thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--‘I Found Something Vital – Freedom’: We Were Married, With Kids, Having Affairs

Malte Mueller via Getty Images
Why do people have affairs?
If the Netflix hit Marriage Story is anything to go by, it’s because people are, well... people. Flawed and fallible, emotional and unsure. It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that 42% of marriages end in divorce, according to statistics.
Chances are, if you haven’t experienced infidelity directly, you know someone who has. For some, an affair is an escape from a difficult relationship, one which they know won’t last. But for others – those in reasonably happy marriages with kids – it’s something entirely different.
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These people often seek out another partner without ending their existing relationship – and risk losing their family. But why?
The people behind ‘married dating’ site, Ashley Madison, have some ideas. They surveyed 3,378 members about why they chose to stray, rather than seek a divorce. Nearly a third said it was because they didn’t want to break up the family.
That was followed by 20% who said they loved their spouse but couldn’t remain celibate; 18% who said their marriage was “too emotionally and financially secure” to leave; 14% loved their spouse but “can’t keep having sex with only them” – and 9% who simply couldn’t afford a divorce. The study also claimed members reported increased happiness after having an affair.
Relationship expert and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford believes infidelity is seen by some as a way to “take a breather” from a marriage, to explore what’s missing. “Affairs are rarely about sex, and more about desire,” she says.
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“A desire for attention, a desire to feel adored, or to feel special. An affair provides someone with the chance to find out who they can be, beyond the person they have become in the marriage.”
Psychotherapist Esther Perel agrees, and says infidelity happens in both good and bad relationships. Affairs can teach us a lot about marriage, she believes, as well as our expectations and what we feel we’re entitled to.
“Infidelity does not always correlate neatly with marital dysfunction,” she writes. “Once, we strayed because marriage was not supposed to deliver love and passion. Today, we stray because marriage fails to deliver the love and passion it promised.”
One thing’s for sure, there’s nothing more intriguing than the lives of others. We spoke to six married parents who’ve had affairs, to tell us why they did it.
Would they still do it, knowing then what they know now?
*Names have been changed to preserve anonymity.
Denis Martynenko via Getty Images
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‘I was rediscovering myself after having two kids’
*Jenny, 36, had been married for six years when she had an affair. Her children were three and one.
“We worked together and were in similar situations: kids the same age, a long commute, both feeling pulled in all directions. We bonded over that, as well as work, because we both had to deal with the same difficult people. We were probably looking for an ‘escape’ from reality.
“I was rediscovering myself after having two kids. Going back to work was liberating – I’d finally left my maternity frump behind and was part of the real world again. The affair felt dangerous and sexy – and so far from the rest of my life. I didn’t initiate, not physically, anyway, but I was the one who suggested we discuss a big piece of work over a drink rather than in the office. That in itself was quite exciting, even though I didn’t think anything would actually happen. We kissed, it was mutual. It didn’t go any further physically, but I was suddenly emotionally involved.
“Ultimately, these things always get complicated. We began to fall for each other. He admitted it first. Then I realised it could get messy. Luckily I was leaving that job anyway, which was part of the reason it felt ‘safe’ to let it continue, because there was always going to be an end. My husband went on my Facebook page and saw I’d searched for this person a few times. He had no other evidence of anything, but he went mad. That put a stop to anything further happening.
“I’ve seen this guy a couple of times since, just as friends. Nothing happened either time, but I could see how things might easily escalate again, were we to spend more time together. Sometimes, that chemistry just doesn’t disappear.”
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‘Having kids is a major passion-killer’
*Becky, 42, is about to embark on her first affair with a man she met online. Her children are eight and 11.
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“Having kids is a major passion-killer. The marriage becomes less about the two of you, and more about becoming a ‘keeping the kids alive’ team. The children become the priority and everything else begins to rot.
“I made an active decision to have an affair and joined a dating site. There were obvious reasons as to why I wanted to meet someone else: sex, wanting to be something other than a wife or a mother. But then there was also a whole, ‘wiping the slate clean’ kind of thing. I enjoyed the idea of being who I wanted to be, outside of my marriage – and seeing if people would be attracted to that.
“I’m wittier, more confident and sexier with these men online than I’ve ever been in real life. But I’ve also wondered if I want to go any further than the ‘organising to meet up’ phase... am I just an online pleasure seeker? Or will I go full-steam into a passionate affair? I don’t know, yet. I guess that depends on whether the man I’ve met is who he seems to be.”
‘Life felt devoid of meaning, I needed a reason to break out’
*Sam, 45, had been married five years when he had his first affair. He had his second affair 14 years into his marriage, when his children were seven and 11.
“I’d always felt like I was ‘faking’ being a grown-up and doing the things grown-ups are ‘supposed’ to do, like get married, because I was terrified of being alone. I didn’t have many sexual experiences when I was younger and therefore wasn’t mature sexually. I was resentful, sexually frustrated and feeling trapped in my marriage. Life felt devoid of meaning and passion and I needed a reason to break out. Both women were at the right place at the right time.
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“The first woman made a move on me while I was drunk. I’d always been chronically shy and lacked confidence around women – but this time, I couldn’t resist her, and I didn’t. The second time, it was like being hit by a train. I wanted her so badly I had to push myself out of my shell just to get her attention. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was looking for some kind of purpose, passion and meaning. We didn’t sleep together, but it was a full on emotional affair, and I was totally conflicted. When I got attention from her, the feeling was an incredible dopamine hit – it was blissful. But the flip-side was the guilt and shame I felt at home. When my wife found out, I also admitted the first affair.
“Even though things didn’t work out, the woman from the second affair allowed me to discover the confident side of my character and inhabit my skin in a much more satisfying way, despite the chronic losses I’ve suffered – such as not living with my children anymore. The outcome was separation and bewilderment. With hindsight, I’d still do it again – but I’d do it differently.”
‘I felt released from all the boring stuff of my life’
*Robert, 47, had been married eight years when he had an affair. His children were 12, 10 and four.
“I had an affair with someone I met at work who made me feel energised in every way – she was hot, funny, brave and brilliant. I was in a complicated home situation and work, which I put too much of myself into, was a place of relative calm. The woman was the high point of my week. I assumed nothing would ever happen, and my mind was blown when it turned out that it would.
“It was the first time I’d had a ‘proper’ affair, though I’d kissed people before. We went for a drink ‘as friends’ at a bar and I was bowled over when we started kissing over the table. I think it was a joint initiation, perhaps. I didn’t resist because it was incredible. I felt released from all the boring stuff of my life – it was like being 20 again.
“It brought me danger, excitement and passion, but ended rather abruptly when my wife found out and, rather than boot me out, used it to lock me into deeper into the marriage. I’m divorced now, but if I had the time over, I would do it all over again.”
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‘My son wasn’t a baby anymore, and I wanted to feel vibrant, excited and alive’
*Lucy, 40, has been married 12 years and is having an affair. Her son is nine.
“I’d had a couple of affairs before, but I didn’t plan them. This was more calculated – I wanted something fresh and new, so I joined an extra-marital affairs website. I knew it was risky, but I was so bored and frustrated. The ‘love’ was still there, but the passion had completely gone. My son wasn’t a baby anymore, and I wanted to feel vibrant, excited and alive. The man I met made me feel all of those things – and more.
“Having an affair feels like standing on the top of a tall building, looking down at the ground below and knowing that it’s probably going to hurt when you fall – but throwing yourself over anyway, simply for the thrill of falling.
“I don’t know how it will turn out, but I plan to make the most of every second that I have it. Life is short and precious. We should try not to hurt the people who love us, but we all need to live.”
bakhtiar_zein via Getty Images
‘To the outside world, I had everything. But I was bored’
*Alex, 52, had been married 30 years when he started an affair. His children were 25, 20, 14 and 10.
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“There were a number of reasons why I did it, but the main one was that I was bored with life. I knew I should be happy: I had a great job, a huge house, two cars, four children and an attractive, fun wife. The relationship wasn’t perfect but to the outside world, I had everything. My usual hobbies, however, weren’t giving me enough excitement. Something was missing.
“I was turning 50 and had some classic ‘mid-life crisis’ feelings about it. Then I met a woman 10 years younger than me, who was tall, slim, sexy and confident. She was ‘living life’ and ‘breaking the rules’. I’d always followed the rules, doing everything people expected me to do, so I was blown away that somebody like that wanted to spend time with me.
“We started talking over text, but it quickly turned to sexting. And it was amazing. It was like I was reborn. Nothing else mattered anymore. The thought and anticipation of getting a WhatsApp message from her, chatting on the phone, seeing each other, touching each other, sneaking a kiss, clandestine meetings, booking hotels, having sex – sometimes fucking, sometimes making love – talking openly about all of it. It was like I was suddenly this new person.
“At a time when my marriage had lost its sparkle, I found a soulmate – somebody I could be truly honest with for the first time in my life. But it got complicated. We fell in love and jealousy snuck in. We tried to break it off and keep away from each other, but we couldn’t.
“Eventually my wife found out and I admitted everything. I’m now getting divorced and living alone – it’s chaos, but it’s right that the marriage is over. I just wish I’d had the courage to break it off before anyone got hurt. There have been days when I’ve regretted having an affair, when I’ve wanted to cry and hit things. I’ve even thought about killing myself. But would I go back and do it all again? The answer is yes, because I found something vital: freedom.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Ian 'H' Watkins Reveals Life-Long Battle With Insomnia: 'I've Tried Everything'

