The Ford Ranger is Britain’s favourite pick-up truck and to keep it in the top spot Ford introduced a PHEV version that is especially tempting to business users.

In this instalment of Drive Time John Murdoch takes a drive in the UK’s favourite pick up truck. The Ford Ranger now offers PHEV technology making it more tax efficient. John also discovers that Mazda is launching its stylish 6e all electric model this summer with a special charging deal for retail and contract hire customers.

The Ford Ranger is Britain’s favourite pick-up truck and to keep it in the top spot Ford introduced a PHEV version that is especially tempting to business users.

The Ranger PHEV delivers lower emissions that will benefit business users by reducing the tax bill while still offering all of the talents that the standard diesel model can offer. That will make it a smart choice while the Wildtrak model retains its visual appeal that helps draw customers in.

Emissions are now an important factor when it comes to business taxation, and the arrival of the Ranger PHEV makes it the perfect double-cab pick-up for those keen to keep their tax bill as low as possible.

From the outside, not a lot looks different and the Wildtrak trim is very generous for a truck.

The load bay is slightly smaller but there is the option of a sliding sports bar that allows racks to be attached above the cargo bed, while Ford’s Pro Power system allows users to connect any device with a three-pin plug to the truck’s drive battery.

Two filler flaps on the nearside rear wing are the main visual clues that the vehicle is a PHEV. One pops open to reveal the charging port for the battery, while the other is the fuel filler and is released with the push of a button on the dashboard.

These are used to refill an 11.8kWh battery and a 70-litre fuel tank respectively, with the latter supplying fuel to the 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that we’ve seen in other UK Ford models.

The set-up in the Ranger PHEV produces 277bhp and 697Nm of torque, so the plug-in model is second only to the petrol Ranger Raptor for power, while Ford’s familiar 10-speed automatic gearbox is fitted as standard.

The 0-62mph time of 9.2 seconds is impressive for such a big vehicle, while the Ranger PHEV also boasts a towing weight of 3.5 tonnes and a payload of more than a tonne, so there are no compromises there when compared with the diesel versions.

The load bed is slightly higher to cater for the battery, so cargo space is slightly reduced but not by much.

Most Ranger diesel owners face a tax bill of £7,000 but opt for the low emission PHEV and this reduces to £4,600 – a substantial saving.

The PHEV drives and feels like any other automatic Ranger and the combination of electric motor and petrol engine is good, with the former delivering instant responses while the engine gets up to speed. The petrol engine is quiet and the automatic box is good as are the brakes. The ride is also fine and no worse than some family SUVs.

The usual drive modes can be selected via the push-button controls down behind the drive selector, including an EV button that allows you to either drive the PHEV in standard hybrid mode – switching between power sources as the electronics see fit – switch to silent EV running, or save the charge for later or recharge the battery using the engine while on the move.

Like the rest of the Rangers this PHEV Wildtrak model is stylish, crammed with kit and has all the usual safety features, as well as being a good performer and it certainly makes very good sense for business users.

FAST FACTS

Ford Ranger Wildtrak PHEV automatic

Price: £44,900 (excluding VAT)

Mechanical: 277bhp 2.3-litre turbo petrol PHEV driving four wheels via 10-speed automatic gearbox

Max speed: 105mph

0-62mph: 9.2 seconds

Combined mpg: 28 and 25mile all-electric range

Insurance group: 36

CO2 emissions: 71g/km

BIK rating: 19%

Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles

Overall rating (out of 5): 4.6

To tempt customers to buy their new electric 6e model Mazda is offering a tethered or untethered Pod Home Charger for only £499 if they place an order by the end of June. The deal is available to retail or Mazda contract hire customers.

On sale in Europe since last Autumn, the updated Mazda6e will arrive in the UK this summer with a new 78kWh single battery specification – priced at £38,995 for the Takumi and £39,995 for Takumi Plus. With stylish premium saloon proportions combined with hatchback functionality – the Mazda6e reinvents the Mazda6 for the electric age.

