By CHRISTOPHER STEVENS, TV CRITIC

Published: 00:07 BST, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 03:03 BST, 19 August 2026

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The vehicle is designed to draw new buyers into the brand: people who might admire Lexus’s reputation for quality but previously viewed it as a marque reserved for larger, more expensive executive cars.

As the smallest Lexus yet, it does that by blending compact crossover practicality with an upmarket cabin and a very contemporary hybrid powertrain.

It is not a conventional mini-SUV in the mould of some of its more anonymous rivals.

The Lexus LBX (Image: Lexus)

At 4.19 metres long, the LBX is compact enough for tight town centre car parks, yet its low, wide stance gives it a more planted and purposeful appearance.

I rather like the way the old Lexus spindle grille has been reworked into what the company calls its ‘Resolute Look’, helping the LBX establish a fresher identity without losing the family connection.

The result is a car that, in my eyes, looks more premium than its footprint suggests.

There are neatly sculpted body panels, pronounced wheelarches and a broad front end, but Lexus has avoided making the LBX overly aggressive.

It is smart rather than shouty, with enough visual interest to stand apart from the crowded compact-crossover market.

The Lexus LBX (Image: Lexus)

That feeling continues inside, where the cabin has to be among the best in class, if not the best, in my opinion.

Lexus has long been capable of producing cabins that feel a cut above the mainstream, and the LBX brings much of that attention to material quality and finish into a smaller package.

The dashboard wraps around the front occupants, while the driver-focused layout follows Lexus’s ‘tazuna’ principle: key information and controls are placed to require minimal movement of the driver’s hands and eyes.

The effect is a cockpit that feels considered rather than cluttered.

There is a light, open ambience up front and good outward visibility, both of which matter in a car likely to spend much of its time negotiating urban traffic.

I found the physical climate controls to be very user-friendly. The Takumi model adds acoustic front side windows and a crisp-sounding Mark Levinson audio system.

The sound system (Image: Lexus)

Lexus also offers different ‘Atmosphere’ themes, allowing buyers to choose colour, trim and finish combinations to better suit their own tastes instead of simply climbing a predictable ladder of equipment grades.

It is perhaps not a car to buy for carrying a family of adults over long distances, however.

Rear-seat space is acceptable rather than generous, which is an inevitable compromise of the LBX’s compact dimensions.

Still, front-wheel-drive versions offer a useful 402-litre boot, while folding the rear seats expands capacity to 994 litres.

All-wheel-drive models sacrifice some luggage capacity, with 317 litres behind the rear seats.

Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder self-charging hybrid system.

It combines petrol and electric power without the need to plug in, recovering energy under braking and using the electric motor to support the engine in day-to-day driving.

The Lexus LBX (Image: Lexus)

Total system output is 136hp, so it is not intended to be a hot hatch in crossover clothing, but it does feel responsive enough around town and on faster A-roads.

The key benefit is efficiency.

Front-wheel-drive versions officially return 61.4–62.7mpg on the WLTP combined cycle, with CO2 emissions from 102g/km. In real-world driving conditions, I found it to be very frugal.

Those figures make the LBX a potentially attractive alternative to diesel for drivers who cover mixed urban and motorway miles, especially those without the ability or inclination to charge a plug-in hybrid or EV.

The engine (Image: Lexus)

Behind the wheel, it was clear to me that Lexus has paid particular attention to the way the LBX drives.

The GA-B platform has been strengthened and revised with a longer wheelbase and wider track, while suspension, steering and braking have been tuned to deliver the brand’s ‘Lexus Driving Signature’ of control, comfort and confidence.

It is a lofty ambition in this class, but the aim is clear: the LBX should feel less like a compromised entry-level model and more like a properly engineered premium car in miniature.

A new nickel-metal hydride battery is designed to be smaller, lighter and more responsive than the unit it replaces, helping the hybrid system react more promptly at lower speeds.

I found that the car’s electric assistance makes pulling away and moving through stop-start traffic smooth and quiet, while the combustion engine takes over more naturally as speeds rise.

That refined character is central to the LBX’s appeal.

Lexus has worked to reduce road noise and vibration, a worthwhile focus in a compact crossover where poor sound insulation could quickly undermine the feeling of quality.

The intention is that, even at this lower price point, the LBX retains the calmness and thoughtful hospitality associated with the larger Lexus range.

It may not be the most spacious compact SUV on sale, nor is it the quickest.

But that misses the point.

The LBX offers a distinctive alternative for buyers who want manageable dimensions, low-effort hybrid motoring and an interior that feels genuinely special.

