Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

‘Inflation is down’ so is there no cost-of-living crisis?

We keep reading about the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ but inflation is down to 2.6 per cent. In 1975, soon after I had married, it hit 25 per cent. Let’s get some perspective! Jamie, Chelsea

Right-wing media are resposible for view Burnham is taking is back to the ’70s, says reader

A Martin (MetroTalk, Thu) says Burnham ‘seems to want to take Britain back to the 1970s’. How do we know this? Has Burnham said this? What measures is he introducing 
that reflect such a view? Or, maybe A Martin just gets ideas from the right-wing media? Martin, London

Sound was an issue with the Odyssey

Having read Tori Brazier’s five-star review of The Odyssey (Metro, Jul 16),
I went to see it with high expectations.

First, the sound. During the opening scenes on Ithaca I could hardly understand a word of what was said due to the subdued whispery tone of the actors. This applied to most of the film –except when an actor shouted.

I was quite bored with scenes leading up to Odysseus’s departure for Troy. Some scenes after the Sack of Troy were good, in particular with the Cyclops.

Other reservations include why Helen of Troy had to be black [Lupita Nyong’o]. She was a Spartan queen, almost certainly white. The goddess Athena [Zendaya] scarcely appears and doesn’t resemble as much of a goddess as Tori seems to think.

Anne Hathaway makes a passable Penelope, though, and Matt Damon is excellent as Odysseus.

However, at nearly three hours, the film is far too long and director Nolan unnecessarily repeats the Sack of Troy a few times. The film also jumps backwards and forwards, which makes it confusing at times. If it’s your first time with the plot, you’ll find it a bit difficult to follow. I was glad to leave when the end finally arrived. Peter, Bradford-on-Avon

More labelling needed on processed foods

Further to calls for more explicit labelling on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in light of their link to fatal heart disease (MetroTalk, Mon).

Companies that produce UPFs should by now realise they cause cancers. As a recovering victim of prostate cancer, caused by eating processed food, surely it is incumbent on manufacturers of these dangerous foodstuffs to advertise this on their labels.

They should follow the example of the cigarette companies who print very clearly that smoking kills, because so does eating UPFs. Melvyn Jacobs, Stockport

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

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Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte has opened up about being in a relationship with a married man, 30 years her senior, when she was just 19.

Best known for playing Izzy Hoyland in the iconic Australian soap, the actress, now 50, recently sat down to reflect on life on screen, on stage, as a singer and all-around TV personality.

During one candid moment of reflection, she recounted a difficult situation she found herself in whilst having an affair with a 55-year-old man, when she was just shy of 20.

First reminiscing on her inner troubles while in the age-gap relationship, she said: ‘The hardest part was feeling deceitful because I’ve always felt like that’s not who I am as a person to the core.

‘But I just fell in love with a person who told me I was amazing and beautiful and talented and funny and what we all want to be told.

Explaining that the hardest part was knowing that she was hurting his wife. ‘When she came to me, and it was the worst day of my life, it was freaking horrible.’

The moment Natalie decided to leave, however, came when she discovered she was expecting a baby.

She continued to the Inherited podcast: ‘I got pregnant to him and I did not want the baby. I was like: “Oh my god I’m a child”,’ but the father did want to keep it.

‘I think he’d been trying with his wife before and that didn’t happen,’ she said, explaining that she eventually said yes to keeping the child but then he started ‘not being very nice’ to her.

‘It was very odd, it was almost like: “Great I’ve got you now.”

The TV star later suffered a miscarriage.

Eventually the couple also parted ways, with Natalie ultimately reflecting that after going to therapy ‘he was a grown man taking advantage of a young woman’.

In recent years she has been open about her dating life, sharing that she was engaged to her partner Pip Loth in October 2025 after they confirmed their romance in 2023.

Nowadays, Natalie – whose main run on Neighbours was between 2003 and 2007 – is putting all her concentration into her theatre career and recently wrapped her role as Jenna in Australia’s national tour of Waitress.

The tour, however, was abruptly cancelled, with Natalie later sharing a message on social media about her gratitude for all the women she’s had the honour to play on stage.

