The biggest Irish language arts centre on the island of Ireland is located inside a former Presbyterian church in West Belfast. This year, Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich marks its 35th anniversary of providing an arts and community based programme to the Irish language community.

On the Falls Road in the heart of the city’s Gaeltacht Quarter, the centre runs a year-round programme including concerts, workshops, art exhibitions, and community events. This year, with the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in the city for the first time, many more tourists will be stopping by Cultúrlann to soak up the culture, enjoy a meal, and find out more about the Irish language and culture.

Director of the centre, Cónall Ó’Corra, said the All-Ireland Fleadh arriving in the city is a huge achievement, and one that reflects decades of work. He said this is the perfect time for the huge event to be in Belfast, with a massive boom within the city’s music scene.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Cónall said this time of year is typically busy due to Belfast TradFest and the Féile an Phobail, but the Fleadh will bring with it huge numbers keen to learn more about the city’s Irish-speaking community.

“We’re a bustling building and I’ll be honest, it hasn’t stopped in here since January,” he said.

“This is one of the most densely populated areas with Irish speakers on the island outside of the Gaeltacht regions on the west coast. You can see the language as a living language.

“I do my business all day through Irish, and I hope if people call in they can see this is a grassroots, authentic take on culture.

“We have Irish classes here, as well as plays and concerts. People are coming to the Fleadh and we’re very happy to be part of the fringe programme as well as hosting our own programme.

“If anyone called up, they could expect to call in to get a bite to eat at Bia Loch Lao, to visit our art galleries which display art from all over the island of Ireland, to enjoy the bookshop or pick up a Cultúrlann hoodie. People can call in and see an authentic slice of the Irish language, and see what the community is about.”

Operating as a Presbyterian church until the 1980s, the building housing Cultúrlann became derelict, before becoming Meánscoil Feirste in 1991. The nine pupil Irish-medium secondary school was the first of its kind in the North, and is now Coláiste Feirste in the nearby Beechmount area.

Cónall said the building’s progression to becoming Cultúrlann was a natural development, with their mission statement focusing on promoting the arts through the Irish language, and the Irish language through the arts.

He said the Fleadh Cheoil coming to Belfast for the first time is a testament to everyone who worked hard over years in the Irish language community to make it a reality.

Cónall added: “There’s probably nowhere on the island right now where there’s such a boom around Irish traditional music as in Belfast. Cultúrlann in the 1990s played its part in delivering it, and the Fleadh coming to Belfast is testament to the work of thousands of people over the past 40 years to make it a reality.

“I think it’s a perfect time for the Fleadh to come to Belfast, and for us to showcase to the world what goes on in the city.

“There’s a real revival across the island and globally at the minute in terms of Irishness and what that is. I think for our part in that, we are very keen and passionate that the language takes centre stage in that.

“We operate when there are no festivals on here and provide that service, but we also lean into it when it is happening, so it’s a privilege for us all to be involved in that.”

As they mark 35 years serving the city’s Irish-speaking community, Cónall said for the next 35 years he would like the community to feel it’s a space serving them well.

He said: “We want to keep meeting the expectations of the Irish language speaking community in Belfast as regards artistic programme, concerts, and gigs. We’re looking to be a producing house but also a receiving house for Irish language musicians, for musicians in general across the city.

“We feel it’s our duty and obligation to give areas surrounding here, like Beehcmount, the Whiterock, Ballymurphy, Springhill and surrounding areas, a world class artistic programme. Whether that’s plays, concerts, dramas, and we hope to establish more of a youth music programme.

“If I wanted anything for the next 35 years here, it’s that we want people to feel like this is their building, it’s their asset. It’s the greatest show on earth in here, you get some absolute characters through the door.

“But we’re also the tourist information point for West Belfast, so when people come off the boats and go to the Visit Belfast office facing the City Hall and say they want to see West Belfast, they come here.

“Whether it’s the murals, the Connolly Centre, or whatever it is they like to see, they call here. If tourists are coming to Belfast and visit here they’re getting an authentic slice of the city.

“Authenticity is that we’re not doing this to impress anybody, it’s not because we’re looking people to fawn over Ireland or the language or culture. We’re doing this because it’s who we are, what we’re about, what we aspire to be, and what we seek to bring into the future.”