Commenting on the Pod Home Charger offer, Mazda UK Sales Director, Laura Brailey, said: “We recognise that many prospective Mazda6e customers may be new to electric vehicles and the simplicity, convenience and the well-established end-to-end installation process associated with this offer is designed to deliver a seamless and stress-free move to electric car ownership.” As an additional benefit all retail and fleet customers will also be eligible for a £500 public charging credit when opening an account via the Mazda Public Charging App<. This benefit provides customers with a £500 charging credit that’s redeemable via the app across participating public charging networks.

Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director, Mazda Motors UK, said: “The Mazda6e is the car our dealers have been waiting for, with a nod to the popularity of the Mazda6 it’s a real statement of intent for the future and illustrates how Mazda can bring great design, technology and style to battery electric vehicles.

“And with the suspension, power steering and braking carefully calibrated by the team at Mazda Research Europe in Frankfurt to match UK preferences, I’m sure the Mazda6e will be an electric car that delivers the engaging driver experience you’d expect from Mazda”. He added, “In the UK we are facing some unique and complex challenges in the balance between EV legislation and consumer demand but at Mazda we will introduce new models and ensure our product range fits the pace of actual consumer demand in the UK with technologies that are amongst the best in the market.

“The arrival of the Mazda6e in UK showrooms this summer is perfect, it’s a fantastic and timely addition to our multi-solution approach that includes mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric offerings.

“With a UK price that sees both models under £40,000, this value proposition is even more tempting when you see the huge tally of equipment and technology fitted as standard across both the Takumi and Takumi Plus. The Mazda6e is also a car that positions Mazda strongly in the expanding D segment BEV fleet market, where the cars blend of style, value, practicality and desirability will I’m sure win over business users”. Available to configure and order now, the first Mazda6e will arrive in UK dealers this summer, while later in the year the next chapter in Mazda’s BEV story will arrive in the UK – with the debut of the all-new Mazda CX-6e SUV.

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The BBC challenged Americans to spell words used in the last three Scripps National Spelling Bee competitions.

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old, won the competition this year after correctly spelling 32 words in a 90-second lighting round tiebreaker. He defeated 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta, who spelled 25 words correctly.

Parikh won out against 247 spellers competing in the annual contest, aged between nine and 15, taking home a $52,000 (£39,000) cash prize.

Video by Meiying Wu and Alex Foster

Sylvester Abayomi, 50, died after a collision in March this year, caused by Uways Hussain, 20, and Usmon Mahmood, 23.

Two men have been caged for killing a “caring” man in what officers called “one of the most extreme dangerous driving cases officers have encountered”.

Sylvester Abayomi, 50, died after a collision in March this year, caused by Uways Hussain, 20, and Usmon Mahmood, 23. The two ‘highly dangerous’ men filmed themselves speeding at up to 139mph in a 30 zone, the court heard. As reported by the Mirror, driver Hussain and passenger Mahmood filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of well over 100mph in a Golf GTI.

The duo reached over 130mph several times – before jumping a red light and hitting a car driven by Mr Abayomi on Kingsway, Manchester. He suffered serious injuries and died in the collision shortly after 4.30am on March 9.

The pair were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Friday. Hussain was sentenced to 11 years and eight months, while Mahmood was sentenced to 12 years and nine months.

Rachel Shenton, prosecuting, told the court in the five seconds before the crash the Golf’s speed was recorded at 139mph – with the speed on impact 99mph.

Hussain was filmed driving one handed at high speed in the hours before the crash. He jumped red lights, weaved in and out of traffic and inhaled from nitrous oxide balloons while steering. Police said it was “one of the worst disregards for speeding” they have ever seen.

The court heard Mr Abayomi was on his way to work when he pulled onto Kingsway in his Volvo S40 on green light – before being fatally struck after the offenders ran a red light.

After the smash, the two men discussed fleeing the scene and removing evidence, considered reporting the car stolen and booking an Uber to escape. The court heard the conversation was recorded after Hussain’s Apple watch detected a high speed crash and made an emergency call.

Mahmood – the owner of the Golf – was heard saying: “You just wrapped my whip bro.” They said ‘book an Uber quick’ and spoke of their DNA being on the airbags. Neither man approached Mr Abayomi’s car to check on his condition.

When police arrived they were able to trace Hussain through his watch. They found him hiding in a garden and had to taser him. He told police: “None of us were even there, what’s happened? Did someone pass away.” He initially denied being the driver.