‘It has been so incredible to sit in the gratitude for all the many amazing women I have had the opportunity to play in my career. These characters spoke to me in ways that are hard to put into words. They always came at a time when I needed them the most.

‘These women were raw and real. Struggling to find their place. But they did. Each story unique, but at the core, a celebration of finding themselves along the way.

‘I was able to share these stories with thousands, nationwide, seemingly at a time when they needed it too. How great to look back with pride and celebrate theatre

‘Keep watching and supporting these stories and experiences. You will be changed for good,’ she concluded.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

MORE: TV star of four soaps, Terence Donovan, dead aged 90 as pop icon son pays tribute

Coronation Street icon Tracy Shaw, who played Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap, has shared an emotional update on her “excruciating” cancer battle after receiving bad news

Tracy Shaw has addressed her “excruciating” breast cancer battle after learning that her chemotherapy had not worked as well as she hoped. The actress, 52, who played Maxine Peacock on Coronation Street from 1995 until 2003, announced earlier this year that she had been diagnosed with disease and has been sharing updates ever since.

Earlier this week, the soap icon broke down in tears after discovering that her chemotherapy treatment had not worked as well as she had hoped but took to social media again on Friday to address the “wobble” she suffered.

Speaking in a video posted to Instagram, she said: “Thank you so much for your truly inspiring and encouraging messages. Yesterday was a wobble, and yeah, there are moments like this on this journey. I doubt it’s in the hands of the medical side and it’s by a machine. There was one lady sent me a message about the shape of it is still there because they are the dead cancer cells, and I like that, I’m going to hang onto that one.”

Tracy who also enjoyed a brief pop career with a cover of the Lonnie Gordon track Happenin’ All Over Again and in more recent years has starred in a string of theatre productions, explained that she has learned to appreciate other things in life since her diagnosis and thanked the community of women who have supported her on social media.

She added: “So today, I woke up at 4am, I sat and waited and watched the most beautiful sunrise. I realised the gifts and the gratitude that I have that although the whole of the whole of this journey is pretty excruciating most of the time, there are some major plus signs to how my life has changed.

“When I woke up today before the light and now generally my body just goes to sleep when it’s getting dark. I get to sit in stillness and see part of the world that I wouldn’t normally experience, and for that I’m really, truly grateful.

“I also wouldn’t have met you amazing women who have gone through way more than I was crying about yesterday, so thank you. Thank you for shining the light and giving me the courage to get up today, and to keep moving forward. For that, I am really grateful. Thank you.”

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On Thursday, Tracy, who has also appeared in Casualty, Doctors and various ITV dramas over the years, told fans that she was expecting that the chemo had worked a bit better given the intense nature of the treatment.

She said: “I had my ultrasounds today to find out if the lesions had shrunk. I also needed to check a lump that I’d found on the other breast, which is on the right breast. The good news is that the lump, well there’s actually quite a lot, are all cysts, so that’s good news and the lesions on my left breast…erm…

“Well, my expectations were that judging by what personally I’ve gone through and what the chemo does, I thought they’d shrunk but basically they’ve gone from being circular to oval but not really shrunk in size.

“I don’t know what I was expecting. I think I’m just expecting some results of what I’ve felt, some results of what the body has had to go through to!” The TV star then let the tears roll as she acquiesced that some sort of miracle will come along eventually.

She said: “I don’t know…maybe, maybe a few more rounds will be all it takes but I know they can’t operate until they shrink it. I thought I’d give you a live update but I was just expecting some miracularlous miracle. But maybe it’s to come. All my love to you all.”

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Disney filed a notice with a stylish Mrs Incredible letterhead to inform California state officials that it was cutting over 100 jobs, according to a report.

The iconic animation company sent a permanent layoff notice to 108 employees on Wednesday, notifying them that their last day with the company is September 26, according to public Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings. 

American employers are required to disclose mass layoffs of over 100 people to the state under the WARN Act. 

A recent filing from this week revealed that employees at Pixar‘s Emeryville studios in California have been impacted. Of the 108 individuals laid off, 71 worked in arts, entertainment and recreation, according to the filing. 

SF Gate first obtained a copy of the notice, which revealed the comical letterhead that replaced the ‘I’ in Pixar with a silhouette of Mrs Incredible in her famous hands-on-hips position. 