Cultúrlann has a wide range of events planned this week for the Fleadh fringe, as well as their own programme. This includes daily traditional music sessions and an art exhibition featuring artists from across Ireland. Click here for more details.

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

Northumbria Police said Stephanie, 34, was reported missing on July 23 and was last seen on July 16 near the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle city centre.

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The force describes her as being white, 5ft 5in tall, of slim build, with long dark brown hair.

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “Since being reported missing to us we’ve carried out extensive enquiries to locate her including a review of available CCTV and door-to-door enquiries.

Stephanie has links to South Shields, Gateshead and the wider Newcastle area, as well as Durham, Cleveland, Hartlepool, Darlington and North Yorkshire.

Anyone with information should contact Northumbria Police quoting reference number: NP-20260723-0309.

The US has produced more documented serial killers than any other country, but some states have been linked to far more murderers than others.

A chilling map reveals the number associated with every state, with California recording more serial killers than anywhere else in the country. 

The Golden State has had 128 known serial killers, according to figures compiled by World Population Review, followed by Texas with 90 and Florida with 76.

Ohio ranks fourth with 50, followed by Illinois with 43, Missouri with 41 and New York with 39.

Washington places eighth with 33 known serial killers, while Oregon and Indiana round out the top ten with 32 and 30, respectively.

However, the picture changes dramatically when each state’s population is taken into account.

Wyoming jumps to the top despite recording only eight serial killers. 

Its small population gives it the country’s highest historical ratio, equivalent to roughly one documented offender for every 73,584 residents.

Alaska ranks second with nine documented serial killers, or 12.21 per million residents, while Oregon places third with 32, equivalent to 7.49 per million.

Montana comes in fourth with eight known serial killers, or 6.99 per million residents, followed by Missouri with 41, or 6.54 per million.

West Virginia places sixth with 10 documented killers, equivalent to 5.66 per million people. Maine follows with eight, or 5.65 per million.

New Mexico ranks eighth with 12 documented serial killers, followed by Oklahoma with 23 and Nevada with 17.

Their population-adjusted ratios are closely clustered at 5.64 per million in New Mexico, 5.58 in Oklahoma and 5.18 in Nevada.

The figures reflect documented historical offenders associated with each state. They do not indicate how many serial killers are currently active or living in those locations.

Serial killings account for less than one percent of all homicides, with the overwhelming majority of documented US cases occurring decades ago.

The country experienced its peak between 1970 and 2000, when approximately 70 percent of recorded serial murders took place. The rate has steadily declined since the 1990s.

Although serial killers have operated worldwide, most documented offenders have been active at least partly in the US. Historically, they have most commonly been lone men.

Financial gain is the leading recorded motive, accounting for 32 percent of cases, while 25 percent of offenders reportedly killed for pleasure. 

Anger motivated another 18 percent, and gang activity accounted for six percent.

Many serial killers also favor a particular type of victim or method of attack. 

Ted Bundy, for example, primarily targeted college-aged women and commonly strangled his victims. 

Across all documented cases in the US, shooting was the most prevalent killing method, followed by strangulation and stabbing.

Florida has the third most serial killers, including Aileen Wuornos murdered seven men along the state’s highways between 1989

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Victims were divided almost evenly between men and women, with a median age of 30.

The US has recorded more serial killers than any other country, with 12,236 victims documented nationwide between 1990 and 2020, according to World Population Review.

California recorded the largest total with 1,777 victims, followed by Texas with 984. 

However, those numbers do not account for the vast differences in state populations.

Nearly every state has been home to at least one notorious serial killer whose crimes continue to haunt the country.

California has been home to some of America’s most notorious murderers, including Joseph James DeAngelo, nicknamed the Golden State Killer, and Edmund Kemper, known as the Co-ed Killer. 

The unidentified Zodiac Killer also terrorized the state during the late 1960s. 

In Florida, Aileen Wuornos murdered seven men along the state’s highways between 1989 and 1990, while Illinois was terrorized by John Wayne Gacy, who killed at least 33 young men and boys during the 1970s.