Mahmood was also found in a nearby garden. The court heard a number of nitrous oxide canisters were found around the area the men were arrested.

Judge Nicholas Dean KC told the court they had shown a “flagrant disregard for the safety of other road users” and had been risk taking “seemingly for the thrill of it”. He said the CCTV and mobile footage of the driving was “terrifying” as was “far, far in excess of any safe or lawful limit”.

On their actions after the crash, the judge told them: “Rather than assist or attempt to assist, both of you fled. Not in panic as such, but discussing how in effect, how to get away with it.”

Hussain, 20 from Burnage, admitted causing death by dangerous driving at a previous hearing. After being given credit for his guilty plea he was sentenced to 11 years eight months The court heard he had received a previous 12 month driving ban in October 2024 for drug driving.

Mahmood, 23, from Levenshulme, had admitted aiding and abetting causing death by dangerous driving. It is one of the first times a passenger has been convicted for aid and abetting causing death by dangerous driving. After his guilty plea was taken into account, he was jailed for 12 years nine months.

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They will each serve at least two thirds of their sentences and serve an eight year driving ban. They will also have to take extended driving tests before being allowed back behind the wheel.

Reading an emotional victim impact statement to the court, Mr Abayomi’s partner Denise Doyle, told how on the day of his death he kissed her and told her he loved her before heading to work. She said: “I never knew this would be the last time.”

After seeing his body in hospital, she said: “It was a nightmare, like I was in a box and couldn’t get out. He was my partner, my friend, my future.”

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She said her partner was “kind, dedicated and full of life”, adding: “That day my life changed forever. It’s not just grief, it’s a constant emptiness. The life we were building together has been taken away from me.”

After the court hearing she released a statement paying tribute to her late partner. She said: “On Monday 9 March, the love of my life was taken away, he was the most caring soul and gentle person you could ever meet. He had time for everybody and was loved by everyone. Syll will be sadly missed.”

Detective Sergeant Thomas Johnson, from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is one of the most extreme cases of dangerous driving we have encountered, and it has tragically resulted in the loss of Sylvester’s life.

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“Our thoughts remain with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. No sentence can ever truly compensate for the loss of a life, but the actions of Hussain and Mahmood show a complete disregard for the safety of others.

“We hope this outcome offers some measure of justice to Sylvester’s loved ones. We urge the public to challenge dangerous driving behaviour and report concerns to police.”

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Dull and confusing frights disappoint given promise shown by director Genki Kawamura’s flick.

I knew nothing about Japanese horror Exit 8 until I saw the intriguing, unsettling trailer.

Based on the 2023 video game The Exit 8 developed by Kotake Create, Kazunari s plays the Lost Man who becomes increasingly desperate when he realises he is trapped in a subway station.

I cannot stress enough how disappointed I was with Exit 8 as I was expecting something very special.

It starts with a long point-of-view shot on a packed subway where manners take a back seat and we find out the Lost Man has asthma and is a dad-to-be.

Then, creepily, everyone disappears – well, almost everyone.

Like the trailer, this opening is engaging and eerie, and sets up a world of potential problems for the Lost Man to deal with.

Alas, things start to get really repetitive – literally – and I found most of the remaining run time frustratingly dull.

It’s a shame as director and co-writer Genki Kawamura’s visuals rule. Environments strikingly change colour; frozen faces, dripping blood and distorted voices horrify; and a subway underwater is terror personified.

Composers Shouhei Amimori and Yasutaka Nakata’s musical score is also pulsating and, at times, disruptively loud.

Around every corner there are potential surprises but what we are presented with often misses the mark or, crucially, adds to the confusion.

Focus surprisingly shifts to other characters about half-way through, with one openly discussing what could be happening to them all.

This feels like a cruel tease as things are never properly explained and if we’re to take it that the Lost Man is simply suffering a mental breakdown given all of the stress he is under, who are these other people? And why do we follow them for spells?

Exit 8 ends up not making a lick of sense and while I can appreciate the directorial flair shown by Kawamura, I left the film feeling frustrated, cheated and bummed out.

