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A range of long-read features, exclusives and investigations 

BBC News •

Has Strictly been tainted by scandal after Amanda Abbington claims partly upheld?

Three days into the rehearsals of 2023's Strictly Come Dancing, actress Amanda Abbington complained about her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice. A year later, the BBC apologised to Abbington and upheld verbal bullying and harassment complaints but cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression.Over the summer, other former celebrities made complaints - Zara McDermott reported her partner, Graziano Di Prima, kicked her in rehearsals and junior staff told BBC News that the cultur...
BBC News •

Channel 4 will not drop alleged abuser Alex Henry from Married at First Sight

Channel 4 reality show Married at First Sight has rejected calls to remove one of its participants after accusations of domestic abuse were made against him. Criticism has been aimed at Alexander Henry, who is in the ninth series which starts on Monday, in the comments on E4's Instagram promotion reel.Channel 4 confirmed it would not be cutting Mr Henry's scenes as "the DBS (criminal record) check carried out on the contributor raised in the allegation was returned clear". Mr Henry was also sent...
BBC News •

London Fashion Week: Five trends to look out for from bold colours to accessories

While you may have just pulled out your cosy knits from the back of the wardrobe, it's time to get thinking about what you'll be wearing in eight months time, because London Fashion Week is back. Over the next few days, hundreds of designers will showcase their weird, wonderful and wacky spring/summer 2025 collections around the capital. This year's event promises an exciting mix of vivid colours, creative patterns, and attention-grabbing accessories.Here are five key trends to look out for.

Wh...
BBC News •

The Jeremy Kyle Show: Cancelled and controversial but cleared

Five years after ITV's most popular yet controversial daytime programme was axed following the death of a guest, an inquest has concluded there was no "clear and reliable causal connection" between Steve Dymond's appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show and his suicide.The programme was abruptly cancelled in 2019 after the 63-year-old was found dead.Just a week earlier, he had been filming for the show, during which he failed a lie detector test.The confrontational show, which ran for 14 years, often...
BBC News •

Why Gen Z & Millennials are hung up on answering the phone

Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail of Yasmin Rufo. Please don't leave a message as I won’t listen to it or call you back.Unfortunately that isn't my answerphone message but do I, along with most Gen Z and millennials, wish it was? Absolutely.A recent survey found a quarter of people aged 18 to 34 never answer the phone, external - respondents say they ignore the ringing, respond via text or search the number online if they don't recognise it.The Uswitch survey of 2,000 people also found that nearl...
BBC News •

Very demure, very mindful - are we missing joke of Jools Lebron trend?

If brat described our wild and unapologetically messy summers, then exemplary manners, politeness and being a stickler for rules is what's taking us into autumn. In recent weeks, thousands of videos showing us how to refine our etiquette have popped up on TikTok, all off the back of the "very demure, very mindful" trend.The satirical idea started out as poking fun at the stereotypical ideas of femininity, but it has since taken on a life of its own.While half of the internet are using the phrase...
BBC News •

Love Island's Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae: Bursting the bubble on reality TV relationships

Your first kiss, the first "I love you" and your first fight are all formative parts of a relationship that most couples experience privately. But when all your firsts are broadcast to millions of people across the country, is your relationship doomed to fail before it's even started?On Wednesday Molly-Mae Hague announced her split from fiancé Tommy Fury, five years after they met on reality show Love Island.The couple were seen as a rare success story that made even the most hardened critics qu...
BBC News •

Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan: Brat, messy and vulnerable

"It's so confusing sometimes to be a girl," sings Charli XCX on her latest album, Brat.The vulnerable lyrics, existential questions and honest exploration of the complexity and contradictions of womanhood has turned Brat into much more than a collection of music.For millennials and Gen Z, it reflects a highly relatable way of life.Brat is, in the words of Charli XCX, a girl who "has a breakdown, but kind of like parties through it", who is honest, blunt, "a little bit volatile". In recent weeks,...
BBC News •