Nearly every state has been home to at least one notorious serial killer whose crimes continue to haunt the country. In New York, David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam, killed six people and wounded seven others

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with most of his crimes committed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Texas was home to Dean Corll, known as the Candy Man, who abducted, tortured and murdered at least 28 teenage boys and young men in the Houston area between 1970 and 1973.

Dennis Rader, the self-proclaimed BTK Killer, murdered 10 people in and around Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. 

In New York, David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam, killed six people and wounded seven others during a shooting spree in 1976 and 1977.

Washington became synonymous with Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, who was convicted of murdering 49 women, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.

Jeffrey Dahmer, meanwhile, murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with most of his crimes committed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It is hoped that the busy area, which has been targeted by anti-social behaviour, can be turned into a destination for visitors

The full details have emerged of a new tree-lined public square that will replace a traffic-dominated junction in Cardiff. The council wants the area to become a destination for visitors and to be almost totally pedestrianised.

In June Cardiff Council set out to create a new public square with views towards City Hall and the National Museum at Kingsway. Now a planning application has been submitted to the council which shows the details of the scheme including how it will look.

Planning documents read: “Around Kingsway heavy traffic, poor pedestrian crossings, and an ageing underpass has created an environment that feels neglected and unsafe and spaces often associated with anti-social behaviour.

“Poor maintenance such as worn road markings and dated surfaces reinforce the sense of decline, while vehicle pollution added to the area’s unappealing character.

“As a result, Kingsway has become a place that people pass through rather than a destination, contributing to a long-term perception of it as run-down.” Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here

According to the plans, the scheme would deliver well-lit clear crossings and wide pavements that prioritise pedestrians and cyclists over cars, integration with Friary Gardens and Cathays Park in addition to other urban greenery, benches, and small cafe spill-outs.

It is also proposed for the site to include public art that draws on the Cardiff’s history and space for events or temporary installations.

The application reads: “The desired user experience is about safety, comfort, and sociability, while the sense of place should balance Cardiff’s civic dignity with an inviting green boulevard that connects heritage, culture, and everyday life.”

Vehicle access to the new square is planned to be “highly restricted”, with the vehicles only being allowed on site for “maintenance purposes” or during events.

Planning documents read: “Cycling infrastructure is integrated to support sustainable travel, connecting to existing and proposed city-wide routes with secure parking and clear wayfinding.

“Whilst the space is not intended to be a primary cycling route, it will facilitate access to the public realm space and to cycle parking closer to Queen Street. “

A convicted felon has been arrested in connection with sparking one of the devastating wildfires that has already destroyed over 700 buildings and forced at least 67,000 evacuations in Washington State. 

Aaron F Farinacci, 37, was arrested without incident and booked on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, one of three blazes that has already become one of the most destructive in the state’s history.

Farinacci pled guilty to manslaughter in 2012 after he killed his father in a fight in 2010, Fox News reported at the time.

He was initially charged with first-degree murder in the case before having the charge dismissed, KHQ reported.  

Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam mentioned his criminal history and that he’d been asked about ‘arson-related behavior’ in the past.

At around 10am Saturday, a witness said he’d seen a man kneeling near the fire, staring into the trees, before he ‘stood up and looked very nervous’ and then walked away, County Sheriff John Nowels said. 

He was initially detained and questioned later that day but was ultimately released.

By Sunday, however, detectives had been able to to link him to the fire and according to Nowels, ‘determined that the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass.’

Over 67,000 people have been displaced in Washington state as wildfires erupted across a dry landscape this weekend and into Monday

Spokane County authorities detained Farinacci with the help of a SWAT team after getting a warrant for his arrest Monday. Police said he had waterproof matches and a butane lighter on him. 

He is being held on $1 million bond. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. 

Multiple wildfires erupted across a dry landscape in Washington state this weekend and continued on Monday as more than thousands remain displaced from the blaze.

The fires in the Spokane area – the state’s second largest city – were among dozens across the Western US, stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. 

Prior to the arson charge, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson had called it ‘likely the worst natural disaster in Spokane’s history.’ 

At least 390 square miles has burned across Washington, with a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Natural Resources saying they have not been contained. 

