EastEnders star Max Bowden hit the town in Coventry after the play he is touring with, Murder at Midnight, stopped off at the town – but a video of his karaoke performance left fans stunned

EastEnders star Max Bowden left drinkers stunned as he channeled his inner Elton on the karaoke at his local pub earlier in the week. The Ben Mitchell actor belted out Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, as he shared the mic with another singer at the Town Wall Tavern in Coventry.

The 31-year-old played Phil Mitchell’s son on the BBC soap between 2019 and 2024. But his character abruptly departed from Albert Square when he was convicted of fraud, extradited to America and sentenced to six years in prison, leaving behind his husband Callum Highway, and daughter Lexi Pearce.

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As he sang Elton’s 1974 hit, he wore a white long-sleeved top and jeans, as he joined another pub-goer on the stage. Proudly posting the video on their TikTok account, the pub wrote: “Karaoke at Coventrys little Theatre Pub we often see famous faces! #karaoke #coventrycitycentre #fridaynight #eastenders #pub.”

TikTok users commented on the performance, although it was a mixed bag, with the verdict on a future singing career firmly undecided. One fan wrote: “I didn’t expect that voice to come out of him!”

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Another gushed: “He’s amazing! I’m guessing that’s a karaoke mic as well! Imagine if he was in a studio.”

Others weren’t convinced, with one deciding: “Sorry max the other guy out sung you. Someone else wasn’t impressed, adding: “That’s f***ing awful.” But another reflected fairly: “There’s too much gravel in Max’s voice here, other videos of him singing shows him in a better light. But kudos to them both x”

Meanwhile, soap fans weren’t interested in his singing, with one saying: “we want u bk Ben Mitchell.” Another echoed: “We need you back in eastenders.”

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Max is likely to be taking his mind of his recent breakup, after he and fellow soap star Katie McGlynn are said to have split in December. Max was seeing Corrie star Katie, but she reportedly “decided to end things”, despite them still working together on the Murder at Midnight stage tour, which was in Coventry from 3-7 March.

A source told The Sun previously: “Max and Katie have had a bit of a whirlwind romance. Working together has meant they didn’t have much time for anything else and one thing led to another but Katie has come to her senses and decided to end things.”

They added that Max was “pretty cut up” by the split and that things backstage on the Murder at Midnight tour were “awkward”. The tour is heading to Bath and Darlington, where it ends in April.

Katie and Max were very publicly affectionate with each other during their relationship and were seen on multiple nights out together. But Katie is not the only soap star that Max has dated.

In the past, he has been linked to Shona McGarty, who played Whitney Dean on EastEnders before her time on I’m A Celeb, and Danielle Harold. Danielle played Lola Pearce on the show, who had a daughter, Lexi, with Max’s Ben Mitchell.

Meanwhile Katie has previously been linked with TOWIE star Ricky Rayment. He was said to be devastated when he found out that his ex had moved on with Max, and was reportedly hurt by the photos of the pair kissing.

A source previously told The Sun : “[Ricky] wishes her the best, he would just rather not have seen those snaps while things are still pretty raw for him.”

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Having pride in what your local area can offer and hoping it can improve in the future can go hand-in-hand, and Pontypridd has a chance to achieve this

I’ve visited, worked in and lived near Pontypridd my entire life.

In recent times, I’ve lived just three miles down the road and found myself frequently visiting the town frequently once more and fell in love it all over again. While the high street has seen better days no doubt, I believe Ponty – as I have to call it, because it’s what I always have – is a brilliant choice for UK Town of Culture 2028.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, in partnership with Pontypridd Town Council and the Town and Culture Partnership, are joining forces to submit Ponty for the inaugural Town of Culture, which, if successful, will see the winning town will receive £3 million to deliver an ambitious cultural programme in 2028, running for approximately six months.

I’ve seen what the town has to offer go from strength-to-strength over the past six years I’ve lived nearby. While new ideas, businesses and people move into the town, the iconic mainstays of Ponty stand strong. For 200 years it’s been a hive of activity thanks to its place at the heart of south Wales’ booming coal and metal industries and drew visitors from all across the valleys.

The markers of days gone by are all around if you look hard enough, the 1756-built old bridge at the Trallwn edge of town, the red sculpture sitting atop where Brown Lenox chainworks once stood – one of the last hurrahs of Ponty’s iron, steel and tin histories that drew thousands into the area to work. Just to the north of Pontypridd, you’ll find Hetty Winding House, a vivid and physical reminder of the area’s coal mining history, as it sits on the former Great Western Colliery site.

That’s currently looked after by Great Western Colliery Preservation Trust and is an impactful, and rare reminder of why communities were forged and families immigrated into the valleys for work, all those centuries ago.