It is a compact crossover that brings Lexus’s premium values into a more accessible part of the market — and does so without appearing to be a cut-price Lexus.

The lowdown

Price: £36,210 for Premium Plus Design; up to £39,460 for Takumi Design
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol-electric self-charging hybrid
Powertrain: Front-wheel drive or AWD-i all-wheel drive; e-CVT automatic
Power: 136hp combined system output
Engine power: 91hp
Electric motor: 94hp / 185Nm
Battery: 1.0kWh nickel-metal hydride
0–62mph: 9.2 seconds (FWD); 9.6 seconds (AWD)
Top speed: 106mph
Fuel economy: 61.4–62.7mpg (FWD); 58.8mpg (AWD)
CO2 emissions: 102–108g/km (FWD); 110–113g/km (AWD)
Transmission: e-CVT automatic
Warranty: Three years/60,000 miles, with Lexus Relax cover available up to 10 years/100,000 miles subject to annual servicing at a Lexus centre.

The three sisters left with catastrophic injuries after a crash on an Irish motorway that killed five teenage boys ‘who boasted about joyriding days before smash’ have today been pictured.

Niamh and Alma Kinsella, who are in their 30s, are fighting for their lives in hospital after a gang of joyriders, who were driving the wrong way down the motorway, smashed into them. 

Sister Ella Hendricken, who is in her 20s, was also seriously injured in the crash – as well as her seven-year-old nephew. 

Niamh and Alma are understood to have been in the front of the vehicle while the child and Ella were in the back of the car when the collision happened shortly before 3am on Sunday. 

The three sisters and a seven-year-old boy were on their way to Dublin Airport ahead of a family wedding in Britain. 

Ella is understood to have been working as a social worker in Carlow while Niamh is understood to be a PE teacher at a local school. 

Locals have described the family as ‘lovely’ and ‘quiet’.  

The boys who died after their stolen BMW smashed into a Hyundai on Sunday had been ‘terrorising’ several communities with break-ins and car robberies over the previous fortnight.

Kamil Pustkowski was one of five teenagers to die in the collision

Three sisters and a seven-year-old boy had been travelling to Dublin Airport ahead of a family wedding in the UK when they were seriously injured in a head-on collision with a BMW

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All five of the teenage boys – reportedly aged between 15 and 17 – travelling in the BMW died and were identified as Kamil Pustkowski, Joe Carthy, Jeremy O’Brien, Alex McCarthy and Jack Kennedy. 

They died in the two-car collision on the M9, in County Kildare, on Sunday morning. 

Father Tom Little, from a parish in Carlow, said today that the family of those who suffered injuries are ‘bereft with sadness’. 

He told the Irish Times: ‘It is a terrible, sad event. It’s very hard to comprehend what’s happened. Everybody is hoping that those that are injured will make a full recovery.’   

The group of joyriders were suspected of multiple car thefts and burglaries, as well as other serious anti-social activities across the Kildare and Carlow regions for at least the past two weeks. 

They often posted videos of themselves being chased by gardaí. One video shared before their deaths filmed the rearview mirror of a car and was captioned with the words, ‘wrong way.’ 

In a clip posted on TikTok, Kamil Pustkowski can be seen playing loud music and shouting as he films the reflection in his wing mirror, which shows the flashing blue lights of a police car chasing after him.

Alex McCarthy was one of the five boys who died in the collision in County Kildare on Sunday morning

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Joe Carthy also died in the crash on the M9 motorway

Jeremy O’Brien was one of five teenagers to lose his life in the collision 

Jack Kennedy was the fifth teenage boy to lose his life in the crash yesterday 

Kamil Pustkowski is heard saying ‘that’s a sick video boys’ as he attempts to escape the pursuing Garda. The video is captioned: ‘They got rammed get up. Cupra smoked,’ which is slang for ‘escaped’.

In a separate post, the teenager can be seen shakily filming his dashboard as the speedometer increases.

And in other footage, Kamil Pustkowski films out the view from the rear windscreen of a car as police again give chase with flashing blue lights. The video is captioned: ‘No panic zone here.’

Meanwhile, in other social media activity reviewed by the Daily Mail, one of the other boys, Jack Kennedy, has posted images of himself smoking marijuana and wearing balaclavas.

It comes after the Irish justice minister Jim O’Callaghan warned on Monday that criminals driving the wrong way down motorways will ‘end up in jail or in the grave’.

Mr O’Callaghan also said he was seriously considering new legislation to create a specific offence for those who drive the wrong way down a motorway and promised that pursuit training for gardaí will begin this year.

