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‘Frank Bough told me: I do have a very big cock’: how Fern Britton survived in TV in the 1980s – and beyond

The much-loved presenter had 10 years on This Morning before suddenly deciding she had to get out of there. She discusses sexual harassment, tabloid intrusion, Phillip Schofield and the power of forgiveness

On the daytime TV behemoth that is This Morning, Fern Britton always had an appealing mix of warmth, no-nonsense capability and a hint of danger, as if she could decide to blow it all up at any moment. And then she did.

On the day she resigned in 2009, Britton didn’t know she was going to do it, but amid rumours of a feud with co-host Phillip Schofield, she took the scorched-earth route and walked away from her high-profile, high-paying job with nothing to take its place. Was she not worried about what she would do next?

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:00:50 GMT
Some advice for Andy Burnham? Crack down on ‘rip-off Britain’ – and make sure voters feel the benefits | Jason Okundaye

Fining errant corporations is welcome – but when consumers are also getting shaken down on their local high street, it’s time for a new and boisterous approach

It’s a story that warms the heart and lifts the soul: last week, Virgin Media was fined a record £28m by Ofcom for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling their contracts. Its methods were insidious: deliberate call-dropping, unnecessary call transfers and constantly putting customers on hold. For anyone who has experienced the mental anguish of attempting to cancel a contract or subscription, only to be met with “cancellation friction”, their comeuppance conjures a feeling of economic justice.

“Rip-off Britain” has long been a popular narrative about our country, and feels ever more prescient in a time of stagnant living standards and cost of living pressures. Whether it’s extortionate energy and water bills, food prices, subscription traps, consumer scams, defective goods, unfair fines or hidden charges, it’s impossible to escape the feeling that you are being constantly shaken down. It’s an issue that unites us in frustration: little wonder that the money-saving expert Martin Lewis is the most trusted man in Britain. Reassuring people you’ll help protect their hard-earned money is one of the most surefire ways to make them feel you are on their side.

Jason Okundaye is a Guardian Opinion assistant editor

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:57:49 GMT
A Close Shave/A Matter of Loaf and Death review – Wallace and Gromit knit together a cracking double bill

These two half-hour classics of stop-motion pack in nods to more earnest cinema but are never distracted from producing pristinely beguiling family entertainment

Nick Park’s stop-motion Wallace and Gromit animations have an amazing ability to deliver an entire action adventure feature film at just 30 minutes complete with romantic subplot and loads of great visual gags thrown in, and A Close Shave (★★★★★) from 1995 is just another example of it. The situation is that Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) is working on his latest invention in his cellar, a giant machine, like a bungalow-sized cauldron, that automatically shears sheep and knits the product into lovely woolly jumpers.

While they are waiting for this to become a success, Wallace and Gromit run a window-cleaning business, and it is in this capacity that they meet Wendolene Ramsbottom (voiced by Anne Reid) who owns a wool-selling business oddly unaffected by the wool shortage. Wallace falls for the comely Wendolene and their intensely English and shy romance forms an ironic counterpoint to the fact that Wendolene has been coerced by her sinister dog Preston into being complicit in this hateful canine’s sheep-rustling business – as a result of which a runaway sheep finds its way into Wallace and Gromit’s house.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:00:52 GMT
How changes to ‘buy now, pay later’ rights affect you

Treasury says shoppers will get a ‘fairer deal’ as new rules for BNPL credit are introduced on Wednesday

Millions of shoppers will enjoy more rights and protections from Wednesday as new rules for “buy now, pay later” take effect in the UK.

The government said it was delivering on its commitment to end the buy now, pay later “wild west”.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:46:04 GMT
Love and hate collide: England v Argentina is not simply a grudge match | Jonathan Liew

Look beyond the flashpoints and flare-ups and perhaps this is the greatest and most romantic of footballing rivalries

It’s about the ball, right up until the moment it isn’t. On Sunday afternoon Godoy Cruz played Defensores de Belgrano in Nacional B, the second division of Argentinian football, and among the sea of blue home banners were two crosses of St George, apparently expropriated from England fans at the 2014 World Cup. One reads: “Boys & Girls From Oakwell Barnsley.” The other: “Big Al – Y-Bird – South Croydon – CPFC.”