What could’ve been an Asian horror to rival classics like The Grudge , Ring and The Eye felt like waiting all night for a train to appear only for it to be cancelled at the last minute.

● Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on any movie or TV show recommendations you have to your fellow readers.

● Exit 8 is showing in cinemas now.

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Eric Schrier, president, direct-to-consumer international originals, strategic programming, and emerging media, said: “Following Ryan, Hugh and the SailGP’s BONDS Flying Roos Australian team’s journey gives us a remarkable inside view of this thrilling sport and what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Over the last decade, UK universities have put increasing effort into supporting student mental health. This often means following frameworks: documents that outline good practice, typically developed by sector bodies and charities. Universities can adopt these frameworks to guide their approach to student wellbeing.

The difficulty is that the sector has relied heavily on voluntary frameworks. This means that universities can choose whether to engage, how fully to implement them and which elements to prioritise. Students experience significantly different levels of support depending on where they study. Access to services, staff capability, pathways to more support and crisis response vary between institutions.

This has already been recognised in parliamentary debate as a postcode lottery, reflecting growing concern about inconsistency in student safeguarding across the sector.

Current initiatives

Existing frameworks have done good work in reshaping thinking away from seeing mental health as the responsibility of counselling services alone. They instead emphasise that the promotion of mental health sits across all aspects of university life. This includes teaching, accommodation and campus culture.

The University Mental Health Charter is one of the strongest whole-university models. It provides a clear structure for action across learning, support and the wider student environment. Institutions can also choose to pursue the Charter Award. This introduces external assessment and scrutiny, requiring universities to evidence progress rather than simply state commitments.

Not all universities are signed up. A framework that institutions can opt out of cannot operate as a sector-wide safeguard.

Another framework, Stepchange, has had substantial influence in shaping how the sector understands mental health. Produced by sector body Universities UK, it provides guidance on issues such as prevention and institutional responsibility.

However, while it is straightforward for universities to endorse Stepchange principles, their implementation of the guidance may be inconsistent. Even if mental health is prioritised at a senior level, the responsibility for implementing this may remain fragmented across the institution. A university’s ambitions to create a mentally healthy environment may sit alongside unchanged academic pressures and assessment demands on students.

Alongside these flagship frameworks, suicide prevention guidance and NHS-university partnerships have enhanced how universities approach student wellbeing.

Staff training and more wellbeing-focused approaches to teaching have also helped universities take a more preventative approach to student support.

None of these developments, however, establishes a minimum standard across the sector. Adoption remains partial and implementation is uneven.

The result is predictable inconsistency. This is reflected in wider evidence on variation in student mental health support.

Frameworks as a starting point

Frameworks have provided an essential starting point. They have helped reposition mental health as a matter of institutional design, rather than something for people to manage alone. This has encouraged a move towards prevention rather than crisis response.

But it’s likely that frameworks tend to have the greatest impact in institutions that already have strong leadership and sufficient resources. Wider evidence already points to significant variation in mental health provision and support arrangements across higher education. Frameworks can be more difficult to implement consistently where financial constraints, workforce pressures or competing priorities are at play. This means that improvements occur in pockets, rather than across the sector.

A decade on, the context has shifted. Mental health pressures are increasing. Concern about student safety and serious harm remains high. Together, these pressures require greater consistency than voluntary opt-ins can deliver.

After years of frameworks and research, higher education already knows what good safeguarding and wellbeing practice looks like. The next phase is to translate that into minimum expectations, so students and staff at all universities can expect a certain level of support. Clearer expectations and mechanisms that reduce variation between institutions are required.

These mechanisms could include new regulatory requirements or conditions that must be met to receive funding. Another option is requiring universities to meet clearer safeguarding standards in order to operate as registered higher education providers. In England, the Office for Students already has powers to set and enforce the conditions universities must meet to operate. Evidence of good practice on mental health could be added to this.

In Wales, the tertiary education regulator Medr has already gone further. From 1 August 2026, it will introduce a regulatory condition on staff and learner welfare. This requires providers to have effective arrangements to support and promote welfare. They must provide evidence of compliance through Medr’s ongoing monitoring arrangements.