Body camera footage posted by Spokane Firefighters showed the blazes and the resulting smoke roaring in the middle of a highway as they attempted to tamp down the fire. 

About 700 buildings had been destroyed – a number that was expected to climb – and some 67,000 people were under evacuation orders. The cause was under investigation. 

They fires in the Spokane area – the state’s second largest city – were among dozens across the Western US, stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them

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Other footage of the fire aftermath showed scores of homes burned to the ground, with only their brick fireplaces and foundations remaining, while other houses nearby escaped practically unscathed. 

Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters, but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek. 

The state’s entire congressional delegation asked President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

‘Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,’ they said in a statement.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. 

Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff´s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14. 

Authorities are attempting to make contact with those 14 people whom they have failed to reach by cell phone but are not yet presumed missing, Sheriff John Nowels told a press conference Monday.

Miriam Sim, 76, reacts while talking about her neighborhood largely burning to the ground after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane

Spokane Firefighters give their view of battling the uncontained blazes

A view of a burned neighborhood in the Old Trails Fire

A handout photo made available by the Spokane Valley Fire Department shows the Fairview Fire northeast of Spokane

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Mayor Lisa Brown said authorities were combing the city block by block to assess damages and potential reignition, and couldn’t tell people yet when they could return home.

‘It could be weeks, depending on where your home and property is,’ she said.

‘I think from a historical standpoint, this is likely the worst natural disaster in Spokane’s history,’ Washington Governor Bob Ferguson added.

Ferguson declared a state of emergency on August 1, citing drought conditions that have stretched four consecutive years, unusually high temperatures and high winds exacerbating record-setting wildfires.

Those outstanding reports more likely represented people who had not been in contact since evacuating than people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

Officials said Sunday that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital. Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.

Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.

An American flag stands at a burned structure in a residential area of Westgate after a wildfire

Aaren Hartley, 8, uses a shovel to sift through the remains of his grandparents’ home after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane

Three members of the Spokane Fire Department sit on a curb in front of burned out residential homes in the Balboa neighborhood

A charred vehicle and structures on N. Westgate Pl. are in ruins due to the wildfire

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A lightning-caused fire that has burned over 530 square miles of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon continued to grow Monday. 

The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.

In central Utah, a blaze quadrupled in size over the weekend to nearly 109 square miles by Monday afternoon. 

More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to law enforcement.

Heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines, but forward progression was slowed toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County, officials said. 

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the town’s southern portion, and inmates at the county jail were transferred.

In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at city’s main convention center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.

Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug. 10.

The Spokane fires follow ‘one of the warmest winters on record for eastern Washington,’ which led to a severe snow drought

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the town’s southern portion, and inmates at the county jail were transferred

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A firefighter works to put out a fire at a home as a wildfire burns in Spokane County

The remains of a home destroyed by a wildfire in the Spokane area

Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane.

The Spokane fires follow ‘one of the warmest winters on record for eastern Washington,’ which led to a severe snow drought, said Daniel Swain, a climatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

‘This is a recurring pattern we’re seeing now over and over and over again, starting in the second decade of the 21st century, and now continuing essentially every year,’ he told an online briefing.

He pointed to the devastating fires in Los Angeles last year, major fires in Spain and France this year and in Hawaii in 2023.

The head of Washington’s Department of Natural Resources, David Upthegrove, said the fires in Spokane were among 16 major blazes burning throughout the state of Washington, covering 262,000 acres.

‘This is an extraordinary fire season,’ he said.

An outage map published by local utility Avista showed over 6,445 customers were without power due to the fires as of early Monday.

The biggest of the three fires burning in Spokane, the Old Trails fire, jumped the Spokane River on Saturday afternoon and crossed into the city proper.

We’re all familiar with the idea that you should walk at least 10,000 steps per day. But, as we all know by now, that figure is a load of old waffle.

It was hugely popularised ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, having originated from a pedometer marketing campaign. The reason? The Japanese symbol for 10,000 looked a little bit like someone on a walk.

Still, in 2026, many of us (myself included, to be fair) are obsessing over reaching this gold-standard number, constantly tracking either our fitness watches or our iPhones to see if we’re hitting the mark.

