The committee’s letter to Ofcom, meanwhile, asks about the regulator’s role in the complaints process, its powers to investigate potential breaches of the broadcasting code, and the timeline for launching its own investigation into the Married at First Sight allegations.

Gardeners’ World presenter Joe Swift has spoken out after being dropped from the BBC’s Chelsea Flower Show team following 24 years covering the event, taking aim at the BBC, David Beckham and young presenters

Gardening expert Joe Swift has criticised the BBC and Chelsea Flower Show after being axed from the presenting line-up following 24 years. King Charles and Queen Camilla were accompanied by Sir David Beckham on Monday, May 18, to open the star-studded week-long festival.

But Gardener’s World star Joe, 60, said he had to request a ticket from the Royal Horticultural Society for this week’s VIP gala, hosted at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, despite his decades covering the event.

He said: “I have been going to Chelsea for 30 years. I worked 24 years of them filming and I split up with the BBC on my 25th year. That was a long schlep.” For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter

Previously co-presenter of the BBC’s coverage of the show, alongside Monty Don, fans protested on social media when Joe was substituted by presenters Rachel de Thame and Arit Anderson.

Speaking on his podcast, The James and Joe Garden Show – which he hosts with garden designer and RHS vice-president, James Alexander-Sinclair – Joe was critical of younger presenters.

He said: “You can’t trust the young. They get obsessed with gimmicks, not real gardening, horticulture and good design.”

On the episode titled Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The Secrets the BBC Won’t Tell You, he also aimed criticism at a new garden designed by Frances Tophill and supported by King Charles, Sir David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh.

He said, sarcastically: “David Beckham, that famous garden designer… and he will take all the credit. He will bend it like Beckham. “

The catering provided for presenters at the event also came in for sharp criticism. He said: “The catering used to be amazing. My kids used to come and they didn’t even look at a garden. They used to just sit there just working their way through breakfast, lunch and dinner. That all got cut back a few years ago.”

Joe also took aim at the less than pleasant toilets at the RHS show, remarking: “It is the chemical loo smell. By the end of the summer you are like ‘get me out of there.’”

Swift, who is attending a private party hosted by Range Rover on Thursday, May 21, also felt that BBC coverage had deteriorated due to budget cuts.

He said: “I used to do a lot of pre-films. When I first started filming for Chelsea they would send me all over the place. We would go abroad and film – like to France and Portugal. I think the budgets just got cut and cut.”

He rounded off his complaints by taking a swipe at the road links to the show, noting traffic queues along the Embankment. He continued: “There is only one road around Chelsea. There is a lot of tension between designers and gardeners because it is military precision.”

Adding that he would like to design his own Chelsea garden in the future, Joe admitted he doubted he could secure the necessary funding – particularly as the RHS is currently seeking new sponsors after charity, Project Giving Back, announced this year would be the last time it would fund the festival.

He said: “I have got an idea for a show garden but I need £500 million to do it.”

In response to Joe’s complaints, an RHS spokeswoman stated: “Joe RSVP’d to our invitation to attend RHS Chelsea on 11 February.

“Chelsea Flower Show ran for a hundred years without Project Giving Back and if it’s a super design, which will get the immense publicity that RHS Chelsea offers, we’re sure Joe will be able to find a sponsor…. although he might need to stop joking about the highly exaggerated £500 million budget!”

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We have nothing to add.”

An unusual legal battle is unfolding in South Africa concerning the mental well-being of three elephants housed in a zoo.

Animal welfare groups say the three animals are depressed and are advocating for their relocation to a larger conservation park where they can be happy.

The case, set to be heard this week, will decide if the state is meeting its legal obligations regarding the welfare of the animals and the conditions in which they are kept, according to David Bilchitz, a board member at Animal Law Reform South Africa, one of the groups bringing the case.

Bilchitz said experts would present evidence in court that the elephants are unhappy.

The animal welfare groups said a part of the South African Constitution puts an obligation on authorities to look after animals.

The zoo in question in Johannesburg is publicly owned and has defended its management of the elephants, saying they are well cared for.

Bilchitz said elephants have highly complex social structures and specific physical and mental needs, and generally live in herds of 20 to 50 animals that roam large areas in the wild.

He said that the three elephants at the zoo, named Lammie, Ramadiba and Mopane, live in an enclosure not much bigger than a soccer field with none of the typical stimulation that elephants need, like trees to forage from and mud pools to bathe in.

“They are sad, depressed and frustrated,” Bilchitz said. “They are listless and stand around.” He said the elephants had shown signs of psychological distress, like standing and rocking and other “repetitive compulsive behaviour.”

