Gary Linker’s post(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Responding to the controversy at a press conference this morning, Director-General, Davie, was asked whether he thought Gary, who is leaving the BBC after the 2026 World Cup, had broken the broadcaster’s rules in terms of impartiality. Insisting he ‘wasn’t giving a politician’s answer’, he responded: “When it comes to presenters, I’ll just say that the BBC’s reputation is held by everyone. And when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.

“And I think we absolutely need people to be exemplars of the BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.”

In a statement to the BBC, Gary’s agent said: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”

The group Campaign Against Antisemitism has condemned the dad-of-three for the post, and said it would be submitting a complaint to the BBC.

In a post on X, they said: “Nothing to see here. Just Gary Lineker’s Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji.”

In an interview with the BBC last month, Gary told Amol Rajan that he was in no doubt about “where I stand” on the situation in Gaza and Palestine.

The conflict was triggered on October 7 2023 when Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Since then, Israel has launched a huge offensive on Gaza, with almost 53,000 Palestinians killed in the military campaign. Nearly a third of these are under 18, Reuters reports.

Gary is no stranger to social media controversy, having aired his views on a number of subjects on X and Instagram, including the Conservatives, Brexit, asylum seekers – and sewage.

In March 2023, he was suspended from the BBC after comparing the language used to launch a then-government asylum seeker policy to 1930s Germany, describing the scheme as “immeasurably cruel”.

Earlier this year, the star signed an open letter to the BBC, calling on it to reinstate a documentary called Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone. The programme was pulled after it emerged that a boy featured in it was the son of a Hamas official.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Kai Widdrington has revealed he’s the ‘happiest he’s ever been’ as he gushed over his new girlfriend during an appearance on Lorraine

Strictly Come Dancing’s Kai Widdrington was all smiles on Wednesday’s Lorraine as he gushed over his new girlfriend in a chat with host Christine Lampard.

Kai, 29, revealed he was the “happiest he’s ever been,” explaining it was largely down to his other half. The dancer recently went Instagram official with his new girlfriend Chloe Wells just nine months after he and Nadiya Bychkova, 35, decided to call time on their romance last summer.

Speaking to Christine about hopefully being given a partner on this year’s Strictly, Kai said: “You can either be sad about it, or ask what you can change and improve in your life.”

Kai went Instagram official with Chloe last month ( 
Image:
Instagram/kaiwidd)
Revealing he made some changes in his life, Kai continued: “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and I’m in the best psychical shape I’ve ever been in since I was 17 and I’m looking forward to my tour. I’m really excited and I’m in a really good place.”

Christine then responded: “That’s probably because you found a gorgeous girl, and that’s all part of it as well.”

Kai, who has called his new tour Evolution, said: “I’m feeling really good. I’ve started a new chapter in my life. Things come at the perfect time. I’m very very happy and it’s largely down to my other half.”

The BBC star reportedly met Chloe at a pub near his West London home, and have been keeping things very private. However, last month the star took to Instagram to share a loved up snap of the two looking into each other’s eyes.

Kai and Nadiya split last year ( 
Image:
Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
In the caption, Kai penned: “Happiness is underrated,” alongside a black heart emoji, as he tagged Chloe in the post. Chloe then commented on the post with a red love heart emoji.

According to an insider, Chloe and Kai “hit it off from the start,” and the office worker “has absolutely no interest in the limelight; she just likes Kai for Kai” they told to The Sun.

Kai announced his split with Strictly co-star Nadiya last year, citing the pressure that comes with working and touring as the main reason for going their separate ways.

Speaking to the Mirror at the Pride of Britain awards in October on where their relationship stood, Nadiya said: “We work together but we are not friends and that’s okay. One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I’m a professional.”