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Ian ‘H’ Watkins may have gained his nickname due to his “hyperactive” personality in Steps, but he’s actually almost always tired, having suffered from insomnia since childhood.
“Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and can be wide awake for two hours, then by the time I fall back to sleep, it’s time to get back up again,” he tells HuffPost UK, “so I feel pretty wrecked in the morning.”
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He’s never been a good sleeper, but H believes it got worse when he joined Steps, due to the group’s hectic touring schedule. “We were literally in a different time zone every day,” he says.
“It really did screw with my body clock for years and years, and I think that pattern has just settled with me now – it’s not great.”
Ian West - PA Images via Getty Images
The singer and current Dancing on Ice star says he’s “tried everything” to solve the problem, including visiting a sleep clinic several years ago where clinicians attached probes to his head to monitor his sleep. But the process didn’t offer a solution.
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Now, he uses the Headspace or Calm app at night when he’s struggling, recommended by a friend. This hasn’t cured his insomnia, but it’s made it more manageable.
“It settles me and calms my breathing down,” he says, adding that his issues with sleep “absolutely” have an impact on his mental health and wellbeing.
“When you have a busy life or you have kids, you don’t come first, they come first, so I end up burying a lot of those feelings, I guess,” he says. “Then when you do the Calm or Headspace app, it brings things to the surface.”
Ian West - PA Images via Getty Images Ian 'H' Watkins and Dancing on Ice professional partner Matt Evers.
H has had a turbulent career. The end of Steps led to the formation of duo H and Claire, but it had little chart success. Some acting, musical theatre and panto followed – but now, when he’s not on the ice, H is a busy dad to twins Macsen and Cybi, who are almost four.
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Managing childcare, as well as the usual life stresses of “bills to pay, deadlines to meet”, leaves him with very little downtime. “I’ve been a single dad for nearly three and a half years now and that was never my life plan,” he says. “There have been times when I thought I couldn’t cope, but you deal with the things that are thrown at you.”
To get through tough days, H reminds himself of the saying ‘feelings are not facts’. And when he does have time to unwind, he’ll squeeze in a painting session.
The singer attended art school before he began performing and decided to dust off his paintbrushes a few years ago as a way to de-stress. He’s since had several exhibitions in north Wales, and enjoys the fact most gallery visitors don’t realise the paintings are by him.
“It’s my form of meditation, I guess, my way of relaxing [where] I just lose myself,” he says, adding that his favourite time to paint is just after the hectic school run.
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Mental resilience has been key for H in recent weeks, when his first Dancing on Ice performance with professional partner, Matt Evers, received a mixed reception.
The pair made history by performing the first same-sex skate on the show. But despite the huge wave of support online from the LGBTQ community and beyond, the performance received 16 Ofcom complaints and homophobic comments online.
“A lot of the comments were overwhelmingly supportive, but when people call you hideous names and say things like ‘it’s not natural’ or ‘you’re a f****t’, all of those awful names are a dagger in my heart,” he says.
“I think the world has progressed and changed so much, but those kinds of people still exist and will come into contact with my children. And those bigots will breed more bigots and we’re bigger and better than that now, as a society.”
H is determined not to let the small number of negative comments overshadow the joy he’s getting from the show, though. If there’s one lesson he’s learned throughout his career, it’s to enjoy the here and now.
“I would always worry about the future... about what’s coming next instead of living in the moment,” he says. “[But] if you’re having a tough time, it’s about taking one day at a time. It’s about dealing with today and not worrying about tomorrow.
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“It’s a saying everybody knows, but I should practise it more: ’Enjoy the journey, not the destination’”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Seven Kings Knife Crime: Three Dead After Stabbings In North East London

Police in Seven Kings, Ilford after a multiple stabbing. PA Wire/PA Images
Two men, aged 29 and 39, have been arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were stabbed to death in Seven Kings, north-east London, on Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
Emergency services were called to Elmstead Road, in Seven Kings, Redbridge, at 7.38pm, after reports that three men had been stabbed.
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All three men - aged in their 20s or 30s - were pronounced dead at the scene.
Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman said the arrested men and the victims were all known to each other.
“We believe the groups involved are members of the Sikh community.”
Officers are still contacting members of the dead men’s families, he said.
“It was a horrific scene for anyone to come across and my heart goes out to the families and those affected by it because it is unprecedented to have something like this,” he added.
Police are still investigating a motive but have ruled out terrorism, he said.
An evidence tent at the junction of Salisbury Road and Elmstead Road in Seven Kings, Ilford, east London, where three people died after being stabbed Sunday evening. PA Wire/PA Images
A police cordon was in place outside Seven Kings railway station on Monday morning.
The owner of Seven Kings Cars, opposite the station, said a man with blood on his hands had approached him on Sunday evening asking for help after three people had been badly injured.
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Nadeem Rana told the PA news agency: “I was shocked. He (the man) had blood on his hands and he said there were people in very poor condition.”
The man and a passenger who had been waiting for a taxi made off towards the scene to help, Rana said.
He added that he was shocked to hear the men had died.
“It’s shocking, a feeling of insecurity, to be honest,” he said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted that extra police enforcement powers have been authorised for the whole of Redbridge borough until Monday at 8am.
Jas Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, tweeted: “A deeply distressing night has just got a lot worse.
“Deeply saddened by the deaths of three young men in Seven Kings as a result of knife crime. I have asked for extra police resources.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Prince Harry Says There Was 'No Other Option' But To Quit Royal Family

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Prince Harry has said there was “no other option” but to quit the royal family with Meghan Markle as he insisted they were not “walking away”.
In his first public speech since the couple’s decision to step down as senior royals, the Duke of Sussex suggested that the announcement on Saturday that they would be renouncing their royal titles and public funds was not enough to allow them “to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations”.
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The duke said he now wanted his family to have a “more peaceful” life, adding that they were standing down with “great sadness”.
On Sunday, Harry was speaking at a dinner for supporters of Sentebale – his Africa-based charity supporting youngsters with HIV – at the Ivy Chelsea Garden in London.
He said: “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.
“What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”
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Harry’s grandmother, the Queen, issued an emotional statement on Saturday, saying she recognised the “challenges” the couple had faced over the past year.
Unusually, she used the first names of her grandson and his family in a public message.
The Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use the title HRH and will repay the taxpayers’ millions spent on their Berkshire home.
But Harry said the couple will continue to lead a life of service, and were taking a “leap of faith”.
He added: “It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service.
“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months.
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“I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.
“We are taking a leap of faith – thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step.”
Here is the text of the Duke of Sussex’s remarks:
“Good evening, and thank you for being here for Sentebale, a charity me and Prince Seeiso created back in 2006 to honour my mother’s legacy in supporting those affected by HIV and Aids.
“Before I begin, I must say that I can only imagine what you may have heard or perhaps read over the last few weeks…
“So, I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share – not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years – but with a clearer perspective.
“The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change.
“I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched, hurray!
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“I also know you’ve come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same values as I do. And she does, and she’s the same woman I fell in love with.
“We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride.
“Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve.
“For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this.
“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.
“What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
“I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.
“But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.
“I was born into this life, and it is a great honour to serve my country and the Queen.
“When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing.
“You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us.
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“It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service.
“It has also been a privilege to meet so many of you, and to feel your excitement for our son Archie, who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought it was bloody brilliant!
“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months.
“I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.
“Together, you have given me an education about living. And this role has taught me more about what is right and just than I could have ever imagined.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Ffair Rhos Caravan Fire: Boy, 3, Dies As Sibling Fights For Life

