Britain grinds to a halt in terrible winter where waste fills the streets and dead go unburied

ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office has had viewers hooked with its new four-part series.

Michelle Keegan has opened up about the 'hard' decision to leave Coronation Steet and some of the words of support she received from one of the soap's legends. The actress is currently promoting her starring role in one of Netflix's new big dramas.

It was another historic year with another change in Prime Minister, a new monarch officially crowned and the Lionesses reaching the World Cup final.

New Netflix drama Fool Me Once begins streaming from January 1 with the promise of an explosive thriller that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. It stars Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern who is coming to terms with the murder of her husband Joe Burkett, played by Richard Armitage.

Households all across the UK are set to see another rise in their energy bills in the new year.

David Leland, who helmed an Emmy-winning episode of HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” and worked with A-listers including Pierce Brosnan, Tim Roth and George Harrison, has died at the age of 82.Leland passed away Christmas Eve surrounded by his family.British-born Leland also worked with “Monty Python” stars Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam and co-wrote the Oscar-nominated 1986 movie “Mona Lisa” with Neil Jordan.He was also an actor and trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama before co-founding the Drama Centre London and stage-managed at the Crucible Theatre.Leland gave Pierce Brosnan his start in the Tennessee Williams play “The Red Devil Battery Sign.”“David Leland holds a might place in my heart,” Brosnan told The Sun. “I was just out of Drama Centre where David was also an alumni.

during the now-resolved writers and actors strikes, the year offered up a slew of reality TV. Some of it, such as ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor,” was buzzy, but otherwise not too strange. But other shows were so bonkers, they had to be seen to be believed.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of the highest-grossing movies of 2023.Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the animated film is a collaboration between Illumination (Despicable Me), Nintendo and Universal Pictures.Chris Pratt voices the iconic plumber, alongside Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.After it was released in cinemas in April, the film has become the second highest-grossing movie of the year, taking over $1.3billion at the global box office behind Barbie’s $1.4billion.At the time of writing (December 21), the film is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and Sky.While a sequel has yet to be officially announced, it is practically inevitable due to the film’s success.In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in June, Pratt teased that news of a sequel had been delayed due to the Hollywood strikes.

The Mediapro Studios has boarded Nicolas Winding Refn‘s reimaginging of The Famous Five.

Olly Alexander has signed a pro-Palestine letter which calls Israel an “apartheid state” and accuses it of genocide.It was revealed at the weekend that the singer and actor would be representing the UK at Eurovision next year in Malmö, Sweden, the hometown of this year’s winner Loreen.Before he was confirmed as the UK’s Eurovision entrant, Alexander had signed an open letter from LGBTQ+ activist group Voices4London, which called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for Israel to allow aid into the area. The letter also condemned “Zionist propaganda” amid the war with Hamas.The letter says: “We are watching a genocide take place in real time.

Christmas TV is a must for many, with those who plan their break around the box grabbing a copy of the TV guide and circling their can't-miss shows in red. When families can watch laptops, tablets and tellies all in one room, the set-up has changed, but there are still programmes that everyone loves.

Can you believe it's been 30-years since Mr Blobby topped the UK charts at Christmas with his song Mr Blobby? Often voted the most hated Christmas number one of all time, one critic in the Telegraph said the song "set the bar so low... it's hard to imagine that it could ever be usurped".

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

Sitting down for a candlelit dinner in all their festive finery, the stars of Married At First Sight UK have certainly pulled out all the stops for our exclusive OK! Christmas shoot. Couples Paul Liba, 26, and Tasha Jay, 25, and Jordan Gayle, 26, and Erica Roberts, also 26, look a million dollars as they prepare to strike a pose for the camera. Getting into the festive mood, loved-up Paul and Tasha share a cheeky kiss as he pours lashings of gravy onto his plate.

Brandon Flowers has spoken to NME about what’s next for The Killers, as well as teasing a ‘Hot Fuss’ anniversary tour and exclusively revealing work on a new solo album. Check out our full interview below.The frontman was speaking to NME just as news broke that the Las Vegas indie veterans’ new ‘best of’ collection ‘Rebel Diamonds‘ had hit Number One in the UK – marking their eighth chart-topping LP and a feat that Flowers described as “pretty amazing”.“It’s hard to fathom,” he explained.

I got to experience the real Lapland as they gear up for what is set to be a record-breaking winter season for tourism.

Faye Winter has shared that she has received hate and lost job opportunities after she spoke out against the ban on owning America XL Bully dogs.The former Love Island star, 28 shared a video to her Instagram page which saw her meeting an XL Bully called Nala, as she hit out at those who want to generalise the breed as evil. In the length caption, she wrote: "NALA - firstly what an honour to meet such an incredible, kind soul that the UK wants to generalise as evil.

A concert featuring a huge line-up of artists will be held in Manchester next year to raise money to fight food poverty - and it’s going to be hosted by football royalty.

After one Japanese title delivered at the sleepy December box office last weekend, that being Godzilla Minus One, here’s another that’s set to dominate: Studio Ghibli and GKIDS’ Hayao Miyazaki‘s The Boy and the Heron which is looking at a No. 1 lead with $10M+ after $2.39M Thursday and early access previews.

The Range and Wilko are set to remain closed for two days over the Christmas period to allow staff members a "well-earned break".