And for good reason, too. One 2019 YouGov study found almost half (45%) of UK adults are sedentary for at least six hours each day, while 46% of working adults walk for less than an hour each working day.

You might prefer to get your walks in all in one go, heading out for an hour each time to be done with it, or you might split it up into bite-sized chunks.

But how many minutes do we need to be walking each day to boost our health? Metro chatted to the experts to find out.

How many minutes you need to walk per day

Walking has proven benefits for health, including improving flexibility, boosting the immune system, and reducing type 2 diabetes risk. What’s more, it can strengthen muscles, improve sleep, and boost mood.

So, if you’re physically able to do so, it’s important to incorporate it into your daily movement.

As Scott Harrison, personal trainer and founder of The Six Pack Revolution, tells Metro, it’s optimal to walk for at east 30 minutes each day.

He describes this golden half-hour as a ‘realistic sweet spot’ that’s vastly achievable for most of us, even when working full-time.

‘It’s long enough for most people to raise their heart rate, improve circulation, and stimulate muscle growth and metabolism while taking part in some meaningful physical activity,’ he says.

‘If you tell people they need to exercise for an hour, many won’t start at all. 30 minutes removes that barrier while still delivering significant health benefits when done consistently.

‘The best exercise is the one you’re actually going to do.’

Scott also recommends adding intervals, which involve walking for one minute at a quick pace, and then the same amount at a slower pace.

He suggests: ‘The most important message is that something is better than nothing.

‘Even 10 to 15 minutes a day is worthwhile, and increasing gradually towards 30 minutes is a realistic and achievable goal for most people.’

Chartered personal trainer and nutritionist Joseph Webb also backs this benchmark to help people towards their weekly exercise goals.

The UK chief medical officers’ guidelines recommend adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise each week, of which walking can form a part.

‘The recommendation to stay active remains important throughout adulthood, but as we get older, maintaining muscle strength, balance and mobility becomes increasingly important too,’ Joseph tells Metro.

‘Walking remains one of the best forms of exercise at any age, but I’d encourage older adults to combine regular walking with strength and balance exercises at least twice a week to help maintain independence and reduce the risk of falls.’

On the upside, walking doesn’t involve any special equipment, and you don’t need to fork out for a gym membership.

But what it does achieve is improved cardiovascular fitness and circulation, and it’s a simple way for us to get up and move around.

Joseph says: ‘Could you do one long walk at the weekend instead? Absolutely, and it all contributes towards your weekly activity. 

‘However, if your goal is to support both your physical and mental wellbeing, I’d much rather see someone walk for 20 to 30 minutes most days than save it all for one day each week.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk

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Rain is finally on the way for parts of the UK after record-breaking heat and drought, but areas of the country which need relief the most will remain dry.

July was southern England’s driest month ever recorded, with the whole of Wales and half of England plunged into drought.

Yesterday marked the 20th day of 2026 when 32C or higher was recorded in the UK, exceeding the previous record of 19 days set in 1995, the Met Office said.

And although outbreaks of rain are expected today in Northern Ireland, Scotland, western England and Wales, the Met Office has forecast a dry day for much of the Midlands, the east and south-east of England with warm sunshine and high humidity.

Temperatures are expected to decrease gradually in the second half of the week, and there is some more unsettled weather forecast for parts of the UK, including a yellow warning for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland.

But the South East will continue to see little in the way of desperately needed rain, the Met Office has warned.

Farming leaders have warned that this year is one of the ‘most severe droughts many farmers and growers have lived through’.

They’ve been dealing with poor yields, struggling to access water for fruit and vegetables, and livestock keepers are using winter feed for their animals.

In July, 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall – 1mm or less – across the whole of the month, the Met Office figures show.

The summer of extreme weather has seen two record-breaking heatwaves, in May and June, that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths, and two more heatwaves in July which have fuelled drought and wildfires.

In the latest heat spike, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has amber heat health alerts in place for the East Midlands, East of England, South East and London until Wednesday morning.

There are also yellow heat health alerts for the North West, South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and The Humber.

The latest high temperatures could put extra pressure on the NHS, with more vulnerable people likely to require medical treatment.