PA Archive/PA Images
A three-year-old boy has died in a caravan fire which left his four-year-old sibling in a critical condition in hospital, police said.
Dyfed-Powys Police were called to a fire in Ffair Rhos village in Ceredigion, western Wales, at 5.35am on Sunday.
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A father and his two children are believed to have been inside the caravan when the fire broke out.
Police said while the father and the four-year-old were able to escape the caravan, the boy, was found dead inside.
Both survivors suffered burns. The father is in a stable condition while his other child is critical but stable.
Officers are investigating the circumstances of the fire.
Detective chief superintendent Steve Cockwell said: “Our thoughts are with his family at this extremely difficult and traumatic time, and specialist officers have been put in place to support them.
“The criminal investigation department is investigating the cause of the fire, and a major incident room has been set up at Aberystwyth police station.
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“We are also working closely with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who were in attendance when our officers arrived.
“We would like to thank our colleagues at the fire service for their professionalism in dealing with what turned out to be a highly traumatic incident.
“We would like to speak to anyone who was in the Ffair Rhos area around the time of the fire, who might have information that could help our investigation.
“This was a tragic incident, and we will be doing all we can to find answers for the family, whose world will have been torn apart by this morning’s events.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Investigation Department on 101 and use Storm reference 39 of January 19.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--'The Great British Break Off': How North American And UK Newspapers Reported Meghan And Harry's Exit

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Newspapers and columnists on both sides of the Atlantic have been withering in their commentary about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after it was announced on Saturday the couple will walk away from the monarchy.
News that the Sussexes are to repay the taxpayers’ millions spent on their Berkshire home, no longer use the HRH titles and stop carrying out royal duties from the spring made many front pages in North America, where they intend to spend much of their time, and the United Kingdom.
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The New York Post splashed the ‘The Great British Break Off’ headline, adding Harry and Meghan “will pay back 3 million dollars in Megxit deal”.
New York Post
Its celebrity gossip site Page Six described it as a result “gracefully crafted” by the Queen, with the title’s Canadian comment writer Isabel Vincent writing the Queen had shown she “wasn’t going to put up with any more nonsense” from the couple who “have behaved like two spoiled brats”.
She added that Buckingham Palace did not comment on who would be paying for Harry and Meghan’s security while they stay in Canada, writing: “I say let these new commoners pay the tab.”
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By contrast to its New York namesake, the Washington Post was more sympathetic - focussing on the scrutiny the couple has faced from the British media.
Its take read: “The couple win their freedom from a palace-centric life of duty serving the queen as ‘senior working royals,’ which they found suffocating — especially the intense, often harsh media coverage.”
“Hard Megxit:” why Queen Elizabeth gave Harry and Meghan a tougher severance package than they hoped for. https://t.co/yPJGufJnk5 — Mark Landler (@MarkLandler) January 19, 2020
The New York Times’ Mark Landler also pointed to “a toxic relationship with Britain’s tabloids” as well as the American links with the “unusual deal”.
“However civil, the agreement codifies one of the most dramatic ruptures within the British royal family since King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American woman, Wallis Simpson,” wrote Landler.
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He described Meghan as “a 38-year-old American actress with a mixed-race background who brought a breath of fresh air into one of the country’s most revered but hidebound institutions”.
The Wall Street Journal described the decision for Harry and Meghan to cease royal duties as a watershed moment for the royal family “which has long considered public service its foremost duty”.
Canadian outlet the Globe and Mail said the couple’s security costs are estimated at £600,000 annually. It noted comments from the nation’s prime minister Justin Trudeau this week who said security costs were “part of the reflection that needs to be had and there are discussions going on”.
In the UK, the commentary was less forgiving. Most Sunday newspapers had the story on their front page, with the Sunday Mirror reporting the Queen had ordered ‘a hard Megxit’, while the money spent on renovating Frogmore Cottage being repaid was seen by the Sunday Express as ‘Freedom… at a price’ and The Mail on Sunday as ‘The price of Megxit’. The Sunday Telegraph said the couple have been ‘cast out’.
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The commentary was much harsher still. Camilla Long, in the Sunday Times, blasted the couple’s decision - arguing it is the people working in the Grenfell soup kitchen visited by Meghan this month who the public should feel most sorry for.
“You know who the real victim in this whole Harry and Meghan thing is? It isn’t Harry or Meghan, however much these fey children tell us they’ve had their spirits ‘crushed’ by the sheer number of palaces and diamonds and footmen we’ve flung at them,” wrote Long.
“It isn’t us, even though we’ve had the stupidity to pay this pair of oxygen thieves more than £60,000 a day, if you take into account the £32m wedding, the £2.4m cottage renovation, the security and fripperies and Meghan’s dresses, for the privilege of being patronised and dissed to our faces by them, since they married in May 2018.
“It’s the poor, sweet, benighted ladies of the Grenfell soup kitchen I feel sorry for, who have been repeatedly duped into smiling and nodding as the duchess sweeps in to pretend to cook rice on yet another of her many content-gathering missions.”
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The Sun quoted Alastair Bruce, an expert on royal protocol, as saying the Queen had brought “down the iron fist of monarchical leadership”: “She has made it very clear that the royal status, the princely status, should be dissolved.”
Similarly, a tweet from broadcaster and columnist Piers Morgan suggested the Queen had told Meghan and Harry to “sling their part-time royal hook”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Hove Flats Fall Death: Family Pays Tribute To 'Beautiful' Mother, 33, Who Fell To Death From Seven F

Hove Flats Fall Death: Family Pays Tribute To 'Beautiful' Mother, 33, Who Fell To Death From Seven Floors

Nicola Redman, 33, died after falling from the seventh floor. Sussex Police
A mother who died after falling from the seventh floor of a tower block has been described as “vibrant and loving” by her family.
Nicola Redman, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene at Clarendon House, Clarendon Road, in Hove, at juts before 6am on Saturday, Sussex Police has said.
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A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.
The force said the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct had been notified “in view of recent police contact with the two people” who the force said were known to each other.
Clarendon House in Clarendon Road in Hove, East Sussex. PA Wire/PA Images
On Sunday, Nicola’s devastated family paid tribute to her, saying in a statement: “Nicola was the life and soul of the family.
“Full of colour and vibrant, a loving mother to two children and a caring sister and auntie. Life is not going to be the same without her.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Exclusive: Labour Membership Surges By More Than 100,000 Ahead Of Leadership Vote

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More than 100,000 people have joined Labour in recent weeks as the party prepares to elect a new leader to replace Jeremy Corbyn following its disastrous election defeat.
The surge was revealed to HuffPost UK by a senior party insider and will fuel suggestions that an influx of so-called moderates could harm the leadership prospects of Rebecca Long-Bailey, who is seen as the candidate to carry the Corbynite left’s torch.
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Local constituency Labour parties (CLPs) are said to have been reporting rises in membership of up to 20% with the deadline to sign up as a member to vote in the leadership contest looming at 5pm Monday.
It comes after party grandees including Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, urged people to sign up to end the left’s grip on the party following its catastrophic December election defeat.
The influx of new members, who pay £4.30 a month, does not include the 14,700 who have paid £25 to become registered supporters who can vote in the leadership election.
The surge will also provide a timely boost to Labour’s cash-strapped coffers following the election defeat, when the party had around 500,000 members.
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Jess Phillips, one of the leadership contenders who might gain from a boost in moderate members, said the surge was “great to see”.
This is great to see. Welcome to all the new members! If you are thinking about joining the Labour Party you can here https://t.co/Jy8KMkITwN. If you do it now you will get a vote in the leadership election. Come help us change things for the better. https://t.co/SOghKCR61O — Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) January 19, 2020
Earlier, Phillips insisted she was not an “uber Remainer” after making headlines earlier this month by refusing to rule out campaigning to rejoin the EU.
But she told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News: “I don’t think this is a conversation that’s even up for debate at the moment.
“There’s no plan to have some sort of campaign to rejoin the European Union.
“But any prime minister who wouldn’t look at the merits of every single alliance that our country could have for our safety, security, peace, and economic viability with a reasoned head on, anyone who closes off any option in the future, I just believe that that’s an honest position.”
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Meanwhile as the leadership candidates seek the nominations of unions and CLPs in order to make it to the next stage of the contest, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said his union would be meeting contenders over the coming days before deciding who to support.
Whelan told Sky News: “We need to articulate that voice of ordinary people that the Conservative party seem to have claimed in the short-term because of a one-topic process.
“The real message is about the four million people that are in poverty, 1.5m people in destitution, those who are in non-work, faux self-employment or zero-hours contracts, we need to give those people a voice.”
The latest YouGov Labour members poll for the Times showed frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer increasing his lead over Long-Bailey.
Starmer was predicted to win in the final round by 63% to Long-Bailey’s 37% if the contest took place on Friday, when the poll was published.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--PM To Raise Concerns About 'Driving Habits Of US Personnel' At World Leaders' Summit After Footage F

PM To Raise Concerns About 'Driving Habits Of US Personnel' At World Leaders' Summit After Footage From Harry Dunn RAF Base Emerges