Culture-wise, you can’t move for it in the town.. The revamped Muni, a long-standing arts space has now reopened. I’ve seen shows from Blur, Rhod Gilbert, there in the past and in 2024 it reopened after a long time shuttered, thanks to £5.4m from UK Government’s Levelling Up fund. It’s a place where you can book onto film nights, comedy clubs and live music and local acts, singers can be seen on the bill there, too.

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Across the road you’ll find YMa, where community assemblies, poetry, wellness events and a massive range of activities are available.

These two community and performance-led venues go to show that Ponty is striving to harness culture – be it music, theatre, poetry, talents that are long-held in the area. Let’s not forget one of our country’s greatest songs, Cwm Rhondda was written just on the town limits at Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown – a staple of rugby matches, choir concerts and anyone enjoying a flush of hiraeth.

Let’s not even forget Ponty has its own museum, the ideal place to find out more about the town and its industrial history. Here you’ll find a plethora of industrial history detail, but also Ponty’s Celtic artefacts, local art exhibitions and coffee mornings for history buffs and new keen beans!

When it comes to representing culture through food, Ponty’s got it in heaps. We’ve got excellent coffee bar, Zucco, on Mill Street – which is a great little corner for dining and shopping at independent shops like Storyville Books and Martha’s Homestore.

The Mill Street collective proves to be a corner of Ponty that believes it, and the town have a lot to offer locals and people coming in from further afield, and mixes the traditional with modern shopping and dining out lifestyle – who doesn’t want their neighbourhood town to have a fresh Italian pizza spot, unique, locally made gifts, cards and art, and a local book store?

Around the corner Pontypridd’s Market Quarter is a testament to a town that kept the faith in the traditional indoor market. Owned by the John family, the 150 year-old market is home to traditional butchers, fruit and veg stalls, Welsh cakes, bakers and more to keep your kitchen stocked but it also has books, memorabilia stalls, music and a card shop.

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While shopping and eating might not be directly the arts, they still show a creative, willing passion to improve, to push Ponty forward and appeal to different generations, while holding onto Ponty personality.

A jewel in town’s crown is Ynysangharad War Memorial Park, which played host to the epitome of Welsh culture two years ago, the National Eisteddfod.

A massive green space in the centre of town, it’s home to tonnes of wildlife, beautiful trees and plants and tennis courts, a cricket pitch and acres of open space to explore. The lido play area is a brilliant playground for the kids, too.

Speaking of the lido, the art deco swimming pool was reopened in 2015 after a multi-million-pound redevelopment. Now called National Lido of Wales, it’s become a premier attraction in the town that’s too often written off. Pontypridd’s Ynysangharad Park has just been awarded a prestigious Green Flag Award, which recognises green spaces that reach “international quality standard”, for the 13th year running, and has always been an idyllic outdoor space to escape the hustle and bustle of the shopping centre of Taff Street..

So while, like any other town in Wales, or indeed the world, Pontypridd isn’t perfect, but it’s got so much going for it and the voices who talk it up hopefully outnumber those who don’t. And if you needed any more reasons to marvel at Pontypridd, it’s also had the world’s longest platform after a reconstruction in 1914, it’s impressive red brick railway station is still a pretty attractive construction!

The UK Town of Culture is a new, UK-wide initiative led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), building on the success of the UK City of Culture programme. For the first time, towns of all sizes are invited to showcase their creativity, cultural heritage and unique stories, with a strong emphasis on inclusive and accessible culture.

If you think Pontypridd will be a great recipient of the 2028 UK Town of Culture title email me your thoughts on kathryn.williams@reachplc.com

French animation has a rich history. But it has yet to achieve the same widespread recognition as American, British or Japanese animation. Arco could change that. The film’s accessible Studio Ghibli-esque story, unique visual imagination and surreal tone marks it out from run of the mill family fare.

Arco is a 2D hand-drawn time travel fantasy film set in 2075 and 2932. The eponymous hero is ten-year-old boy who steals a cape and gemstone that enable him to travel back in time. Arriving in 2075, Arco meets Iris, an inquisitive girl whose primary caregiver is a robot. It’s a substitute for her parents who work away from home and are only present through holograms. Having lost the gemstone, Arco and Iris try to find a way for him to return home.

As this plot description might already suggest, Arco displays admiration for the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki from the first frame. With its pre-teen protagonists, collision of fantasy with reality, environmental themes and bumbling comedic supporting characters, viewers will be reminded of Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), Porco Rosso (1992), Spirited Away (2001) and Ponyo (2008) among others.

Arco’s depiction of wide-open blue skies accompanied by delicate piano music and later apocalyptic scenes of climate disruption also share an audio-visual heritage with Ghibli films. But far from a mere imitation, the film also offers a distinctly French take on animation.