Firefighters remained at the scene of a heathland blaze in Dunwich, Suffolk, on Monday, and crews declared a major incident as they tackled a huge wildfire in the Rhondda valley in South Wales.

Drone footage showed blackened ground and smoke billowing metres into the air over the valley, where South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) said the fire had affected 150 hectares of land, including forest, scrubland and vegetation.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple shared a similar thought when the return of Ted Lasso was announced.

Both Waddingham and Jones appeared in the first three seasons of the hugely popular Apple TV series: Waddingham as Rebecca, the imposing owner of the fictional British soccer club AFC Richmond, and Temple as Keeley Jones, a model-turned-powerful PR executive and Rebecca’s close friend.

But despite their roles in the show’s success — including Waddingham’s 2021 Emmy Award win — neither was sure they’d be asked back for the latest season.

Waddingham told The Hollywood Reporter that upon learning of season four, she wondered: “Am I in it?”

And Temple told the publication she asked her agents the same question: “I was like, ‘Oh, do you think they want me?’”

Turns out that both women were asked back for season four, which follows Jason Sudeikis’s Ted as he returns to coach AFC Richmond’s women’s soccer team.

The feel-good comedy-drama, starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach hired to manage a Premier League soccer team, debuted in 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. It won back-to-back Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2021 and 2022. It originally concluded in 2023 with its third season, which proved divisive among fans, with some accusing the show of losing its way.

A surprise fourth-season revival was then announced in March 2025.

Waddingham and Temple will reunite with Sudeikis, Jeremy Swift and Brett Goldstein for season four, alongside a handful of new cast members, including Sex Education’s Tanya Reynolds, Faye Marsay, Abbie Hern, Jude Mack, Aisling Sharkey and Rex Hayes.

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Waddingham told The Hollywood Reporter that she and Temple became unofficial mentors to the slew of women brought in to play the new soccer teammates.

“I was teasing them, like, ‘Just wait till you see your face on a great big billboard,” Waddingham said. “Like, you f***ing wait!”

However, given the show’s new premise, many of the cast members who portrayed the stars of Ted’s male soccer team will not return.

Recently speaking about the “very difficult” phone calls he had with each individual actor to explain their absence in the new season, Sudeikis said he did so because he “didn’t want them to hear it on the internet.”

“And because I love those guys and we all went through something together,” the We’re the Millers star explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ted Lasso season four premieres August 5 on Apple TV+.

Hello, and welcome to WalesOnline’s live blog for Tuesday, August 4. We’ll be bringing you all of the latest news from across Wales – whether you’re on the move, at home or at work – as well as the latest traffic and travel.

We’ll also be keeping you informed of major news stories from the UK and overseas.

Contribute to the live blog by posting your comments below, or tweet us @WalesOnline to share the news that’s breaking in your area. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

June 7 2026 was a historic day for musical vampires. The stage adaptation of The Lost Boys won four Tony awards and the third season of the TV show Interview with the Vampire, now retitled The Vampire Lestat, premiered on AMC in the US (it arrived on BBC Two in the UK on July 28). In the new season of the show, the French nobleman vampire Lestat is now a rockstar, and the series features original songs and extended musical scenes.

Lestat (played by Sam Reid) carries a legacy rooted in melodrama, opera, alternative music and musical theatre. But while musical vampires were hugely popular on the 19th-century stage (see Heinrich Marschner’s 1828 opera Der Vampyr), the modern musical vampire has been somewhat cursed.

From 2002-05, the musicals Dance of the Vampires, Dracula and Lestat all opened on New York’s Broadway – and all three were epic flops.

While the vampire musical has found success internationally, it’s never had a moment in the sun (or rather, out of the sun) on Broadway. But where Lestat (2005) killed off the vampire musical, TV’s Lestat is resurrecting it. The series has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and The Lost Boys is one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. Here’s what they’re doing right – and where their predecessors went wrong.

Dance of the Vampires

Tanz der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires, 1997) was a smash hit in Vienna before the show travelled to Broadway in 2002. The lavish original production featured a grand gothic castle, thrilling power-ballad music by Jim Steinman and a brooding lead vampire, Count von Krolock.