Boris Johnson will raise concerns over the driving of US diplomatic staff at a world leaders’ summit, after footage emerged of a near-miss close to the RAF base where Harry Dunn was killed.
The prime minister is currently in Berlin with world leaders including the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, at the summit hosted by German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Speaking to Sky News, Johnson said he will address with Pompeo the driving habits of US staff at RAF Croughton following the death of the teenager.
He said: “We’re certainly raising all those issues, about the driving habits of US personnel at the base, and we’re continuing to work for justice for Harry Dunn and for his family.”
RAF Croughton became the focus of an international controversy after Dunn was killed in a head-on collision with a car on August 27 last year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Entire Neighbourhoods Buried By Record Snowfall In Canada

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Canada’s government has said military reserves may be called in to help after entire neighbourhoods were buried by a record-breaking snow storm.
A state of emergency has been declared in St John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, after the blizzard dumped up to 76.2cm onto the city alongside wind gusts of 81mph.
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The snowfall was an all-time record for the day for St. John’s International Airport, which has been closed.
Thousands of people have been left without power in freezing temperatures, and Canada’s federal government has now mobilised to help the stricken province, helping to dig out citizens who have been trapped in their homes.
The nation’s prime minster Justin Trudeau said help was “on its way”.
For many households it’s proven to be a struggle just to get out the front door, with drifts piling up against homes and in some cases entirely blocking access:
1:00 local time. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day lol. But I'm perfectly fine here. Never lost power. All that snow can be tossed into the bathtub to start off with. And if I really need to get outside there's always the kitchen window. pic.twitter.com/gY1PtsKdz5 — Ernie Powell (@etrevorpowell) January 18, 2020
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#nlblizzard2020 is so bad even Olaf is trying to get in the house @natashafatah pic.twitter.com/ygYDEwJFij — Glenda (@GMF64) January 18, 2020
Or their garages for that matter:
In some cases, the snow was so deep that residents were forced to dig tunnels or deep trenches just to be able to get in and out of their own homes:
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There’s enough snow on our walkway that I decided to just dig a tunnel instead #nlwx pic.twitter.com/7ULPMwroAO — Alex Snook (@acsnook) January 18, 2020
Getting out of the house might have been one thing, but finding the car would prove quite another:
After two hours of shoveling I have finally made it to my car! #yyt#nlweather #stormageddon2020 pic.twitter.com/OfR6YqOjzi — Smile Dubas (@Steve362B) January 18, 2020
Got their car out. Now just to run the wipers and get that bit of snow off the windshield .... #nlwx pic.twitter.com/PuFoqCKssv — Hasan Hai (@HasanHaiNL) January 18, 2020
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The Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) confirmed a report of an avalanche slamming into a home in St. John’s Battery neighbourhood, which sits at the entrance to the city’s harbour on the slopes of a steep hill.
A picture of the home on Twitter showed the living room filled with snow. The CBC also said a 26-year-old man has been reported missing after having set out to walk to a friend’s house on Friday during the blizzard.
Blizzard touches off avalanche, prompting evacuations in the Battery neighbourhood in St. John's. No one was hurt. Here's the story: https://t.co/BTELZBJhs6 — CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) January 18, 2020
The country’s natural resources minister Seamus O’Regan said military reservists might be called in, but details of the assistance had yet to be worked out. The immediate priority will be snow removal and clearing roads to the snowbound hospital, he said.
“We have a real issue right now with access to the hospital,” O’Regan told reporters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is meeting for two days in a what it has called a retreat.
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Commenting on the scale of the blizzard, O’Regan said: “It’s snow and a hurricane, and snow and a hurricane shuts down a city.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-19--Boris Johnson Wishes Harry And Meghan 'The Very Best' After Royal Exit

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Boris Johnson has wished Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “the very best” for the future as they negotiated their exit from the royal family.
The prime minister said he was “sure” that the Queen and her family will “find a way forward” after the Sussexes announced they will stop carrying out royal duties from the spring, no longer use HRH and will repay the taxpayers’ millions spent on their Berkshire home.
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Visiting Berlin for a summit on the Libyan civil war, Johnson said: “Yes, of course I think the whole country will want to join in wishing them the very best for the future.
“I said before that I was sure that the royal family, which has been around a very long time, will find a way forward and I’m sure it will.”
As part of the arrangement, Harry and Meghan will also repay £2.4 million of taxpayer’s money spent on renovating their Berkshire home, Frogmore Cottage.
The Queen said in a statement: “Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.”
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PA Wire/PA Images
Harry and Meghan said in their statement, issued on their behalf by Buckingham Palace, that under the agreement they understood they were “required” to step back from royal duties.
The deal is a hard “Megxit” for the couple - as the issue has been dubbed by the media - and a source told PA news agency “you can’t be half in and half out”.
It comes after Harry and Markle entered a transition phase of living in Canada and the UK after announcing they were on 8 January they were stepping back from senior royal duties.
The couple’s unexpected announcement prompted speculation about the reasons behind their decision. The pair have faced years of scrutiny from parts of the media – and racist abuse from the public, especially online.
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Meghan is currently taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers.
The newspaper is accused of unlawfully publishing one of Meghan’s private letters to her father. The Mail on Sunday argues publishing the letter was justified and says there is a “huge and legitimate” public interest in the “personal relationships” of the royals.
Earlier this week, a study for HuffPost UK by analysts at the University of Sunderland revealed hundreds of racist and sexist tweets aimed at Meghan following the couple’s decision to step back.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--'I Was In My School Uniform': Women Recall The First Time They Were Harassed

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“I always felt safe before and now I don’t.”
The relatability of Netflix’s Sex Education is a big factor behind its success. Every awkward fumble, every scene of teenage angst brings a collective sigh of: “Yep, I remember something like that.” But it’s Aimee’s comment about sexual harassment in episode seven of the latest season that truly resonates.
The teenager is telling the other girls how she feels after a man masturbated on to her jeans while she was on the bus. Before long, each girl sitting in the circle is sharing her own experience, from being catcalled to being flashed or groped.
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Their anecdotes may be fictional, but they reflect the very real experiences of girls and women in the UK. Two-thirds of women aged 14-21 have experienced unwanted sexual attention or harassment in a public space, according to a new survey by Plan International UK – and 35% said it first happened while they were wearing school uniform.
Abby, 16, from Norfolk, told the charity that, like Sex Education’s Aimee, she’s been harassed on the bus. “You’ll have that one person who’s just sitting at the back of the bus and is staring at you. And occasionally, they’ll make their way and sit right next to you and just start talking to you,” she said. “But I try my best to sit next to the bus driver, as close as I can, so he has me in his eye line and if something happens then I can say, ‘I need help.’”
Young women surveyed said they don’t feel safe moving through the places they live on their own, and constantly have to adapt their behaviours to avoid being physically and verbally harassed. Unfortunately, their experiences are nothing new.
HuffPost UK asked women to recall their first experience of harassment and the anecdotes came flooding in.
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“I was a child, and it felt awful being sexualised like that.” - Eleanor, now 23
“I was about 14 or 15 walking through my town centre in jeans and a baggy jumper. Three men in their twenties started following me asking if I fancied their friend and calling me ‘sexy’. I ran into a shop to escape them,” Eleanor Langford, now 23, from London, said.
“At the time it was incredibly upsetting and confusing. I was a child, and it felt awful being sexualised like that. The way the men acted was intimidating and predatory, and it definitely made me more wary of male attention for the rest of my teens.”
“I initially wasn’t sure what they meant.” - Abbi, now 25
Abbi Connor, now 25, from London, also recalled feeling “confused” when she was first sexually harassed. She was in year 8 at school, meaning she would have been around 13 years old.
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“I was walking to the bus stop in my school uniform and a man who was waiting at a traffic light in a car with his friend asked me how much I charged,” she said.
“I remember being confused as, being so young, I initially wasn’t sure what they meant. I knew from the way they were laughing and staring though, that it was a comment about my appearance and that it was intended to make me feel uncomfortable.”
“It was the first time I realised that my body wasn't necessarily my own.” - Rachel, now 28
Rachel Egan, now 28, from London, was just 11 the first time she experienced harassment, when a boy in her science class pinched her bum.
“I asked him why and he shrugged and said ‘because I like it,’” she recalled. “It was the first time I realised that my body wasn’t necessarily my own, and men would try to touch it without permission.”
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Another woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she’s been called “blow jobs lips” both to her face by male peers and through catcalling since the age of 14. The 24-year-old, from Northamptonshire, said the comments used to make her feel ashamed of her full lips – something she cannot control – but now her main emotion is anger.
“Ultimately I am disgusted that those people felt it was fair to put those thoughts into my head and make me second guess whether I could, for example, wear lip gloss,” she said.
Here are just some of the other stories women shared:
I was a teenager in a school uniform, I went home for dinners and had to walk past a pub to get there. It happened every single day. — emma iannarilli (@fashion_mommyWM) January 20, 2020
Being followed in my school uniform by a guy in a car. I was 10 at the time. — Jessica (@Part_Mermaid) January 20, 2020
Sitting on a tube train at night (I was roughly 17) when some guy started chatting. I glanced down to see he had EVERYTHING out on display. Had to carry on chatting, pretending I hadn't noticed 🙈 I also managed to pick up another guy who wanted to walk me to work everyday 😬 — Lucille Whiting (@goldfingerprint) January 20, 2020
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Next door neighbor (I was 12 he was 20) used to wait for me to come home then bang on the window & stand sideways masturbating while looking at me as I walked down the garden path — Louise Daniels (@LouiseDaniels_) January 20, 2020
Walking home from school in uniform, walked passed this guy leaning against the wall he stared at me as I walked passed. Started walking behind me, overtook stopped and waited for me to catch up leaning, staring, saying nothing. When I catch him up he started walking next to me 1 — Jen Wight (@JenWight) January 20, 2020
Asking me my name etc. He told me he was 30. I was 15. Got to a corner facing my old primary school. Turned to him and said. I don’t want to talk to you. Go away. I remember being angry. He was so flabbergasted he just stood there as I walked off. — Jen Wight (@JenWight) January 20, 2020
In Paris on school trip aged around 14/15 I suppose. Weird hissing to attract your attention, which is not a technique favoured by British men but I’ve often encountered in France! — Lebby Eyres (@LebbyE) January 20, 2020
A common comment by women who got in touch was “in hindsight, I wish I had called it out”, but as many of us who’ve experienced harassment know, at the time, you’re often paralysed in shock. And the onus shouldn’t be on women to call out harassment – it should be on perpetrators to stop doing it.
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“As we enter 2020, it’s extremely saddening, but not surprising, that our report finds girls still feel disempowered and unable to realise their rights here in the UK,” says Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International. “They are told they can succeed, but they face a threat to their safety in public, online and in schools.”
Plan International UK is calling on the government to do more to end street harassment, but until we have systemic, societal change, women, can take inspiration from the Sex Education characters and help each other through it.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Love Island's New Bombshell Rebecca Could Be Just What The Villa Needs