The Daily Mail has since confirmed the teenagers previously shared pictures of the tools they used to steal the vehicles. The high-powered BMW they were driving on the night of the horror smash had been stolen earlier that night and was spotted in several areas near Kildare before the crash.

The scene on the M9 northbound at Junction 3 in Co Kildare

Gardaí are confident the same group of young men had carried out a burglary in the area just hours before they died.

Garda investigators are also probing whether they were part of a number of attempted car robberies in the same region over the course of the night.

All five of the dead teenagers were wearing masks when gardaí came upon the grisly crash scene.

Friends of the teenagers posted pictures of the young men wearing balaclavas and driving cars at dangerous speeds.

One video posted in tribute to Kamil Pustkowski showed a man carrying out dangerous manoeuvres in a vehicle with the comment, ‘this one’s for you, Kamil’.

In another social media post, someone published a picture of a balaclava with the caption: ‘Your bally (sic) you gave me the other day. My heart’s in bits. Please, man. Don’t do this to us, Joe.’

Security sources told how the five youngsters were part of a growing group of teenagers who have been trying to ‘one up’ each other by posting more and more dangerous videos on social media.

‘These young guys have been terrorising communities for weeks if not longer,’ a source told the Daily Mail. ‘They go out and target cars they believe don’t have immobilisers and then go out joyriding.

‘Most of the time they were wearing masks or balaclavas but at times they’d show their faces. They did not care if they were caught as they knew they were underage and that there was little the courts system could do with them.’

The source added: ‘I want to be clear here. These lads were not the only ones who have done things of this nature.

‘It’s becoming a growing social media trend and it’s been a nightmare for gardaí to police because they are often ordered to stand down from pursuits because of the danger that chasing these guys could put the public in.

‘It’s a no-win situation for Gardaí here and now you have four innocent people who have been injured because of this recklessness.’

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the U.S.’s request, South Korean officials said Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump ordered cuts to the exercises.

The allies’ summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning for an 11-day run, just after Trump ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially reduce” them. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to join the U.S. war against Iran.

South Korea’s military said in a statement the ongoing drills with the U.S. would end Friday, not Aug. 27 as initially planned. It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.

Many experts say Trump’s move threatens to hurt combined U.S.-South Korean readiness and eventually weaken their decades-long alliance.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold field training exercises during the command post exercise period.

The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the U.S. -South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War. But it’s also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for war and responded with provocative missile tests.

North Korea hasn’t responded to Trump’s overture. But earlier Wednesday, its state news agency, KCNA, published commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as “frantic” and “extremely dangerous” and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals’ hostilities.

Experts said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear program and expanding military cooperation, won’t likely embrace Trump’s overture anytime soon unless he’s promised bigger concessions. In response to Trump’s previous outreach, Kim suggested last year that he can return to talks only after the U.S. drops its demand of a North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.

Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.

Firefighters are at the scene in Glasgow city centre

An ‘explosion’ has been reported in Glasgow city centre after a van went up in flames near the M8 late on Tuesday evening.

Reports suggest a van ‘exploded twice’ and ‘caught fire’ while parked on a street in the Cowcaddens area of the city. It is said to be underneath the ‘M8 construction zone’.

Images from the scene show a vehicle on fire, with a crowd of onlookers watching as a thick plume of smoke rises.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has told the Record it was first called to reports of a van vehicle fire on Phoenix Road at 11:23pm on Tuesday evening (August 18). Shortly before 1am, a spokesperson confirmed three fire appliances were in attendance at the incident.

The service has not issued any warnings to avoid the area to the public, they added. Phoenix Road is directly underneath the M8’s Woodside Viaduct.

The motorway viaduct is currently closed to allow roadworks to take place and strengthen the structure.

Traffic Scotland, the organisation which runs the country’s motorways, confirmed the M8 was ‘restricted’ this evening from Junction 16 (Craighall) to Junction 18 (Charing Cross).

A statement said: “The M8 is currently restricted in both directions between Junction 16 and Junction 18 due to essential bridge repair works. Expect delays.”

This is a breaking story, with more to follow.

Newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche is opening a path for millions of Americans — including people with felony convictions — to seek restoration of their federal gun rights.

On Tuesday, Blanche finalized a rule and launched a new process allowing certain people barred from firearm ownership to apply for relief from that prohibition.

“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and the federal government should not permanently deprive Americans of a constitutional right without regard to whether they pose a danger to public safety,” Blanche said in a statement.