Johannesburg Zoo said in a statement that there had been a “media scourge” over the condition of the elephants and maintained they were healthy and also popular with zoo staff and visitors. It also said that relocating elephants from zoos to semiwild sanctuaries is not always successful.

There is a kind of precedent for the case. In 2024, an old bull elephant called Charley was relocated from another South African zoo to a game reserve after he outlived his elephant companions at the zoo and animal experts believed he was lonely.

The zoo agreed that Charley should be taken to the reserve to retire after he spent decades in captivity, including around 16 years in a circus.

Daniel Lingard’s family say his death feels like a ‘really odd nightmare we will wake up from’

A devastated family has paid tribute to their ‘loving and bubbly son’ after he tragically died aged just three years old. Daniel Lingard “joined the angels” on April 25.

His heartbreaking parents, Andrew, 30, and 28-year-old Nikita Lingard had put their son to bed after he developed a temperature. They woke up the following day to find the youngster unresponsive.

The grieving family are still awaiting answers following a post-mortem examination and say they are taking it “day-by-day”. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, dad Andrew described the ordeal as feeling like an “odd nightmare they will wake up from”.

Daniel’s funeral took place on Friday, and the family, who originally hail from Inverness in Scotland, have been overwhelmed with an outpouring of support and condolences from well-wishers.

Reflecting on his son, Andrew said: “It just feels like he’s going to walk through the door happy as Larry but obviously that’s not going to happen. There are no words to describe how hard it’s been like without him – it’s unimaginable.”

“He was always smiling and he was always bubbly. He would always want a cuddle too. He was just the happiest wee boy and nothing ever phased him.

“His favourite movie was Cat in the Hat, he could recite it off by heart. He loved singing, dancing, pretending to be a T-Rex, he was full of smiles even when he wasn’t well. He could always light up a room and he touched the hearts of everyone he met.

“You could see the love he had for everyone in his blue eyes.

“It was a sudden and unexplained death – there was no reason behind it. He had a temperature the night before and then the next morning he was gone. We’ve been told he was fighting an infection but what that infection is, we don’t know.

“We gave him Calpol and did everything right but it was just too much for his body. The post-mortem has happened but it will be about six months until we get an actual reason for it. Since then, we’ve been taking it day-by-day but it still doesn’t feel real.

“It feels like a really odd nightmare we will wake up from.”

The family received support from The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital prior to a post-mortem being carried out in Glasgow. They were provided with assistance to help them navigate the unimaginably harrowing period.

Andrew went on to say: “They would always accommodate us and make sure there was space for us to come in. Unfortunately, there was another family going through the same thing at the same time so they would always ensure there was enough time for us to spend with him and it wouldn’t interfere with the other family.

“I could phone them 24/7 – they didn’t have to offer us all that help, but they did and it was incredible. We are definitely going to do more fundraising for them in the future. The hospital went above and beyond for us and did so much while also dealing with other children in the hospital.”

Andrew’s brother, Daniel James Lingard, is gearing up to tackle the Edinburgh Half Marathon this weekend in a bid to raise funds for the hospital. He said: “The Children’s Hospital really helped us and they were incredibly gracious about it all. I just want to push his memory as much as possible.

“I always wanted do a marathon because my dad’s done a couple of them in the past. It’s something that’s been in the works for a while. It just made sense to try and give back a bit and push Daniel’s name out there.

“He was just so much fun and a very affectionate kid. It’s just something that shouldn’t have happened.”

Speaking ahead of his brother lining up at the start line, Andrew said: “Honestly, I think it’s amazing he’s doing it.

“I had an operation on Thursday, so I can’t do it with him but if I could, I would. The fact he’s raised the amount he did within 24 hours is just incredible – it’s outstanding.”

The GoFundMe reads: “On Sunday the 24th of May I will be running the Edinburgh Half Marathon in memory of my wee nephew Daniel. It’s a last minute attempt for donations and we would be incredibly grateful for any donations, no matter how big or small.

“The Edinburgh Children’s hospital were incredible at helping us through this trying and difficult time, we are incredibly grateful for them and the work that they do and it would be wrong to not try and give back after all the help they gave us.

“The reason for the total being £1,323 is because it honours Daniels birthday, being the 1st of March 2023.

“If you can’t donate, sharing the post will make it reach further and help reach the goal which I hope will be possible.

“Thank you so much for taking your time to read this. Let’s do it for the wee man! X”

Those wishing to contribute can donate to the fundraiser here.

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At Besiktas Park on Wednesday, Emery will stand on the touchline for his sixth Europa League final in 12 years.