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Just when it looked like the Love Island couples were starting to settle down, a new bombshell is set to shake things up in the villa.
Bosses have revealed that 21-year-old Rebecca Gormley from Newcastle will be making her way into the South African residence in Monday night’s show.
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Her arrival could well spell trouble for some of the existing couples, as the carer and part-time model revealed she has her eye on some of the lads.
Rebecca admitted she currently fancies Connagh Howard, Callum Jones and Mike Boateng, who are coupled up with Sophie Piper, Shaghna Phillips and Leanne Amaning, respectively.
Rebecca Gormley is about to enter the Love Island villa ITV
Of her ideal type, Rebecca says: “I like a ‘Jack the lad’. He’s got to be the centre of attention easy to get along with, and someone who gets involved with the chat.”
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The former Miss Newcastle rates herself as an “8.5, maybe a 9” out of 10, and says her best features are her “eyes or boobs”.
She adds: “I’m fun, I’m loud, I’m outgoing, I’m fearless and spontaneous.”
Sounds just like what the villa needs, as so far, the winter series of Love Island has failed to reach the heights of last summer’s run.
Connagh, Callum and Mike ITV
Ratings are currently down around a third on the 2019 series, with an average of just over two million people tuning in each night.
Love Island continues on Monday night at 9pm on ITV2.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--The Biggest Surprises From The 2020 SAG Awards

The Biggest Surprises From The 2020 SAG Awards
There were a few surprises in store at this year’s Screen Actors Guild awards. South Korean film Parasite won the biggest award of the night, as the first foreign-language film to take home Best Motion Picture. The night also saw big wins for the Brits, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag and Netflix’s The Crown picking up awards - but all eyes were on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, whose reunion sent the internet into a frenzy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--How To Maintain A Healthy Weight – 3 Lessons From A Diabetes Expert

Refresh your ‘foodrobe’
If you’re feeling motivated to go on a New Year’s health kick, start by developing a new “foodrobe”, Prof Taylor suggests. Ditch biscuits, crisps, cakes and other sweet treats; get rid of the sugary drinks and say no to ready meals. Instead, stock up on good, honest foods – whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, etc.
Brekky isn’t always best
Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day, but Prof Taylor suggests otherwise. If you don’t feel hungry in the mornings, don’t feel like you have to force some breakfast down.
Some people prefer to just have a hot drink first thing and not eat until lunch time – that’s fine, as long as you avoid snacking during the morning.
And for those who can’t even think straight without a bit of brekky, that’s fine too – we’re all different. But Prof Taylor recommends a boiled egg before leaving the house rather than grabbing something from a coffee shop on the hoof.
Are you hungry – or just bored?
Yep, as already touched upon, snacking is not your friend. Your body is designed to work well without any food intake for quite long periods but boredom can often mean people think they feel peckish, says Prof Taylor.
If you do feel the need to snack, grab a glass of water instead, he suggests. It’ll keep your hands busy, if nothing else.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--HPV Stigma Made Me Feel Alone When I Had Cervical Cancer. That Has To Change

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When you’re told you have cancer, you ask yourself a lot of questions. How did this happen? Is there a reason? Why me? But when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer when I was 44, I faced another, unexpected question: how was I going to tell everyone I had cancer because of a virus I got through sex?
The first time I had ever heard of HPV was when the doctors told me I had cancer. HPV is a really common virus, usually passed on through sexual contact. My cancer was staged at 4b, meaning I was diagnosed very late, meaning that the cancer had already spread to one of my ovaries. I was devastated and convinced I was going to die, yet while I was trying to process the idea of having cancer, I was trying to understand what HPV even meant. At least I had heard of cancer before.
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I knew about smear tests and cell changes which can be cancerous, but beyond that I had no idea what HPV was, or meant. Immediately, I believed I was going to be judged or ridiculed, thanks to those three little letters.
“Honestly, I was scared of having sex – I knew HPV could be passed through sex but didn’t really know how it all worked”
I experienced that stigma first-hand, sooner than I expected. When I told my partner of my diagnosis, needing his support and love, I instead heard back: “that’s an STD. I’ve not given you that. Who gave you that?” In the back of my mind I was wondering if he had given it to me too, but the truth is I was going through the toughest time of my life… and yet my partner and I were arguing about whether one of us had cheated. That’s what HPV stigma looks like.
Neither of us could make sense of what was happening, and my condition put a huge strain on not just our relationship but our sex life. Honestly, I was scared of having sex – I knew HPV could be passed through sex but didn’t really know how it all worked. The last thing I wanted to do was put my husband at risk.
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From that point – going through the hardest time of my life – instead of turning to others, I shut myself away. I was scared of the questions, scared of how people would react. Lots of patients meet friends or get mutual support from the people that they meet during cancer treatment, but the shame I felt about my condition meant I kept myself to myself out of fear of what people would think. I wish I hadn’t kept all my feelings bottled up. I felt so alone. Looking back, I wish I had spoken to people more instead of keeping it all to myself. I found it hard to even tell my children.
I had a radical hysterectomy, which removed my womb, my cervix and ovaries. But, as my cancer had spread, I also had radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy), which took place over the course of two months. A friend told me recently I was “quietly dignified” through my treatment. But in reality, that wasn’t how it felt – inside, I was screaming and shouting.
Even though I’ve returned to some normality, I struggle with depression. I felt like I didn’t recognise myself, mentally or physically. The emotional impact of cancer is something you don’t think about when you are diagnosed. This hit me quite a long time after the diagnosis, which made recovery even more complicated. It’s still hard to talk about, but I’m trying thanks to some counselling. I try to talk especially with important people in my life, asking them what they know about the virus and whether they know it can lead to cervical cancer.
I’ve seen first-hand how so many people don’t know anything about HPV, and I know we need to get the facts out there, so no one has to feel as isolated as I did. It shouldn’t be the case that the first time you hear about what it means to live with HPV is when you’re being diagnosed with cancer, and face being blindsided by both of these things, just like me.
“If I’ve learned anything from my experience, it’s that you are told you have HPV, please don’t panic. And please don’t blame yourself.”
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Although I was able to beat my cancer, I can’t say I feel totally at ease with my post-cancer body. I’ve gone through the early menopause due to my surgery, which forced me to get used to a lot of changes, and I still don’t have all the answers to the complicated questions HPV brings up, such as whether or not I can still pass it on. Not to mention the thought of cancer returning is never far from my mind.
It would have been that bit easier if I hadn’t had to contend with HPV stigma throughout my experience with cancer. It totally changed me emotionally and physically. I had no idea how I was going to get through it at times. If I had felt able to be open, I might have been able to talk to people who understood what I was going through and share the burden.
Thankfully my story is rare, and most people will get rid of HPV infection without it doing the body any harm. Smear tests mean that any changes caused by HPV can be treated before they have a chance to turn into cancer. But if I’ve learned anything from my experience, it’s that you are told you have HPV, please don’t panic. And please don’t blame yourself. It’s not dirty, it’s not embarrassing and it’s definitely nothing to be ashamed of.
20-26 January is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is running its #SmearForSmear campaign to smear the myths and stigma around HPV and smear tests and get the facts out. Search for #SmearForSmear or visit their website to find out how to get involved.
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Dancing On Ice's H Watkins Claims Strictly Bosses Have Been In Touch Over Same-Sex Pairing