“This rule establishes a rigorous, commonsense process that protects the public while giving deserving Americans a real path to restoration,” he added.

Under the Gun Control Act, several categories of people are prohibited from transporting, receiving or possessing firearms, according to the ATF. They include people convicted of crimes punishable by more than a year in prison, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, undocumented immigrants and people dishonorably discharged from the military.

U.S. Pardon Attorney Edward Martin said roughly 30 million Americans have lost their gun rights.

The Justice Department’s new process will allow eligible individuals to apply for restoration, though approval will not be automatic.

“Each applicant must establish to the Attorney General’s satisfaction that the circumstances giving rise to the prohibition, together with the applicant’s record, reputation, and subsequent conduct, demonstrate that the applicant is not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting relief would not be contrary to the public interest,” the press release states.

Some groups will “remain presumptively ineligible for relief,” including undocumented immigrants, violent felons and registered sex offenders. Relief granted through the federal process also would not supersede state-level firearm restrictions.

The final rule takes effect in 30 days, when applicants will be able to submit applications online. The Justice Department estimates that about 330,000 people could apply during the program’s first year.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, previously served as deputy attorney general and acting attorney general. The Senate confirmed him as attorney general earlier this month in a 50-49 vote.

He was sworn in on August 10.

Hayden Panettiere’s mother Lesley Vogel has broken her silence on her estranged daughter’s shock death at 36.

Vogel, 70, blasted Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend and convicted felon Brian Hickerson, 37, who in a newly-released police report, was revealed to have been with her when she died from a suspected overdose in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday.

Panettiere and Hickerson had an on-off relationship from 2018 to 2022 that was marred by domestic violence incidents and arrests – with Hickerson serving jail time for abusing her. In recent months they had been seen spending time together once again.

Vogel told NBC News: ‘This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson.

‘There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.’

Vogel claimed Panettiere and Hickerson were still together at the time of her death and said she ‘always knew they were together.’

‘I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry’ she said, ‘it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.

‘I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.’

Vogel broke down in tears as she addressed the death of her son Jansen in 2023 aged just 28, saying: ‘I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace.’

Vogel blasted Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend and convicted felon Brian Hickerson, who was revealed to have been with her when she died from a suspected overdose on Sunday; The two seen in 2018

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Vogel is grieving the loss of her second child – three years after son Jansen died aged just 28 – pictured 2019 – and said ‘I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace’

Weighing in on the timing of the 911 call on Sunday that her daughter was in ‘cardiac arrest’ Vogel said she was concerned because it’s ‘not the typical hour of the day that you are partying, generally speaking.’

Vogel last spoke to her daughter in October, and said they had been ‘texting a bit since then, but not in some time.’

‘No-contact was a choice I made for very specific reasons and, you know, certainly not for lack of care, concern, love’ Vogel added.

She said she had ‘very little information as the investigation was ongoing but that she would be speaking with a detective.’ 

The Daily Mail has contacted Vogel for further comment.

Hickerson and his brother were inside Panettiere’s apartment when the actress suffered a suspected fatal heart attack on Sunday, police said on Tuesday. 

Hickerson and his brother Zach witnessed her final moments in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex, according to a newly released report from the Greenville Police Department. 

An officer at the scene said Zach was ‘very emotional’ as he saw paramedics perform CPR, but added Hickerson did not show any emotion until his partner was declared dead. 

Brian Hickerson allegedly then showed police a ‘bag of medication’ that Panettiere had been taking at the time of her death, kept inside the apartment complex where she was temporarily staying. 

The heavily redacted police report said officers arrived at 1.50pm, and officers found multiple EMS and firemen performing CPR for ‘an extended amount of time’ on the actress, ‘who did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive.’

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said Panettiere’s cause of death remains under investigation, however audio of the 911 call from her apartment showed a dispatcher described it as a ‘cardiac arrest.’ 

A dispatcher could be heard in the audio saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose, and sources told TMZ that Narcan – a nasal medication used to treat an opioid overdose – was also found on a mattress at the property. 

Vogel and Hickerson have a tumultuous history – in May Hickerson slammed Vogel amid a public clash over allegations the actress writes about in her forthcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

‘I do have some things to say about Hayden’s mom: Hayden’s mother is, by far, one of the worst people I’ve ever met in my life,’ Hickerson told TMZ. ‘I just can’t with her – she’s terrible.’