The notice resulted in a slew of social media reactions, including one that read: ‘I’m assuming it’s the regular company letterhead?’ adding, ‘They’re laying people off while Disney and Pixar are raking in billions. The rich need more money, I guess.’

‘Maybe it’s a *wink* (to those ‘in the know’) about the nature of (and reason for) the layoffs,’ another speculated, seemingly referring to the upcoming highly anticipated Pixar film, Incredibles 3, set for a 2028 release. 

The layoffs come after a major win for Pixar, as one of the company’s most popular franchises, Toy Story, raked in about $1 billion at the box office for its fifth film. 

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro implemented a ‘One Disney’ initiative. He said in a memo earlier this year that executives were attempting to ‘streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney’ 

The layoffs come after a massive much-needed win for Pixar with the box office hit, Toy Story 5

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The Walt Disney Company did not respond to a request for comment by SF Gate. The Daily Mail has also reached out to Disney for comment.

However, the first film Pixar released this year, Hoppers, underperformed at the box office. 

A source with knowledge of the layoffs told TheWrap that the film’s perceived underperformance was at least partially to blame. 

Hoppers followed the release of Elio in 2025, which clocked in at $154 million worldwide, less than its $200 million budget. Elio became Pixar’s second-lowest-grossing film.  

‘These changes are part of our continual evaluation of how we manage resources and reinvest across the company as our industry continues to evolve,’ a Disney spokesperson told TheWrap. 

Disney, which owns Pixar, has ruthlessly cut positions since new CEO Josh D’Amaro implemented a ‘One Disney’ initiative to condense operations. 

D’Amaro sent employees a memo earlier this year warning of the layoffs, explaining that they were meant to ‘streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney.’

‘Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the company and have begun notifying impacted employees,’ the memo concluded, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 

The layoffs come after the Pixar film, Elio, failed to generate more money at the box office than was spent to make it 

The Pixar film, Hoppers, was released earlier this year. A source told TheWrap that the film’s underperformance was part of the blame for recent layoffs 

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The initial cuts resulted in around 1,000 job losses. The layoffs have continued, with Deadline reporting that employees of National Geographic and ABC News have been hit. 

ESPN also laid off several high-profile names, including baseball broadcaster Karl Ravech, NFL analyst Ryan Clark and reporter Tom Pelissero.

Clark sensationally left the NFL Live broadcast mid-show on Monday, writing in an X post that he asked if he ‘should be done now’ and was told ‘yes.’ 

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 19:48 BST, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 20:01 BST, 24 July 2026

A huge explosion has rocked homes across Essex after a huge blaze erupted at an industrial unit.

More than 100 firefighters are currently at the scene tackling the inferno in Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, as thick black billowing smoke can be seen across the county.

Residents described hearing a loud boom in the area just before 6pm on Friday and have been warned by emergency services to keep their doors and windows closed.

According to some reports, the explosion was heard up to nearly 14 miles away from the scene of the fire. One resident stated on social media that they had heard the blast in Southend, around a 30-minute drive away. 

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Essex Fire and Rescue Service has advised people to avoid travelling to the area.

A huge explosion has rocked homes across Essex after a huge blaze erupted at an industrial unit in Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon

An aerial image of the site shows the extent of the blaze, with more than 100 firefighters now on the scene

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The main road between Rettendon Turnpike and South Hanningfield Road is closed while emergency services remain at the scene.

Local resident Steven Whan, 58, from Bicknacre, near Danbury, told BBC: ‘The police have blocked off everything. You can’t get nowhere near it.’

‘I thought it was a sonic boom because we’ve experienced that before.’

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Over 100 firefighters are working to extinguish the fire in Southend Road. 

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‘Please continue to avoid area, and keep your windows and doors closed if you live nearby.’ 

There have not yet been any confirmed reports of injuries.

This is breaking news, more follows. 

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the massacre” in Tal.

It said “the escalation of settler terrorism is a direct consequence of the protection, political backing, and complete impunity granted by the Israeli government and occupation forces”.