Speaking to HuffPost UK, H said the complaints were a “dagger in the heart” following the “incredible” reaction he and Matt had received.
He said: “A lot of the comments were overwhelmingly supportive, but when people call you hideous names and say things like ‘it’s not natural’ or “you’re a f****t’, all of those awful names, for me, they’re a dagger in my heart.”
Referring to the small backlash, he continued: “I think the world has progressed and changed so much, but those kinds of people still exist and will come into contact with my children.
“And those bigots will breed more bigots and we’re bigger and better than that now, as a society. It’s changed so much, but there’s still a small minority that breeds negativity and it’s hideous. ”
Matt also brushed off the complaints, tweeting: “16 out of 5.5 million... the odds are in our favour.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--BBC Director-General Lord Tony Hall To Step Down

Referring to his speech at the BBC’s Cardiff headquarters last week, he said: “As I said last week, we have to develop our ideas for both. And it must be right that the BBC has one person to lead it through both stages.
“Over the next six months my priority, as always, will be to champion this great organisation and continue to direct our reinvention.
“There’s so much we can do to transform the creative industries around the UK still further and to project this country’s talent and ideas to the world.”
He said he feels he is “leaving the BBC in a much stronger place than when I joined”, adding: “It feels a very different organisation – more innovative; more open; more inclusive; more efficient; more commercially aware.
“And a BBC that’s on cracking creative form. You all have my thanks and admiration for the part you’ve played in that success.”
Lord Hall, 68, also praised the values of the BBC, saying the corporation must continue to “champion the nation’s creativity at home and abroad, and help play its part in bringing the UK together”.
He added: “In an era of fake news, we remain the gold standard of impartiality and truth. What the BBC is, and what it stands for, is precious for this country. We ignore that at our peril.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Dancing On Ice: Phillip Schofield Forced To Apologise As Maura Drops F-Bomb

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Phillip Schofield was forced to apologise during this week’s Dancing On Ice, after Maura Higgins got a little too excited and apparently forgot she was broadcasting live to the nation.
During Sunday night’s show, the contestants who had made it through to the next stage of the competition were announced one by one, with Maura among the last to be revealed.
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When the former Love Island star avoided the dreaded skate-off, she had a rather OTT announcement, with many viewers wondering whether they were mistaken, or whether she’d actually declared “thank fuck for that” live on ITV.
I thought Maura said F**k 😱 #DancingOnIce — Josephine Thomson 💃 (@JoMarThom) January 19, 2020
Naughty Maura saying the F word 😅😅#DancingOnIce — M/T (@megamouth_88) January 19, 2020
Maura mouthing FUCK! 🤣 #DancingOnIce — S o p h i e (@Sophsss_91) January 19, 2020
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That Maura lass dropped the f bomb 😂#DancingOnIce — Jas Judge (@JasJudge) January 19, 2020
Well, as it turns out, that’s exactly what she said, with Phil telling viewers shortly afterwards: “Sorry if there was some bad language there.”
Not quite what you want to hear pre-watershed on a Sunday night, is it?
Maura and Alexander were relieved to make it through (although she was possibly a little too relieved) ITV
Sunday night saw Maura and her skating partner Alexander Demetriou delivering their second routine of the series, and besting their first score by three points with a total of 25/40.
However, Maura revealed that she’d been struggling with confidence issues ahead of the performance.
Maura on the ice on Sunday night Matt Frost/ITV/Shutterstock
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The big moment of the night came right at the beginning of the show, though, when it was revealed that Caprice and her skating partner would not be appearing as they had “parted ways”.
An ITV rep told HuffPost UK: “Unfortunately, Caprice and Hamish have parted ways.
“As you saw in our opening number Hamish remains very much part of our professional team and we hope to have Caprice back on the ice next week.”
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday at 6pm on ITV.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Dancing On Ice Fans Have A Lot Of Questions After Caprice 'Parts Ways' With Skating Partner

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Dancing On Ice viewers were left with a lot of questions during Sunday night’s show, when presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield alluded to a mysterious situation involving contestant Caprice.
At the beginning of the show, Holly and Phil revealed that Caprice had “parted ways” with her professional skating partner Hamish Gaman, but offered no further information, including whether her time on the show was over for good.
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“Unfortunately, Caprice and Hamish have parted ways and will not be skating this week,” Holly explained to viewers.
“As you saw in our opening number, Hamish remains one of the members of our professional team and we hope to have Caprice back on the ice next week.”
Caprice at this year's Dancing On Ice launch Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Neither Caprice nor Hamish has commented publicly on their “parting”, but the model has liked a number of tweets about the situation, including one calling the announcement “stupid” for not including more information:
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@dancingonice stupid announcement - more info please regarding @CapriceBourret_ and @HamishGaman. Surely you must have anticipated the reaction when you only give half a story — Ann Waddell (@AnnWaddell15) January 19, 2020
So we're basically just ignoring #DancingOnIce now and waiting for @dancingonice to give us more @CapriceBourret_ info, yeah?
If there's a sweep, I want #divastrop — Daniel Francis 🏳🌈 🏴 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@TMLS) January 19, 2020
Can somebody pls let me know the ☕ @hollywills just randomly comes out with the fact my favourite @CapriceBourret_ won’t be skating tonight and will no longer be skating with Hamish like wtaf is going on!!!! #fuming #whatsthetea https://t.co/3ckgFZoiV1 — Lewis🖤 (@Jenmetcalfefan4) January 19, 2020
No one can concentrate on the skating as we're all too busy trying to find out what's happened between @HamishGaman and @CapriceBourret_ #DancingOnIce @dancingonice — 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒜𝓃𝓃 🐻 (@ThePitstopbunny) January 19, 2020
I hope she’s OK too - I’ve just watched the start again. They have parted ways - looks like Hamish no longer her partner, but Caprice should be back next week 🤷🏻♀ Hope so xx — Jo Hemmings (@TVpsychologist) January 19, 2020
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I’ve interviewed @CapriceBourret_ twice since the series started and she was loving every single minute of it. She is also one of the nicest celebs out there ❤ Really hope she’s back on the ice next week #caprice #DancingOnIce #love — Susan Hill (@SuseHill) January 19, 2020
Extremely worried about Lady Caprice (@CapriceBourret_) being absent on @dancingonice.
I hope that she reconsiders her decision.
She and @HamishGaman were excellent together.
They looked destined to win this.
I hope that you are OK, Miss Bourret. 👍🙄💗✌💞#DancingOnIce pic.twitter.com/JqqoNNRYFb — Trevor Holohan (@HolohanTrevor) January 19, 2020
When contacted by HuffPost UK, a Dancing On Ice rep reiterated Holly and Phillip’s statement from the opening of Sunday’s show.
Caprice and Hamish made their skating debut in the second week of this year’s series, and finished in second place on the leaderboard with an impressive 25.5 points.
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Hamish and Caprice during their first routine Matt Frost/ITV/Shutterstock
Hamish was there during the opening group performance, but was not seen for the remainder of the episode.
He joined the show in 2018, and has previously skated with Olympic athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton and X Factor singer Saara Aalto, who made it through to the final last year.
Other professional skaters on this year’s show who don’t currently have celebrity partners include Łukasz Różycki and Sylvain Longhchambon.
Brendyn Hatfield is also now without a partner, after he and Lucrezia Millarini were eliminated at the end of Sunday’s show.
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Dancing On Ice airs on Sunday nights on ITV.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Folk Singer David Olney Dies On Stage, Aged 71