Alongside this, a Common Mental Health Framework is being developed in response to Welsh Government strategic priorities. Funded sector task groups support consistency across the higher education sector.

The regulatory condition supplies the enforceable element. The framework and funded projects support implementation. Together, this moves beyond optional guidance towards a more consistent and enforceable baseline.

The significance of the Welsh approach lies in how these different mechanisms work together. Good safeguarding practice and high wellbeing standards should not depend on which university a student happens to attend.

This is not simply a question of guidance, but of standards. When risks to safety are clear, systems tend to move beyond optional guidance and put in place clearer expectations, oversight and accountability. Higher education is moving in that direction, but remains some distance away.

A woman in her 50s has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless/inconsiderate driving

Two people have been taken to hospital with injuries following a crash near Cambridgeshire on Thursday, May 28. Police were called at 3.58pm to a crash involving two cars on the A1198 in Royston just prior to the A505.

A grey Mercedes was being driven towards Bassingbourn and a red Mini Cooper was travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of the Mini Cooper, a man in his 20s, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The passenger of the Mercedes was also injured and taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

A woman in her 50s was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless/inconsiderate driving. She has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Sergeant Jamie Cooper from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit said: “I am appealing to anyone who saw the collision or who has any information which could assist our investigation to please get in touch.

“If you have a dash cam fitted, please review your footage as you may have captured something that could assist us with our enquiries.”

You can contact Sergeant Cooper via email or if you have dash cam footage in relation to the collision, you can upload this via DAMS. You can also report information online, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via their online web chat or call 101, quoting Op Stanway.

As Backrooms enters cinemas it’s not the only horror film based on liminal spaces, as a reader gets to grips with the game that the movie Exit 8 is based on.

I did things the wrong way round. Recently I went to see a Japanese horror film called Exit 8. Afterwards I found out that the movie I’d just watched was inspired by a video game, and so I decided to try it.

The Exit 8 begins with zero fanfare and no title screen. Played out in first person view, the game puts you in a white-tiled passageway with six billboards on the left side wall and three doors to the right. A yellow dividing line runs along the floor. On the other side of this line, a man in a light blue shirt carries a briefcase while he calmly walks towards you. An overhead sign provides direction by means of an arrow. Go straight ahead for Exit 8. Footsteps and the faint buzz of electric lights are the only backing track to your journey.

Play this game and you’ll get to know every detail of the location that I’ve described above. The Exit 8 presents a well-rendered impression of the Tokyo subway system. Primarily a walking simulator with basic controls, here you can look around, walk and run, and that’s about it. After completing three laps of the same passageway the real game begins and you’ll happen upon a new sign on the wall.

The Guide dispenses the following advice: don’t overlook any anomalies. If you find anomalies, turn back immediately. If you don’t find anomalies, do not turn back.

Further on there’s another sign that says Exit 0. After that you return to the same bland thoroughfare that you’ve negotiated three times already. But from now on you need to spot differences. Is the walking man behaving exactly as he did before? Those adverts, for the dental clinic, for the dog salon and for the photo exhibition. Has their size or content changed? Spot any differences anywhere along the passageway and you must turn back.

If you’ve been attentive, if you’ve rigorously followed the Guide’s advice, the next time you see the Exit sign the number on it will have increased. Overlook a change/anomaly and the Exit sign resets to 0. Initially starting over feels disappointing. However, as you ascend to the higher numbers, seeing Exit 0 after what you thought was a lengthy period of careful observation proves heartbreaking.

The Exit 8 messes with you in other ways. Because the gameplay here is fundamentally dull, specifically walking down the same passageway over and over again, you relax. You drop your guard. You wonder what the point is. There’s no interaction here. No stimulus, apart from the soft buzz of electric lights and the tapping resonance of footsteps. But just when you’re half bored to death and not entirely paying attention, an anomaly occurs.

Some of the deviations in The Exit 8 are fairly innocuous. A missing door handle. A weird smudge up on the ceiling. Other differences are sinister and creepy, and they make you want to turn around at once and hit that run button. A nearby door might creak open on its own. Those buzzing overhead lights could flicker and abruptly fail. Distant and indistinct figures appear and bring very real concerns. Are those onlookers ghosts? Can they hurt me?