He lost the 2019 final to Chelsea while at Arsenal, where his 18-month reign was seen as a failure.

But he has more triumphs in the competition than any other manager; three with Sevilla – in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – when they beat Liverpool – before a penalty shootout victory over Manchester United with Villarreal in 2021.

Emery, though, insists that will mean nothing come kick-off against their Bundesliga rivals.

“I am not a king in this competition,” he said. “I am now here with Aston Villa in a new chapter. Everything I did is done and of course it’s there in that moment but with it I am not winning.

“I need to win [in Turkey] with the players we have now, with Villa now. So now it’s a new way, a new moment, and hopefully a new era.

“If you are not respecting the opponent, you are closer to losing. If you are not respecting Europe, like we did during the process, we are not here. This is the strong mentality we had before.

“We have a huge challenge, a huge challenge. Are we thinking about the next party on Friday? No, no.”

The former Paris St Germain boss has managed 115 games in the Europa League, winning 71, and his best win rate in the competition is his 85.7% with Villa.

Those wins are a competition record. And since the start of 2023-24, no side has won more European matches than Villa’s tally of 26.

Emery – bizarrely overlooked in the Premier League’s Manager of the Season nominations – spoke to his players on Saturday morning, a debrief following Friday’s 4-2 win over Liverpool which sealed Champions League qualification.

He also reminded them about the journey the club has been on since he replaced Steven Gerrard in late 2022 – a Europa Conference League semi-final, a Champions League quarter-final and two top-five finishes.

Emery has needed a way with words at times, refusing to lay into his players at half-time during the abject defeat by Tottenham at the start of the month.

It was something the squad appreciated, a fatherly touch of reminding them of what they have achieved together.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are unhappier with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy than they were a few months ago, but they’re largely continuing to stand behind him as the war with Iran continues, a new AP-NORC poll finds.

About 6 in 10 Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s down from about 8 in 10 in February, before the war began.

The poll comes as the war with Iran fuels higher gasoline prices, while the U.S. and Iran struggle to move toward a permanent ceasefire. Trump’s hold on the GOP remains strong, as he demonstrated on Tuesday when his handpicked candidate defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, a Trump critic, in a primary election challenge. The findings highlight Trump’s continued strength within the Republican Party, even as economic frustration grows.

Ariel Gutierrez, a 55-year-old Republican in Wisconsin, usually requires his teenage children to pay for their own gas. But with spiking gas costs, he’s helping out his 15-year-old, who’s just learning how to drive.

“The whole Iran issue has just exacerbated it,” he said. “Maybe we were seeing it in groceries before, but now — with this push on gas and travel and all that — that is how people want to live the leisure part of their lives … and it is directly impacting us there now. And yes, that is, I believe from Trump’s policies, not from his predecessors.”

Trump remains unpopular outside his base. Most Americans continue to disapprove of Trump’s approach to both Iran and foreign policy. His overall approval rating in the new poll stands at 37%, up slightly from 33% in April. Nearly all Democrats disapprove of his performance as president, as do about 7 in 10 independents.

The economy remains a struggle

About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in late April, but down slightly from the start of his second term, when 40% of U.S. adults approved.

The economy was a strength for Trump in his first term, but he’s struggled with skepticism about his handling of the issue ever since he reentered the White House last year, after repeatedly promising to bring prices down. His second-term economic approval has fallen among Republicans, in particular. While a majority, 63%, still approve, that’s down from 79% in February, a few weeks before the war with Iran began.

Richard Baumgartner, a 77-year-old Republican from Las Vegas, believes higher costs are a necessary side effect of the war, which he supports.

“Unfortunately, because of the war, the economy is a little bit off kilter,” Baumgartner said. “I think it’ll fall back into place after things resolve over there. Temporary price increases — it’s unfortunate, but it’s something that has to be confronted in a situation like this where you have a very serious problem.”

Trump regains some strength on immigration

While economic promises were pivotal to Trump’s reelection, so were his goals of stricter immigration enforcement — and this issue may be reemerging as an asset.

Immigration emerged as one of Trump’s strengths early in his second term, with about half of U.S. adults saying they liked his approach, but approval of his handling of the issue dipped to 38% in January and February, after months of aggressive immigration enforcement that led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

Now, just under half of U.S. adults, 45%, approve of how he is handling that issue.

Brenda Theiss, an independent from Cullman, Alabama, doesn’t like everything Trump is doing. But she gives him credit for being willing to disrupt the status quo to reduce the flow of immigrants who are in the country illegally compared to Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

“I liked Obama; I voted for Obama — but Trump was the only one that did something. All of the other presidents sat back and went, ‘Well there’s nothing we can do,’” the 73-year-old said. “He’s closing the border. He did it. Biden didn’t do it. For that, I give him one hundred.”