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Folk singer David Olney died over the weekend at the age of 71, during a performance at a music festival in Florida.
On Saturday night, David was giving his second performance of the day at the 30A Songwriters Festival, when he suddenly stopped in the middle of his performance, leading some audience members to believe he was just “taking a moment” to gather himself.
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Fellow singer-songwriter Amy Rigby was on stage with David at the time of his death, describing his final “graceful and dignified” moments in a Facebook post.
“Olney was in the middle of his third song when he stopped, apologised, and shut his eyes,” she wrote. “He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket we laughed about because it was raining like hell outside the boathouse where we were playing…”
David Olney performing in 2015 Larry Hulst via Getty Images
She added: “I just want the picture to be as graceful and dignified as it was, because it at first looked like he was just taking a moment.”
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Another singer-songwriter, Scott Miller, was also present at the time of David’s death, and paid tribute to him on Facebook, writing: “What a force, what a writer.”
He said: “David was playing a song when he paused, said ‘I’m sorry’ and put his chin to his chest. He never dropped his guitar or fell off his stool. It was as easy and gentle as he was.
“We got him down and tried our best to revive him until the EMTs [emergency medical technicians] arrived.
“The world lost a good one last night. But we still have his work. And it still inspires. And always will.”
Earlier in the day, David’s first performance at the 30A Songwriters Festival – which would ultimately be the last he would ever complete – was recorded and shared on his YouTube channel.
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During his music career, David released a total of 20 albums, both as a solo artist and as part of the group The X-Rays.
He is survived by his wife, Regine, and their children Redding and Lillian.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--10 Things You Didn't Know You'd Need When You Became A Parent

HuffPost UK HuffPost UK
All The Gear, No Idea is a regular series from HuffPost Finds where we feature product recommendations for parents, by parents. Whether you’re shopping for a car seat for the first time or don’t know what tech to buy your teen, we’ve got you covered with shopping guides, reviews and the latest deals. We all know that becoming a parent for the first time means a whole new shopping experience - from car seats to prams to cots and Moses baskets. But what about the stuff you didn’t even realise you needed?
My friends and I have a useful list that we send round to each other, each time someone announces they’re pregnant. It’s full of ‘never knew I needed that’ items; acting both as a guide to the most obscure parenting essentials. I couldn’t have got through the early years of parenthood without it.
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And I’m here to make your life as a parent easier too, by imparting what I learned on the job. Forget gadgets and gimmicks: here’s what you really, really need.
Sophie La Giraffe/John Lewis Sophie La Giraffe Teether Toy, John Lewis, £11.99
I had no idea of the true importance of Sophie when a close friend gave me one as a ‘new baby’ present. I smiled at it, thought, “oh, that’s sweet”, noted that it squeaked quite loudly, and casually placed it on top of the growing pile. What I should have done is carefully sat Sophie on a plush velvet cushion, bowed to her and hung diamonds around her neck - for Sophie is a queen. Seriously. Once you know how good she is, there’s no way you can fail to notice her ubiquitous presence. Sophie, made in France, is the teether to beat all other teethers. She’s soft and flexible and 100% natural rubber. Your baby will love chewing her to pieces. End of story. You can also buy a teething ring version with two handles your baby can grip easily. We had both.
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Sock Ons/Tu by Sainsburys Sock Ons, Tu by Sainsbury's, £4
If there’s one truism about babies, it’s that they cannot - they simply cannot - keep their socks on. You’ll put on a pair, turn around for half a second to grab something, and one or both socks will have been wriggled off and disappeared. This goes for babies who have only just learned to crawl, babies who can walk, and babies who can’t do anything but lay down in one place and gurgle contentedly at the ceiling. If you’re out and about with your baby in a pram or baby carrier, forget it. You’ll be coming home sock-less. It’s just a fact. Until... Sock Ons. All hail the magic of a Sock On - they’re cheap, stretchy, made of nylon and elastane and fit over the baby’s foot to keep their socks firmly in place. Never lose a sock - or your sanity - again. You’re welcome.
Mamas and Papas Universal Cup Holder, Mamas and Papas, £19
What’s the one thing every new parent needs? That’s right. Coffee. But if you want to be able to carry your precious cargo (and yes - we mean baby and a flat white) safely at the same time, you’re going to need one of these: a universal cup holder, that clips to the handles of your pram or pushchair. I’ve lost far too many good coffees sloshing over the plastic lid while steering one-handed - and this solves that problem perfectly. Many individual pram and pushchair brands do their own versions, such as the Bugaboo Cup Holder, but for one that suits all pushchairs, give the Universal Cup Holder a try.
Jojo Maman Bebe Car Mirror For Rear Facing Seats, Jojo Maman Bebe, £12
I had no idea how much I would come to rely on a car mirror when my children were small and still in rear-facing car seats. If you’re driving alone, it can be pretty anxiety-inducing not to know whether they’re okay back there. You can’t see their faces in your windscreen mirror, and I found myself having to pull over several times during a long car journey just to check if they were asleep and still breathing. Until a friend who has four children gave me one of these: a car mirror for rear-facing seats. Hallelujah! It straps to the headrest of the back seat, and you can angle it so it gives you a clear picture of your baby’s face when you look in your own mirror. And once baby grows into a toddler and moves into a forward-facing car seat, you can strap the mirror to the seat in front of them, so they can watch themselves while you drive. Better than TV.
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One thing I swiftly learned when I became a parent: you will do anything for a few minutes of peace and a sit down with a cup of tea. Anything. Even having an enormous plastic rainforest bouncer toy in the middle of your living room. The Jumperoo isn’t cheap (so keep an eye on local ‘sell and swap’ Facebook community groups, which is where I got mine), but it’s a worthy investment. It’s suitable from 6 months - as long as your baby can lift its head up unassisted - up to a weight of 11.3kg (25lbs). The manufacturers advise an upper limit of 20 minutes per session, which is a solid 20 minutes of sitting-down time. Don’t you dare do anything boring, like the washing up. Just sit and relax and watch your baby go wild. You’ve earned it.
Babies can’t blow their nose when they have a cold. Worse still, if they’re breast or bottle fed exclusively, it becomes very difficult for them to feed when their little noses are blocked. Cue: a hungry, ill baby who cannot settle or sleep. It might be one of the grossest realities of parenting, but you will suck out your child’s snot when this happens. You will be so desperate for sleep that if there’s anything stopping your baby from closing their eyes - even bogeys - you will take them on. That’s not to say this isn’t divisive, of course. I’ve had full-scale wars with other parents who think this is going too far. But hear me out: you don’t have to suck bogeys directly with your mouth. I mean, you can, but I use one of these – a nasal aspirator. It has a little plastic tube you suck, with the other end placed at your child’s nostril. A piece of foam stops the snot from going into your mouth and down your throat. If a better or more satisfying invention exists, I do not know what it is. It will change your life.
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A friend bought one of these for my daughter when she was a baby... she’s now turning eight, and she’s STILL USING IT. Every single night, when she turns her light off to go to sleep, she puts her star on. I have one for my son, too - he’s three and the same rules apply. Each star has a five or ten minute playback setting, and projects a cute scene of flowers and bugs and rainbows up onto the ceiling. When we go away on holiday or to see relatives, we take them with us. I would never have dreamed that one small baby gift would give us years (literally) of use, but this has. I couldn’t parent without it.
With my first baby I used a Moses basket - I liked the ‘traditional’ look and feel of it and loved the way it stood on a stand in my bedroom. Until... I realised my daughter didn’t really like to sleep much. I would find myself feeding or rocking her for 45 minutes until she closed her eyes, but every time I put her down in the Moses basket she would wake straight back up again. Then a friend recommended a co-sleeper: a special cot that straps to the side of the bed, with a detachable side separating your baby’s sleeping space from your own. It meant I could pull my daughter towards me to breastfeed her, and then pop her back into her own safe space, all without waking her. It changed everything, because it gave me the confidence to let myself go and get a good night’s sleep. And when I had my son a few years later, I did the same with him, too.
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I tried all sorts of bath seats: from a ‘Tummy Tub’ (top tip: for a cheaper version, try a standard £1 plastic bucket from Halfords or B&Q) to a plain Ikea baby bath - but the Hardenberg Angelcare soft-touch seat was the best of the bunch for my children. It feels really safe and sturdy, and the textured angled seating area is soft and comfortable. It also has a water level indicator for optimal safety in the bath. I liked it so much that I passed it on to relatives - my children’s cousins have both used it (and loved it), too.
It’s important to be able to move your baby around so he or she doesn’t get bored, so I used to have a little routine going - ‘tummy time’ on a play mat on the floor, then a bounce in the Jumperoo, then some time in the bouncer chair, and (hopefully) a nap, before we’d begin the routine all over again. If you get one like this, with a gentle vibrating function, it might even send your baby off to sleep while they’re in it - which means you are sorted. This has a removable toy-bar, with two hanging toys included. Hours of fun (and a little rest for mummy or daddy). I also found a bouncer chair the perfect solution for keeping an eye on my baby while I took a shower, because you can bring it into the bathroom with you and keep baby safe - but occupied. The only element to be aware of is when they start getting bigger, or more mobile (and trying to escape). After the age of six or seven months, mine began pitching themselves forward and could have fallen headfirst out of it. But until then, it was a lifesaver.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--SAG Awards 2020: The Complete Winners List, As Parasite Makes History