French animation legacy

France can lay claim to one of the earliest innovators of animation – cartoonist Émile Cohl’s 1908 short Fantasmagorie was the longest and most elaborate animated cartoon to date. In 1973 the surreal sci-fi Fantastic Planet captured the trippy psychedelia of its time, and remains a cult favourite today. More recently, internationally acclaimed and financially successful French animated feature films have included The Triplets of Belleville (2003), Persepolis (2007) and My Life as a Courgette (2016).

These films are all very different. But what unites French animation is not a consistent style or thematic concern. Rather, it has a quirky sensibility that embraces the capacity of animation to look at the world from new perspectives and explore outlandish stories that couldn’t be made any other way.

À lire aussi :
Studio Ghibli’s layering of Japanese and western storytelling is key to their success

An important part of the success of Arco is in balancing that distinctive French sensibility with commercial appeal. Like Studio Ghibli films, that includes using big star names for the English-language dub. This is essential to reach family audiences who might be unable or unwilling to read subtitles.

One of the film’s producers is actor Natalie Portman, lending the production Oscar-winning credibility and contacts. Portman herself voices Iris’ mother, joined by Mark Ruffalo as Iris’ father, America Ferrera as Arco’s mother, and a triple-act comedic turn from Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg and Flea as eccentric cultists.

Future thinking

Despite Arco’s fantastical story elements, its most significant achievement is in tackling timely contemporary environmental themes. Where most cli-fi cinema (science fiction that depicts climate change) often dwells on apocalyptic gloom, Arco’s take is both incisive and uplifting.

The time-travel themes allow for a subtle consideration of the need for long-term “future generations” thinking, while reinforcing the need for human, rather than technological, solutions.

The makers of Arco will no doubt be hoping for a reprise of last year’s surprise animated feature film Oscar, when the low budget Latvian computer animation Flow beat out the usual suspects of Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks. It signalled a new openness of academy voters to international and creatively adventurous animated films.

A win would be well deserved. Just as Arco’s colourful rainbow styling underpins its hopeful vision for the future of humanity, the film’s present day success signals a bright future for animation production in Europe and beyond.

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It is ‘vital’ to be aware of the symptoms to look out for amid the outbreak

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a ‘vital’ warning after two people have died from an ‘invasive’ disease causing meningitis and septicaemia at a university in Kent.

The UKHSA said it was notified of 13 cases with signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia from Friday (March 13) to Sunday (March 15) in the Canterbury area of Kent. And in an update shared on Sunday, it was revealed that two people are known to have died.

The UKHSA and the NHS are arranging antibiotics for some students at the University of Kent following a number of cases of invasive meningococcal disease although the specific strain has not yet been identified.

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Meningococcal disease, which can include meningitis and septicaemia, is an uncommon but serious disease caused by meningococcal bacteria.

The UKHSA said ‘very occasionally’ the meningococcal bacteria can cause serious illness, including inflammation of the lining of the brain and blood poisoning, which can rapidly lead to sepsis.

Trish Mannes, UKHSA regional deputy director for the South East, said: “We understand that many people at the university and in the wider community will be affected by this sad news and we would like to offer our condolences to the friends and family involved.

“Students and staff will understandably be feeling worried about the risk of further cases; however, we would like to reassure them that close contacts of cases have been given antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

“Advice and support is being offered to the wider student community, and to local hospitals and NHS 111, and we’re monitoring the situation closely.”

Issuing a warning amid the outbreak Mannes shared that as the disease can ‘progress rapidly’, it is ‘essential’ that everyone remains alert to the symptoms.

The UKHSA regional deputy director warned: “Meningococcal disease can progress rapidly, so it’s essential that students and staff are alert to the signs and symptoms of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, which can include a fever, headache, rapid breathing, drowsiness, shivering, vomiting and cold hands and feet.

“Septicaemia can also cause a characteristic rash that does not fade when pressed against a glass. Students are particularly at risk of missing the early warning signs of meningitis because they can be easily confused with other illnesses such as a bad cold, flu or even a hangover.

“That’s why it’s vital that, if a friend goes to bed unwell, you check on them regularly and don’t hesitate to seek medical help by contacting their GP or calling NHS 111 if they have these symptoms or you’re concerned about them. This could save their life.”

Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia

The UKHSA has warned that the disease can progress quickly, so it is important to recognise the warning signs. The symptoms can include the following:

• Fever
• Headache
• Rapid breathing
• Drowsiness
• Vomiting
• Cold hands and feet
• A characteristic rash that does not fade when pressed against a glass

The UKHSA warned that it is ‘vital’ to check on friends if they go to bed unwell.

More information can be found on the NHS website.

The usual roar of engines was replaced by club vests, charity vests and plenty of nervous warm-ups on the start line.

Runners tackled a range of distances on the circuit, from shorter 5k and 10k efforts to half marathons and full marathon slogs.

Can you spot yourself, a clubmate or a familiar face in our gallery from Croft?

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Running races at Croft Circuit. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Tell us how your race went, what distance you took on and any standout memories from the day in the comments below.