Now I want you to reflect on the levels of pure and gorgeous malevolence – pettiness doesn’t quite cover it, nor does spite – required to travel to Brazil, obtain an English flag, fold it away, bring it home in your luggage, keep it in pristine condition for 12 years, only to unveil it in your second-tier football stadium in the week Argentina play England in a World Cup semi-final. The restraint and optimism required to allow your minor act of territorial banter to fester and mature for over a decade. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a footballing rivalry.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 07:00:48 GMT
The scary rise of locksmith scams: ‘I was shut out with my baby – and charged £2,200 to get back in’

In the UK, these scams have become an epidemic, rising 147% between January and March, compared with the same time last year. Why are they suddenly so common? And what can you do if you’re charged thousands for a quick, easy job?

Sarah was alone in her flat with her three-month-old baby when a man put a card machine in her face and demanded she pay £2,209. A few hours earlier Sarah, 30, had been for a walk with her daughter when it dawned on her that she had left her keys at home. She did what most people would do in the same situation: search Google for a nearby locksmith. “I had a screaming baby, so I needed someone to quickly let me in,” she says.

Sarah came across a seemingly legitimate company, near the top of the search results, which was sponsored. The company’s website said prices started at £45 and claimed they had received “4,500-plus five-star reviews and counting”, so she called them. When the locksmith arrived, Sarah says, he “seemed pleasant and relatively quiet” at first. After examining her lock, however, he told her it was a high-security one and the only way to get inside was to drill it open. He broke his way in and changed the lock before delivering another blow: he had accidentally damaged the internal mechanism, which also needed replacing. After Sarah got inside and placed her baby on a changing mat, the locksmith told her the price: £2,209.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:46 GMT
Starmer shares tributes and offers ‘full support’ to his successor in his final PMQs before stepping down – UK politics live

Keir Starmer was told he would be remembered as a ‘giant of the Labour movement’ at final cabinet meeting

Labour should ditch the triple-lock pensions promise to help tackle the UK’s straitened public finances, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has urged. Heather Stewart has the story.

I’m afraid we are not going to be able to open comments today for staffing reasons. If you want to contact me directly, it is probably best to get me on on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:29:03 GMT
US launches ‘wave of strikes’ on Iran after Trump tells Iran that power plants, bridges will be targeted if no deal is made – Middle East crisis live

US strikes Iran for fourth consecutive day as Iran deputy foreign minister says interim deal all but ‘dismantled’

For a second day in a row, US strikes targeted Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, according to the state news agency IRNA quoting a local official.

“In continuation of the brutality of the American enemy, three points in the city of Bushehr were attacked today,” Mohammad Mozaffari, the governor of Bushehr, was quoted as saying.

In the recent attacks on the southern part of the country, more than 30 civilians lost their lives. While expressing our condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families, we honour the memory of the fallen. The government will stand by the people with all its might. The south of Iran is the beating heart of this land. The south of Iran, the soul of Iran.”

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:32:32 GMT
Bank of England governor would have put off Farage meeting had £5m gift been under investigation

Exclusive: Andrew Bailey says he does not regret meeting Reform UK leader to discuss cryptocurrency regulation

The Bank of England governor has said he would have put off a meeting with Nigel Farage last autumn had the Reform UK leader’s £5m gift from a crypto billionaire been under investigation at the time.

Andrew Bailey said he did not regret meeting Farage to discuss the Bank’s plans for cryptocurrency regulation last September, months before the controversial donation from the Thailand-based investor Christopher Harborne was revealed by the Guardian in April.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:55:58 GMT
‘They want to break our will’: Gaza flotilla activist tells of rape in Israeli detention

Anna Liedtke files criminal complaint in Israel over alleged attack by female guards and says abuse was intended to silence campaigners

The third time Anna Liedtke was subjected to an illegal strip-search in Israeli detention, female prison guards forced her on to her knees, covered her mouth to stop her screaming and raped her, according to interviews and a criminal complaint filed in Israel.

She described hearing male guards laughing during the attack, which she believes they watched and may have filmed. It took place in an area separated from the prison hallway by a partially drawn curtain that her attackers had left open.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:00:55 GMT

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