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The entire award season is essentially all about celebrating actors, but there’s only one ceremony every year that’s voted on solely by the stars themselves: the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Despite being shut out of the individual acting categories, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite triumphed at the 26th annual ceremony on Sunday, taking home the night’s top prize and making history as the first foreign-language film to ever win Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture.
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The film beat out top contenders, including Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour mafia saga The Irishman and Jay Roach’s Fox News drama Bombshell, which were the most nominated projects heading into the evening, as well as Taika Waititi’s dark comedy Jojo Rabbit.
Since the SAGs are decided by active members of the SAG-AFTRA guild, a group that heavily overlaps with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voting pool, it is a key bellwether of who will win at the Oscars.
The cast of Parasite celebrate their win with director Bong Joon-ho Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
It’s now all but certain that Joker star Joaquin Phoenix and Renée Zellweger from Judy will walk away with some little gold men of their own in February after taking home the lead actor trophies at the ceremony.
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Laura Dern and Brad Pitt also picked prizes for their respective performances in Marriage Story and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Much to the disappointment of many fans, however, the ceremony didn’t redeem Jennifer Lopez, who delivered a career-best performance in Hustlers, or Lupita Nyong’o, nominated for a terrifying dual performance in Us, after they missed out on Oscar nods, which were announced last week.
Renée Zellweger Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images
Among television shows, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, starring Rachel Brosnahan, scored two of its four nominated awards ― Best Comedy Cast and an acting trophy for Tony Shalhoub.
FX’s Fosse/Verdon also fared well, making dual winners out of its leads Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell. The Olivia-Colman-fronted The Crown, however, reigned supreme as the Best Ensemble in a Drama Series.
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Leonardo DiCaprio presented screen legend Robert De Niro, who was snubbed in the Best Actor category for his performance in The Irishman, with this year’s Life Achievement Award at the ceremony to recognise his accomplishments on and off screen over his 54-year career.
Check out the list of nominees and winners below:
Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
Bombshell
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
WINNER: Parasite
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Lupita Nyong’o, Us
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
WINNER: Renée Zellweger, Judy
Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale, Le Mans ’66
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
WINNER: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino, The Irishman
WINNER: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy
Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WINNER: Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Nicole Kidman, Bombshell
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Big Little Lies
WINNER: The Crown
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stranger Things
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Barry
Fleabag
The Kominsky Method
WINNER: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Female Actor in a Drama Series
WINNER: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
David Harbour, Stranger Things
WINNER: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Outstanding Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
WINNER: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Outstanding Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Bill Hader, Barry
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
WINNER: Tony Shaloub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Patricia Arquette, The Act
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Joey King, The Act
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
WINNER: Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Mahershala Ali, True Detective
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
WINNER: Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
WINNER: Game of Thrones
GLOW
Stranger Things
The Walking Dead
Watchmen
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
WINNER: Avengers: Endgame
Le Mans ’66
The Irishman
Joker


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--2020 SAG Awards Red Carpet: See All The Best Looks

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It’s time for the actors to celebrate actors ― and the rest of us to judge their looks on the red (or should we say silver?) carpet.
The 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards dripped in diamonds and glamour, as the film and television stars arrived ahead of the 26th annual ceremony at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on Sunday.
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Last year, Lady Gaga blessed us all in an angelic Dior gown, the women of Black Panther cast came to stun per usual, Emily Blunt got everybody talking with her “vagina dress” and the Crazy Rich Asians crew, including stars Gemma Chan and Constance Wu, shut down the carpet in style.
Check out all the looks you need to see from this year’s red carpet below.
Lupita Nyong’o
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Jennifer Aniston
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Margot Robbie
Frazer Harrison via Getty Images
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Scarlett Johansson
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
Mahershala Ali
Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
Charlize Theron
Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
Michelle Williams
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
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Zoe Kravtiz
Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images
Renee Zellweger
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Cynthia Erivo
Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images
Nicole Kidman
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Elisabeth Moss
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
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Jennifer Garner
Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images
Danai Gurira
Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images
Sophie Turner
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: Sophie Turner attends the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images) Rich Fury via Getty Images
Winona Ryder
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Glenn Close
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Patricia Arquette
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
Andrew Scott
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
Millie Bobby Brown
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
Dakota Fanning
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Christina Applegate
John Shearer via Getty Images
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Helena Bonham Carter
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Logan Browning
Frazer Harrison via Getty Images
Noah Schnapp
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Kathryn Newton
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Kaitlyn Dever
FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
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Madeline Brewer
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
Catherine O’Hara
Catherine O'Hara arrives at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Nathalie Emmanuel
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Natalia Dyer
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX via Getty Images
Dacre Montgomery
Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images
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Jane Seymour
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Merrin Dungey


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--BBC Presenter Sarah Montague Wins £400,000 Settlement And Apology Over Unequal Pay

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Radio presenter Sarah Montague has won a £400,000 settlement and an apology from the BBC after being treated “unequally” by the corporation for years.
Montague, who hosts the World At One show on BBC Radio 4, said she would “prefer not to be talking about my pay” but felt she had to respond to “erroneous” reports in the press.
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The former Today programme presenter explained the move came after “a long period of stressful negotiations” in a series of Twitter posts on Sunday.
“When I discovered the disparity in my pay and conditions, I was advised that rectifying it all could run into the millions. I chose not to seek such sums from the BBC but I did want some recognition that they had underpaid me,” she wrote.
“Last year after a long period of stressful negotiations, I accepted a settlement of £400,000 subject to tax and an apology from the BBC for paying me unequally for so many years.”
BBC Radio 4 Today presenters Sarah Montague and John Humphrys broadcast today's Today programme at Wigmore Hall in central London as the BBC Radio 4 Today programme celebrates its 60th anniversary. (Photo by Rick Findler/PA Images via Getty Images) Rick Findler - PA Images via Getty Images
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Last year after a long period of stressful negotiations, I accepted a settlement of £400,000 subject to tax and an apology from the BBC for paying me unequally for so many years. 3/3 — Sarah Montague (@Sarah_Montague) January 19, 2020
Upon learning of the pay disparity, Montague wrote a column in 2018 for The Sunday Times stating that she felt her £133,000-a-year salary for Today, which she had left the month before, subsidised “other people’s lifestyles”.
“I felt incandescent with rage. Managers, who over the years had become friends, had known these figures and thought them acceptable,” she added.
At the time a BBC spokeswoman said it was committed to closing its gender pay gap by 2020.
This comes days after Samira Ahmed won her sex discrimination equal pay claim against the BBC.
The Newswatch presenter brought the corporation to an employment tribunal last year, claiming she was paid a sixth of what Jeremy Vine received for hosting the similar show Points of View.
“No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer,” she said. “I love working for the BBC. I’m glad it’s been resolved.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-20--Jennifer Aniston And Brad Pitt Beaming At Each Other At The SAG Awards Will Warm The Coldest Of Hear

Jennifer Aniston And Brad Pitt Beaming At Each Other At The SAG Awards Will Warm The Coldest Of Hearts

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The former couple were married from 2000 to 2005, before Brad got together with Angelina Jolie, who he eventually married in 2014.
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Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston attend the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Emma McIntyre via Getty Images
They were photographed together backstage at the ceremony after Brad won the Best Supporting Actor award for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Jennifer was recognised with the Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series for The Morning Show.
Vivien Killilea via Getty Images
Photos taken backstage at the event in LA show them with beaming smiles after running into each other.
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If that wasn’t enough, a video of Brad attentively watching Jen collect her prize has also surfaced.
We forever want to watch Brad watch Jen receive her Actor® #sagawards pic.twitter.com/4arINQhKQx — SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 20, 2020
Earlier in the evening, Brad - who split from Angelina in 2016 - made a joke about his colourful love life as he picked up his prize for the Quentin Tarantino film.
“It was a difficult part, a guy who takes his shirt off, gets high and doesn’t get on with his wife. It was a big stretch, big,” he joked.
Vivien Killilea via Getty Images
At the Golden Globes earlier this month, Brad was reminded that the world is still as interested in his personal life as his efforts on the big screen.
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Entertainment Tonight reporter Kevin Frazier suggested “the world, the internet” was “hoping for this moment where you and Jennifer run into each other, so [they] can take [your] picture”.
Brad was unfazed by the question, referring to his ex-wife as his “good friend” who he was sure he’d “run into” over the course of the evening.