Fangirls aren't silly, they're powerful says playwright Yve Blake

From causing seismic activity at Harry Styles concerts to Swifties boosting the UK economy during the Eras Tour, the power of teenage female pop fans shouldn't be underestimated.For playwright Yve Blake, the danger of dismissing these youngsters is the inspiration behind her new comedy musical Fangirls.Following the life of 14-year-old Edna, who is obsessed with a boy band resembling One Direction, Fangirls explores "what it means to love something without apology". The idea came to Blake in 201...
BBC News •

Mean Girls: Tina Fey's musical is pretty fetch, West End critics say

In the 2004 film Mean Girls, Regina George - queen of the Plastics - told her fellow clique member Gretchen: "Stop trying to make fetch happen."Two decades on, it seems writer Tina Fey has made fetch happen with her West End musical adaptation.The Telegraph said , externalthe show has "a rare combination of warmth, goofiness, snarky wit and perceptiveness" in a four-star review."This snarky adaptation never allows a dull minute, even if its general thrust is cosily predictable," wrote Dominic Ca...
BBC News •

James Corden's return to stage in The Constituent wins over most critics

In 2011, James Corden hit the West End with the farcical comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, and later won a Tony Award for best actor following its Broadway transfer. More than a decade later, he's back in London, this time starring alongside Anna Maxwell Martin in Joe Penhall’s political drama, The Constituent.The Gavin and Stacey star's return to the stage has been met with generally positive reviews from the critics - although some were more enthusiastic than others.The Independent called Corden a...
BBC News •

Supacell: Rapman's superhero series tackling knife crime and sickle cell

Heroic superheroes fighting evil and the gritty streets of south London aren't two worlds that would usually collide, but for Rapman it was a match made in heaven. The 35-year-old rapper and director has created a new Netflix sci-fi series about five black south Londoners who unexpectedly gain superpowers. At the London premiere, Rapman, real name Andrew Onwubolu, jokes that he wishes he could have the power of teleportation given that he almost turned up late to his own event. He says that the...
BBC News •

Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder: 'We're two northerners singing about true crime'

The theatre landscape is changing. A few decades ago, the West End was packed with classic musicals and Shakespeare adaptations, but now they're making way for a new type of show. Enter Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, a musical about two true crime podcast-obsessed friends who find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery. "We're two northerners singing about true crime, we really didn't think it would make it to the West End," says Bronté Barbé who plays Stella.Her co-star Rebekah Hinds is...
BBC News •

Queenie: The black Bridget jones exploring love, race and identity

Creating a Bridget Jones-esque character is nothing new.In hundreds of books, films and TV series you will find chaotic, boy-obsessed millennial women all in pursuit of the same goal: finding their one true love. But one of those characters that has managed to cut through is Queenie.Dubbed as "the black Bridget Jones" by the book's author Candice Carty-Williams, Queenie is a 25-year-old British-Jamaican woman from Brixton, south London.

Creating a Bridget Jones-esque character is nothing new.In...
BBC News •

London mayor election: Bots, misleading URLs cause voter confusion

The London mayoral election is seeing voters being faced with the prospect of fake news from many sources.The BBC has found a number of misleading website URLs using election candidate names that redirect to the Russian government website - it is not believed to be the work of the Russians and no-one knows who is responsible.Earlier this week #LondonVoterFraud was trending on X after being reposted by hundreds of fake accounts - in this case, again no-one knows who created the social media bots....
BBC News •

Two Strangers: Critics rave about new millennial rom com musical

From Richard Curtis classics to the so-bad-they're-good movies, the world is not short of romantic comedies.Despite this, a new rom com musical about two twentysomething strangers meeting ahead of a wedding has impressed critics.Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) sees optimistic brit Dougal (Sam Tutty) arrive in the city for his absent father's second wedding. At the airport he is met by native New Yorker and sister of the bride, Robin (Dujonna Gift).With wedding bells ringing in the d...
BBC News •

Palace fashion: Westwood and McCartney in Blenheim takeover

British fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Zandra Rhodes are being celebrated in a new exhibition at Blenheim Palace.The journey begins in the 300-year-old Great Hall that features designs from the late Dame Vivienne and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler.From there, each of the palace's significant rooms has been transformed by a different designer.Each designer looked around the palace and picked a room.And that is what makes the exhibition so unique.There are n...
BBC News •

Harry Potter: Is Miriam Margolyes right that adult fans should 'grow up'?