Every so often The Exit 8 does its best to shock and disturb you. Every so often. That’s the key phrase to remember here.

Effective horror, in any game or film, needs moments of pause. You could argue that The Exit 8 has too many moments of pause, but the game’s repetition and banality does help to intensify its scares.

One of the anomalies in The Exit 8 scared me cold. A legitimate chill is the sort of pay-off every horror fan hopes for. That being said, this is also one of the dullest games that I’ve ever played. The Exit 8 probably works because of this duality. The game acts like the harmless, dopey labrador that you’ve reached down and patted countless times. And then, without warning, that same labrador shows you the whites of its eyes, bares its teeth and growls.

Exit 8 the film, directed by Genki Kawamura, adds an interesting narrative that the game doesn’t have. I found Exit 8 engaging and well directed, but more disturbing than scary.

If you’re interested in Japan and the horror genre then I’d recommend watching the film Exit 8. The game is definitely an acquired taste. I can imagine that this nightmarish outing on the Tokyo subway has ticked a lot of people off, while intriguing plenty of others.

At least the walking simulator is cheap and possibly worth a try if you fancy a gaming experience that’s utterly different. Finally, to offer up hope to anyone who’s just rounded a corner only to find their Exit sign back on 0, the game isn’t an infinite loop or an exercise in sadism. The Exit 8 does have an ending, and if you watch out for those pesky anomalies you might reach it.

By reader Michael Veal (@msv858)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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Clown outfits, trapeze artists and yes, that giant walking elephant meant for a classic 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ night out from Take That, as our Dianne Bourne discovered on the first night in Southampton. Roll on Manchester…

“Today this could be the Greatest Day of our lives,” so sings Gary Barlow to open The Circus Live, Take That’s record-breaking tour rebooted and most definitely besuited after 17 years for its 2026 stadium return. And as some 40,000 fans sing those words along with Gary, Howard Donald and Mark Owen at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton under the clearest of blue skies it certainly felt like the Greatest Day.

The giant cloud balloon is back bobbing up at the start of the show, as are the 40-strong cast of bouncing acrobats, fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and clowns who release a spectacular balloon riot out across the audience to herald the arrival of the Manchester pop idols.

It’s impossible to adequately describe the magic of this show, it’s one that really needs to be seen to believed. Goosebumps from the opening piano chord to the final streamers and confetti bursts shooting out across the crowd.

As Gary said ahead of this show about the performers on stage “this is the best of the best” and he’s right. This is more than just a Take That show – it’s a full on Circus spectacular, a feast for the eyes as much as the ears as Mark, Howard and Gary wrap their biggest hits around the theatrical set pieces worthy of their own Big Top (which aptly shrouds the stage at the start of the night).

When they announced plans last year to take the Circus Live tour back out on the road, fans could barely believe their luck. For those who saw it first time around it made perfect sense – it’s perhaps the band’s most perfect live extravaganza – blending their pop anthems with Las Vegas style showmanship. For those kicking themselves that they missed out back then? Well it’s been the perfect chance to see what they’ve been missing all this time.

If anything the razzle dazzle is even more ramped up for this big return, and anyone who has bagged tickets for the 16 upcoming UK and Ireland shows over the next two months can rest assured they will well and truly be getting their money’s worth with this humdinger of a show. And after all, everybody loves a circus show, as Gary memorably sings in his twinkly-lighted, goosebumps performance of The Circus as a tightrope walker tiptoes across the skyline.

The greasepaint and clown outfits are also back, albeit pimped up with a plethora of sequins, for the up tempo romp through the pop band’s 90s hits – complete with the camp dance moves to the delight of the crowd. The unicycles too return as Howard and Mark show off their athleticism, while Gary is happy to play it for laughs instead on his own little bike.

The trio also sound in better voice than ever.

And what of this show’s most famous moment? When the band emerge on top of a 30ft elephant to be chauffeur driven, pachiderm-style, to the main stage while singing fan anthem The Garden? If anything it’s more mesmerising (and tear-inducing) than the first time around.

There’s no comedown from that – instead we hurtle headlong into the big top as if fired from a cannonball into a glitzy, showgirl-dancing, acrobat-bouncing, tightrope-walking extravaganza for Shine.