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has appeared to recalibrate its approach on immigration, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement.

Immigration remains one of Trump’s stronger issues among Republicans. About 8 in 10 approve of his handling of the issue, which is roughly 10 points higher than the share that say he’s doing a good job as president.

Few approve of Trump on Iran or issues abroad

Trump’s handling of the war with Iran remains unpopular.

Only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling Iran. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans approve, though an AP-NORC poll conducted last month found that younger Republicans are more likely to disapprove of Trump’s performance on the issue than older ones.

Similarly, about one-third of Americans approve of Trump’s approach to foreign policy. Though Trump has zeroed in on a more aggressive international approach this year — including capturing the leader of Venezuela and threatening Cuba — Americans’ views of his overall handling of foreign policy have not shifted significantly in recent months.

Amanda Wylie, a 22-year-old who lives in Athens, Georgia, says Iran is one of the few issues where Trump doesn’t have her support.

“I feel like we’re wasting resources over there at this point and not for the benefit of the American people,” said Wylie, who identifies as a Republican-leaning independent. “Especially if everyone is worried about gas prices and the ultimate goal of this is to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Yes, that’s important, but at what cost?”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,117 adults was conducted May 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The drop in inflation occurred despite the rise in fuel prices due to the Iran war. The average price of petrol was 156.8p per litre last month, according to the ONS, the highest since November 2022. Diesel prices rose by more than 30p in April to take the average price to 190p per litre, the highest average since July 2022.

Fans think they’ve seen the first contestant set to take to the dancefloor during the 2026 series after the new hosts were announced

Strictly Come Dancing fans think they have spotted the first contestant set to take to the dancefloor during the 2026 series after the new hosts were officially announced.

After months of speculation, it was confirmed on Tuesday (May 19) that Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe are the new Strictly hosts of the hit BBC One dance show.

The news was shared on the show’s Instagram page with the caption: “It’s official…September 2026.” It marks the first time a trio has presented the popular programme in its 22-year history, following the exits of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman at the end of the 2025 series.

As the announcement was made, Emma, 50, said she cannot “quite comprehend” that she has landed the prestigious co-presenting job, while Josh, 43, who took part in the 2024 Strictly Christmas special, said he feels “overawed” to now be fronting the programme.

Johannes, 39, who has been a pro on Strictly Come Dancing since 2018, said he feels “deeply honoured” to have a new job on the programme. And speaking about the trio for the first time, Kate Phillips, the BBC’s chief content officer, said that their “chemistry is undeniable”.

But it was following the news being shared on social media that Strictly fans wondered if they had spotted a possible contestant being lined up for the 2026 series, which will get underway in just a few months’ time.

The Traitors 2026 winner Stephen Libby was seen reacting to the news, simply commenting underneath Strictly’s Instagram post: “Da da da da da da da, da da da da da [dancing person emoji].” And it didn’t take long for the comment to be flooded with replies.

@claire_belle11 questioned: “Strictly class of ‘26?” @denise_proctor78 replied: “I’ve a funny feeling you’re going to be on the show this year.” @robjeffries shared: “1000000% you are going to be on this show and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.” @creativemetalhead added: “Out of the castle and onto the dance floor.”

Stephen and his fellow Traitor Rachel Duffy found themselves in the final of the BBC One gameshow, which aired earlier this year, along with two faithfuls Jack and Faraaz. As they gathered arounf the firepit, Faraaz was the first player to be banished. The remaining players decided to banish again, and Jack was devastated that Stephen voted against him after believing he was a faithful this whole time.

It was then announced that Rachel and Stephen had won together, making history as the BBC series’ first-ever “double traitor win”. The pair couldn’t believe it as they tearfully embraced after claiming just under £48,000 each.

Police were called to ‘reports of violence’ on Monday, May 18

Two men have been charged after two others were stabbed. Cambridgeshire Police were called to “reports of violence” at Wisbech Road in Littleport at around 7.50pm on Monday (May 18).

Two men, aged 28 and 58, were treated by paramedics for stab wounds. They were taken to hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. They have since been released from hospital.

Police have now charged two people in connection with the incident. A police spokesperson said: “Joshua Davidson, 20, of London Road, King’s Lynn and Kai O’Donnell, 21, of Tilling Way, Littleport, have since been charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife in a public place.

“They are due to appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court today (Wednesday, May 20).”

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