From Claire Foy’s Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall to Adriana in The Sopranos, we meet the actors who had to bump off TV legends … and then face the wrath of the public

Talk about being a pantomime villain. It’s unpopular enough playing the antagonist who murders a long-running TV character. When your victim is a fan favourite, though, you risk being vilified even more. So what’s it like being the ultimate baddy and breaking viewers’ hearts? Do they get booed in the street or trolled online? We asked five actors who killed off beloved characters – from Spooks to The Sopranos, Wolf Hall to Westeros – about their experiences …

To prevent a future pandemic we’d need agile leadership, smart decision-making, humility and trustworthiness. How does one build those into a political system?

It feels as though a collective amnesia has set in around Covid-19. We all just want to move forward and pretend it didn’t happen. But, as the saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

On 20 April 2020 I tweeted, “At what point will the British public realise what has happened over the past 9 weeks?” On Thursday, the Covid inquiry published its module 2 report on the political response to the pandemic. The answer finally to my tweet, more than five years later.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

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People love to complain about small talk – but it’s a great way to build rapport and dip your toe into deeper topics

• Tell us: what are the best and worst gifts you’ve ever received?

The holidays are around the corner. As we get ready to mix, mingle and carouse, I think it’s important to set the record straight on something: small talk is great!

People love to complain about small talk. On Reddit, people say it’s “painful”, “dishonest” and “a chore”. Some of my own friends have called it “boring” and “exhausting”. A 2016 Wired article titled “Small talk should be banned” argued that idle chit-chat “does not build relationships and does not make us happier”, but persists because “we actively seek the lowest common denominator”. Instead, the authors suggest deeper conversation topics, such as: “What is your relationship with God?” or What is something you fear in life?”

Ukraine could be forced into an agreement but plan as it stands seems too bizarre for Zelenskyy to sell to his public

We’ve been here before: the Trump administration announces a roadmap towards peace in Ukraine that seems to be dramatically skewed towards Moscow’s demands; Volodymyr Zelenskyy gets on the phone to alarmed European allies; they quickly call Trump to message him that the whole idea is unworkable; the plan quietly dies. Rinse and repeat.

This time it feels a bit different, however. Reports on Friday suggested the US has threatened that if Ukraine does not sign a hastily concocted peace plan, Washington could withdraw intelligence-sharing and other support critical to the Ukrainian war effort.

Test your knowledge in eight questions to prove you know your onions from your emulsifiers

A major global report released this week linked ultra-processed foods to harm in every major human organ. For people in the US, the UK and Australia, these foods make up more than half the calories they consume each day.

But it’s not always easy to tell which foods are ultra-processed.

Group one: unprocessed or minimally processed foods including whole fruits and vegetables, milk, oats and rice.

Group two: processed basic ingredients used in cooking including salt, sugar and vegetable oils.

Group three: processed foods made by adding items from groups one and two. Includes canned legumes, bread and cheese.

Group four: ultra-processed foods which are commercial products made from extracts of foods, often with added chemicals, flavours and other ingredients you wouldn’t find in a home kitchen.

With thanks to Dr Priscila Machado from the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University for checking this quiz for accuracy

As little as a decade ago it would have been unthinkable that an American institution such as Disney would have chosen to hitch its wagon to F1

The remarkable nature of the transformation in Formula One’s fortunes in the United States could not have been better illustrated than by the incongruous sight of Mickey Mouse and an assortment of his Disney pals leading a gang of enthusiastic fans on a walk down the pit lane at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 successfully hosting a race in Sin City and the US now boasting three sellout meetings is testament to the sport’s burgeoning prosperity. For all of the somewhat surreal edge of seeing Donald Duck and Goofy outside garages, the fact Disney has chosen F1 as a partner is indicative of the sea change the sport has brought about in a market it has long coveted.

Simon Case says voters will look elsewhere if chancellor cannot find solutions to tax, spending and debt problems

Voters will look elsewhere if Rachel Reeves does not use next week’s pivotal budget to show that “centre-ground” politicians can fix the UK’s entrenched economic problems, the former head of the civil service, Simon Case, has said.

Case told the Guardian that at the time of last year’s general election, when he was still cabinet secretary, he believed Labour would be forced to break its manifesto promise to not raise taxes because of the state of the public finances.

President and mayor-elect refused to be drawn into talking about their differences despite repeated attempts to nudge them into conflict

• Trump and Mamdani form an unlikely alliance at White House meeting

Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House oversight committee, has sent a letter to the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, urging the justice department to release the complete trove of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, despite the newly launched investigation into several Democrats’ ties to the late sex offender.

“There is already a concern President Trump will attempt, on dubious legal grounds, to exploit a provision which allows DoJ to withhold information relevant to ongoing investigations,” Garcia wrote.

Shumeet Banerji was away during crucial discussions that led to resignation of director general and BBC News chief

A member of the BBC’s board has resigned after saying he was cut out of the discussions that led to the shock resignation of its director general, Tim Davie.

Shumeet Banerji, a tech industry executive, was out of the country on the crucial days before the departure of Davie and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.

Mohamed says decision to leave was after ‘many false allegations and smears’ against him and others

A second MP within a week has quit Your Party in acrimonious circumstances, throwing yet more doubt on the viability of the leftwing group co-led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

In a statement on X, Iqbal Mohamed, who was elected as the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley last year, said his decision to leave was after “many false allegations and smears” against him and others, which he did not explain.