I visited Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross station as a child. Obsessed with Harry Potter, I was convinced that if I ran through the wall I would find myself arm in arm with Ron and Hermione boarding the Hogwarts Express on my way to becoming a fully fledged witch.Sure, I would have to leave my Muggle parents behind, but aged 10 that was a sacrifice I was prepared to make. However, my attempt at running into a brick wall left me with little more than a bruised head, and the magic had, quite literally...
BBC News •

Michael Sheen in his element as NHS founder Nye Bevan say theatre critics

Michael Sheen has been praised by critics for his performance as Nye Bevan, in a National Theatre production. Nye tells the story of the left-wing politician who was credited with being the founder of the modern day National Health Service. The FT's four-star review, external said Sheen delivered an "electrifying performance driven by a fantastic ensemble".It also praised the staging, noting the "canny set design of sliding hospital curtains to send scenes tumbling over one another as they do in...
BBC News •

Bollywood meets Beyoncé: 'Brown artists can be mainstream too'

Scroll through TikTok or go for a night out at the weekend and you could easily be left with the impression that South Asian music is booming. But despite seemingly being so popular, it is struggling to make an impact on the mainstream.It is a Saturday night in a club in west London, and sounds, cultures and beats are being fused together by South Asian DJs who are going head-to-head in a musical showdown."This isn't just music, this is a celebration of my culture and identity," one young man sh...
BBC News •

Gregg Wallace and the celebrities who have overshared their daily routines

Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace went viral this week after he shared his typical Saturday routine. He's not the first celebrity to reveal more about his inner life than he may have intended.There is a fascination in what celebrities get up to when they're off duty, and occasionally one will oblige by sharing details of a typical 24 hours. But sitting down to write a "day in the life" piece is no easy feat. How honest is too honest? Should you mention your diva-esque daily habits? Do your hobbies...
BBC News •

Love Actually at 20: Are we still in love with the controversial Christmas classic?

As washed-up rock star Billy Mack, played by Bill Nighy, finally nails the lyrics to the festive version of Love is All Around (aptly renamed Christmas is All Around), he realises how awful the song is. His manager, grinning, agrees that it is rubbish - "solid-gold" rubbish.And so the scene is set for Love Actually, a two-hour whirlwind of improbable, questionable and downright daft scenes of love, propped up by a star-studded cast.The world may have moved on from dial-up internet, Apple's iPod...
BBC News •

Brixton village: How the 'Oxford Street of South London' evolved

Turning left outside Brixton station you would be forgiven for thinking you had stepped back in time to the 1960s.As the greengrocers bellow out the price of apples, chefs whip up a feast for eager diners, and the young and old gather together talking, dancing and shopping for everything from vinyl records to vintage clothes.The thriving epicentre of culture, community and commerce that is Brixton Village is nothing short of electric, and the fiercely independent market has been at the heart of...
BBC News •

'We want Brixton to be a black Silicon Valley'

In the heart of Brixton Village sit three young black entrepreneurs with a vision: to turn their home into a black Silicon Valley.Born and bred in south London, Karl, Cyril and Yvonne are the founders of Black Seed, which claims to be the first venture capital firm in Europe that only invests in and supports black-owned businesses."You are more likely to contract skin cancer than receive funding for your business as a black founder in the UK," Yvonne tells me when I meet the trio at their Brixto...