“Official Israeli incitement continues to fuel and encourage these crimes, creating an environment in which settler violence flourishes without accountability,” it added.

An AFP reporter at the site, south-west of Nablus, said roadblocks had been set up and troops were searching for additional suspects.

The IDF later said it raided a hospital in Nablus and “apprehended two terrorists who took part in the shooting attack” and who had gone to the hospital for treatment.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to act “with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them”.

He called an emergency meeting with security officials, and reinforcements have been sent to the area, close to the settlement of Havat Gilad.

Netanyahu’s office issued a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying the home of the Palestinian shooter in Tal would be demolished and that the legalisation of unauthorised settler outposts and the establishment of new ones would be speeded up.

Outposts are wildcat settlements, often just a cluster of caravans set up on a hilltop. They are illegal under international law and also Israeli law when they are built without official approval.

On X, Yair Golan, the leader of Israel’s Democrats Party – who is a reserve major general in the IDF – described the joint statement from Netanyahu and Katz as “a clear intent to set the area ablaze”.

After the attack in Tal, there have been reports of violent confrontations between dozens of armed settlers and Palestinians in other nearby villages in the northern West Bank. A number of Palestinians have been wounded with one shot in the head in Farata, local medics say.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the villages of “the murderers” must be treated in the same way as Gaza.

“For every Jew murdered, the enemy must suffer the loss of land and homes,” he said.

While Palestinians are routinely killed and injured during confrontations with Israeli settlers, the killing of Israelis by Palestinians has tipped the West Bank into a dangerous moment.

Since October 2023, 1,114 Palestinians have been killed there, the vast majority by the IDF, the UN says. It says at least 35 of the deaths have involved attacks by settlers.

The UN says 41 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Israel has built hundreds settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem – land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state – during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The settlements are illegal under international law.

“You were loved beyond words and will be missed beyond measure.”

A young mum who was killed in a crash last weekend has been remembered for her “bubbly, vibrant personality.”

Natasha (Tash) Gove from the Ballyclare area passed away following a single-vehicle collision near Ballymena on Saturday, July 18. The 31-year-old was the passenger in a silver Ford Transit Custom van that crashed on the Glenariffe Road.

At a service of celebration for Tash’s life, mourners heard she was a loving mummy, much loved daughter, and loyal friend with an infectious laugh. The young mum was described as living “wildly, fully, and beautifully.”

Ahead of the service, her family asked mourners to wear bright colours or leopard print to reflect Tash as the bubbly woman they all knew and loved.

Affectionately known as “pocket rocket” by those who loved her, celebrant Allie Ford explained how Tash was “a wild one with a big appetite for life” even from a young age.

“At school, she was part of different friendship groups which she loved to make sure she would never miss out on anything. Her bubbly, vibrant personality always made Tash very popular,” Allie added.

A tribute from Tash’s godmother heard how she had loved helping to bring her up. She added: “I watched you grow from a little child full of curiosity and mischief into the most beautiful young lady with your own hopes and dreams. You were loved beyond words and will be missed beyond measure.”

In 2017, Tash gave birth to her baby boy, S-Jay. “She was an amazing mum and for years she and S-Jay were inseparable,” celebrant Allie added. “Tash was incredibly proud of the wonderful boy S-Jay is.”

Allie said Tash was the “archetypal party girl”, with a love for leopard print, fashion and bright colours, dyeing her hair many colours over the years.

Despite her small size, mourners heard how Tash was also tough and strong. Allie said: “She was into the gym and at every party she would challenge someone to an arm wrestle, and she’d win. Despite being four foot nothing, she would love to squat people on her back.”

Tash’s friend, Shannon, said she left “a massive mark on our lives.” She added: “She was the first person there for all of us and the one we could count on for anything. If I could describe her in one word it would be a firecracker.

“She had the biggest heart, anytime she would see you she would run at you – she was full of love and laughter. She had the loudest laugh you ever heard.

“She never called me Shannon, always Shaz. We had to be twinning on nights out, we were always the last ones standing.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The hand-written short story has been studied for the first time by a professor at Cambridge University

A story written by Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing shows a man with playful humour embracing his homosexuality, new analysis suggests.