It also involved some problematic politics and a culturally specific sense of humour. With these challenges, Broadway’s production team couldn’t agree on a direction. While some wanted to remain faithful to the original, others wanted to appeal to American audiences with a “Mel Brooks-ish” comedy. With the latter coming to fruition, Austria’s grand romantic spectacle became pure slapstick.

To its credit, the production did offer some narrative improvements, but the Broadway revamp misses something crucial: a balance between the serious and the camp. While the original featured plenty of humour, crucially, Krolock remained the “straight man”. When Broadway’s vampire became a clown, the tapestry fell apart. It lost the gothic wonder and emotional integrity that made Tanz a great musical.

The Lost Boys

As Lestat says in episode two of the new series, “facts are irrelevant – feels are everything”. “Feels”, after all, are the fundamental principle of both vampires and musicals. Both are certainly known for their passion. On a more base level, both create visceral effects through their excessive spectacles. The “feeling” evoked by horror (and live musicals) is immediate, an experience Linda Williams relates to “body genres”.

Historically, excessive “feeling” and surface appeal have been shunned by critics of the gothic for lacking substance or moral meaning. But defenders of the gothic like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick argue that surface affect and its associated “feels” are valuable in themselves. And just as this principle applies to the gothic, it is also true for musical theatre.

The megamusical – a term that describes large-scale shows such as Les Misérables and Cats – runs on spectacle. Mesmerising scenery and technical innovation are paramount. The centrepiece of The Lost Boys is its flying vampires (something Dracula also had, although the rest of the show failed to match the whimsy).

The Lost Boys looks and feels like an 80s megamusical, retaining that grandeur that was fatally cut from Dance of the Vampires. Its Tony wins for performance and design, and losses for writing, suggest its focus on style over substance – but rather than indicating failure, this seems to be the subgenre’s recipe for success.

Dracula

Dracula is a successful musical in Europe and Asia, but like many vampires, it had a difficult conception. The Broadway production suffered from static blocking, gratuitous female nudity, and, according to critics, “soberly eschew[ed] any temptations to campy indulgence”.

Dracula himself showed no emotion. Actor Tom Hewitt, who had previously starred in Rocky Horror, clearly had a camp vampire bursting to get out, but the production demanded constraint. It was a musical made for the straight male gaze.

The show was later revised in Switzerland, Austria, and South Korea. It gradually borrowed elements from the camp masterpiece Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), from Eiko Ishioka’s costume design to the iconic bleeding cross scene.

Mina’s Seduction was re-blocked into a romantic scene where Mina has more control of the situation. The female nudity was removed, but Dracula was framed as a Twilight-esque heartthrob. The sexual dynamics were transformed: this was now a Dracula for the female gaze. And since women are the primary demographic of musical theatre, and of popular vampire media, this gradual shift directly correlated with its gradual success.

The Vampire Lestat

If vampires are soulless, it stands to reason that they’re not naturally musical. The vampires in the multi-Oscar-winning film Sinners (2025) are attracted to blues music because it is alive and human: everything they’re not.

Some vampires might not be able to sing at all: Stoker’s Dracula praises the sound of the wolves (“what music they make!”) but doesn’t sing with them. In musicals, characters must sing truthfully about their feelings. So how do soulless demons function in this world? To be a successful musical vampire, they must be a failed vampire.

Incidentally, Lestat’s albums are called The Failures. Music has “opened up the batch oven” and his feelings are out of control. He’s an inexhaustible vessel of love and pain: he cries, screams, and sings, expressing feelings he’s not supposed to express. After all the enduring vampires tend to do, Lestat is thriving – and inspiring others – in the cathartic communion of live music.

Broadway’s The Lost Boys also gives its vampires a reason to sing by making the gang a rock band. However, Broadway’s Lestat did not focus on his rockstar era but rather condensed his life story. It missed the opportunity to explore the character’s love of music, to use the musical format to explore Lestat’s identity. In The Vampire Lestat, music is integrated into the show’s structure. It’s the very thing that unravels and reveals the vampire.

There’s a specific intersection where the vampire’s appeal meets the musical’s, and while this intersection was a mystery for Broadway producers of the 2000s, it’s being nailed now. The curse is finally over – and now that the singing vampires have been invited in, who knows what they’ll do next.