These pop stars have a true talent of connecting with their audience, breathlessly taking us from tearjerkers to crowd pleasers in the blink of an eye.

It’s everything you could possibly want from a Take That show – well, bar bringing out departed members Jason Orange and Robbie Williams of course.

Fans had been pondering how the show would work in Jason’s absence, as he had been such a major part of the last Circus Live tour. In particular, his one solo number, Wooden Boat. Would it remain on the setlist? Well, no.

How Did It Come To This is the other omission, the other major song that Jason sings lead vocals on from The Circus album.

In their place is Take That’s newest song, You’re a Superstar, an ode to the fans who have stuck with them through thick and thin, through five then four then three.

There’s also the surprise addition of Babe, allowing Mark to head centre stage for a lovely rendition of the tender 90s classic, while Gary gets to tinkle out a couple of extra treats on the piano too.

As if Take That on stage for two hours were not enough of a treat, we get to hear pop princess Belinda Carlisle in fine voice (and barefoot dancing) to open proceedings with her pop anthems. It was then up to The Script to show off their own stadium-filler form, supporting Take That here fresh from announcing their own big arena tour later this year.

Fans may remember they also supported on the Circus last time around and they did it again here in some style – blasting out with Superheroes and getting the entire stadium in an arm swing along.

Frontman Danny O’Donoghue even urged one fan to ring up their ex – for him to then serenade poor “Alfie” with break-up anthem Nothing.

He also revealed that he went to meet Take That fans who were camping out the night before and even jumped in one tent to the delight of one fan.

I’ve no doubt fans will be camping out at every single one of these shows ahead.

I was there for the Circus tour in its first incarnation and was wowed back then. But I don’t remember it being this good, feeling this good.

The greatest show on earth they say, or so says the giant (and I do mean giant) ringmaster that emerges for the fire festooned finale of Relight My Fire and who would argue with that?

Fireworks end it all because, of course they do. Take That have thrown everything at this show and we have four homecoming nights in Manchester at the Etihad Stadium to look forward to in June and July. It’s really not one to be missed.

Setlist St Mary’s Stadium Southampton May 29, 2026:

Greatest Day

Hello

Could it Be Magic

Pray

A Million Love Songs

Back For Good

The Garden

Shine

Up All Night

Babe

You’re a Superstar

Love Ain’t Here Anymore

Nobody Else

The Circus

What is Love

Do What U Like/Promises/It Only Takes a Minute/Take That and Party

Said it All

Never Forget

Patience

Relight My Fire

ENCORE:

Hold up A Light

Rule The World

Police received multiple reports about the incident at Four Winds roundabout

Police arrested a suspected drunk driver after receiving multiple reports of a car “trying to drift” around a roundabout in South Belfast.

Police received multiple reports from members of the public about a vehicle driving dangerously around the Four Winds roundabout. Officers attended the scene and later located the vehicle in a car park in the Ballygowan area.

A man entered the car but was stopped by police from driving away and arrested for a number of offences including; driving with excess alcohol, dangerous driving, taking and driving away, driving with no insurance and no licence.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Yesterday Police received reports from numerous concerned members of the public, regarding a vehicle being dangerously driven in the Belfast area and trying to drift around the Four Winds Roundabout.

“Road Policing Interceptors from Sprucefield and Road Policing Unit Officers from Mahon Road were tasked to attend.

“Interceptors located the vehicle parked in a car park in the Ballygowan area a short time later, significant damage was noted on the vehicle.

“A male was observed getting into the vehicle and attempting to drive it, before being stopped using pre-emptive tactics in order to prevent the likelihood of a pursuit and unnecessary risk to the public.

“The male driver was subsequently arrested for Driving with Excess Alcohol, Dangerous Driving, Taking and Driving Away, Driving with No Insurance and No Licence and other offences.

“The vehicle was seized.

“Interceptors appreciated the assistance from our colleagues in Roads Policing Unit Officers, PSNI Dog Section, Dundonald NPT, Ards LPT and the Probationer Support Unit in assisting with the stop and arrest of this individual.

“Thanks go out to those members of the public who reported this individual.”

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