The six-page, hand-written short story known as Pryce’s Buoy has been transcribed and studied for the first time by Sarah Dillon, professor of literature at Cambridge University. She says the story offers new insights that challenge the view of Turing as an isolated, lonely genius.

She said: “We’ve distilled a version of Turing that is a two-dimensional stereotype. He’s come to be seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated.

“His short story reveals a very different man: playful, funny, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.”

Turing is known as a founding figure in computer science, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War, he was instrumental in breaking Germany’s Enigma code, helping the Allies to win the war.

Despite these groundbreaking achievements, Turing was convicted of gross indecency for homosexuality in 1952 and forced by authorities to take hormones. He died in June 1954 from cyanide poisoning and an inquest ruled he had committed suicide. However, many scholars and friends have disputed this finding and said his death was from accidental poisoning.

In the new research, Pryce’s Buoy, which was previously unpublished, has been printed in full, with Prof Dillon believing Turing wrote it in late 1952 or early 1953. The tale involves Ron Miller, a working-class rent boy, and Alec Pryce, a homosexual scientist famed for an invention in his 20s known as ‘Pryce’s buoy’.

The parallel with Turing’s work is clear, according to Prof Dillon, who said she believes the story is a direct fictionalisation of the late 1951 sexual encounter which led to Turing’s arrest.

In the story, Alec feels he’s earned some fun after Christmas shopping and goes looking for a young man. The narrator then switches from Alec’s mind to Ron’s.

Ron is broke, unemployed and looking to make some money from sex. Ron thinks to himself: “If he let someone take him under the arches for 10 minutes he might get five bob.”

Turing then writes: “Ron caught Alec’s eye and gave him a half-hearted smile. It was enough though.”

Sitting on a park bench, the men assess the situation and each other. Ron thinks Alec is shabbily dressed but wealthyish. Alec’s impression of Ron is that he is “not a real beauty, but had a certain appeal. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.”

The pair then walk to a restaurant. Turing writes that Ron “didn’t go in for lah-di-dah ways of talking. It’d come to the same anyway. Bed’s bed whatever way you get into it. Alec thought otherwise.”

Prof Dillon said: “I love the hesitancy, the way it evokes the uncertainty of potential sexual encounter, the ‘am I reading this situation wrong?’ worry, ‘am I going to put my foot in it?’ ‘Am I going to go too far?’ ‘What did they want?’ ‘What do I want?’ ‘Can I back out?’ Turing gets those tensions, the leaning in and backing out. He does it really well.”

The story then abruptly cuts off in the restaurant, mid-sentence at the bottom-right of a page, with the words ‘Ron wouldn’t’.

Prof Dillon said: “There was clearly more and that’s so frustrating. We don’t know where the rest of it went. We don’t know if Turing’s mum censored it. Did it get more sexually explicit? How did it end? That’s frustrating but everything else is so exciting.

“Turing died when he was only 41, and in those years running up to his death, he was trying to understand himself and his world. Literature offered him a really powerful way of doing that. This was the moment when he really felt a release, a chance to be more creative and playful.”

Prof Dillon also found that Turing copied the style of a gay novel, Hemlock And After, by fellow Bletchley Park veteran Angus Wilson. Dillon also argues that Hemlock and After was the novel Turing needed to read at a pivotal moment in his life.

“Wilson showed that homosexuality was normal and an integrated part of many people’s psychological and social lives,” she said. “He also made the law against it look increasingly outlandish.

“Imagine being Turing. You’re a homosexual man, you’ve been prosecuted, you’ve been forced to take hormone treatment. And then just months later, you read this novel. It must have been such a powerful moment for Turing amid so much trauma.”

Turing also added a layer to the story in which Ron thinks about how well his more effeminate-looking acquaintance Eric does with “toffs”, Prof Dillon said. “I love Turing’s shifting focalisation,” she added. “He gets this from Wilson, of course, who gives us access to both his characters’ minds too.

“But in the Turing story that access goes a step further, taking us out into their thoughts about their wider professional lives and social networks. When Turing does this with Ron, he starts to challenge some dominant narratives around interclass pick-ups at that time.”

Prof Dillon’s analysis is published in the Review Of English Studies.