The Heroes star’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was in the apartment where she died alongside his brother Zach (seen together)

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Vogel told NBC News, ‘This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson’ – pictured with Panettiere in 2007

Panettiere previously said she got ‘brutally honest’ in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning about her mother pushing her too hard and doubling as her manager 

An officer at the scene said Zach was ‘very emotional’ as he saw paramedics perform CPR, but added Hickerson did not show any emotion until his partner was declared dead 

The topic that has sparked resentment was Panettiere stating that she had always been bisexual – having preferred females to males ‘a very, very young age’ – but was discouraged from letting others know. 

The Heroes star said Vogel, who managed her at one point, had encouraged her to keep it to herself, so it wouldn’t impact her career negatively. 

In May Vogel told the Daily Mail she was skeptical about the timing and suggested her daughter’s sexuality was not really a secret.

Reacting to her daughter’s public declaration, Vogel said: ‘I do not believe it was being hidden, but there is no historic proof that this is the case.

‘I do think the timing of this coming out is very interesting.’

She added that her estrangement from her daughter was a ‘recent occurrence,’ claiming it began around ‘mid-September’ of 2025.

‘We each are entitled to choose our path in life,’ Vogel said. ‘After 20 years of trauma, chaos, addictions [and] accusations, I felt I had no other option but to choose no contact.’

She added: ‘There will forever be a lingering hope that she will find her own path to inner peace.’ 

Panettiere previously said she got ‘brutally honest’ in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning about her mother pushing her too hard and doubling as her manager.

‘I was so scared of her that approaching her and being honest about my feelings [back then] was not going to get me any positive reaction. This is my way of doing it.’

She also dove into her struggles with substance abuse, postpartum depression and the sudden loss of her younger brother, Jansen, who unexpectedly died in 2023. He was 28.

He suffered from an enlarged heart and aortic valve complications. Before his death, he too struggled with substance abuse. Panettiere, for her part, has struggled with alcohol and opiate abuse.

‘I was shocked that it had gotten that bad,’ she said, referencing her brother’s use of crack and heroin. ‘When he said that he had put those two substances in his body, I was floored. I should have understood better than anybody what he was going through. And of all the people that could have saved him from passing away, it should have been me.’

Panettiere died in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina (pictured) where she was temporarily staying 

With her brother gone and her mother estranged, the actress said she was close to her father, Alan Lee ‘Skip’ Panettiere, and her stepmother, Mekdem.

‘My dad and I have a great relationship,’ she told the publication. ‘I actually went and lived with him and my stepmom for a while, where I was born and raised in Rockland County, and felt like being at home re-grounded me. Being around family reminded me of who I am at my core.’ 

Panettiere first began dating Hickerson in 2018, however, their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges.

Panettiere had spoken of her troubled childhood in the spotlight in recent months, and revealed intimate details of her relationship with Hickerson in her memoir published three months before her death. 

She was mother to an 11-year-old daughter with her ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko, a former boxer turned Ukrainian government official who has full custody of the youngster.  

In her memoir, titled ‘This Is Me: A Reckoning’, Panettiere alleged that Hickerson once beat her so severely that she had to remain in her house for weeks to keep her injuries from the public. 

She said she tried to keep the alleged abuse from the police because she feared the public would find out, and described her relationship as a ‘very dark and complicated time in my life.’

In one incident, Hickerson was arrested in May 2019, and court records show he was charged with injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He pleaded no contest to the allegations in April 2021, and he was sentenced to 45 days in county jail and four years’ probation. 

Just three days before Panettiere’s death, Hickerson had a request to reduce his past felony charges denied by a judge.  

Panettiere’s relationship with Hickerson appeared to end in 2020, and in July of that year she filed for a restraining order against him. The outcome of her request is not stated on court records. 

The Greenville Police Department said in a statement that ‘the preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,’ and an autopsy found ‘no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.’ 

Panettiere died aged 36 on Sunday after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest in a South Carolina apartment complex 

Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya following a life-threatening birth, who she welcomed with former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko – pictured 2010

In 2018, following her split from Klitschko, 50, Panettiere announced she had made the ‘difficult decision’ to sign full custody to her ex, meaning Kaya would move to his native Ukraine 

Discussing the prospect of bringing her daughter back, Hayden insisted that she would not want to take her away from her ‘incredible’ life in Ukraine. She said: ‘By the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to, and selfish of me to try to pull her out of this life that she had been creating’ 

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The star and her on-off real estate agent boyfriend were said to have flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where he is from, one day before she died. 

Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko. 

The star began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas, then gained wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar’s 1998 film A Bug’s Life. 

Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville.

She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress on the show, while her singing produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Panettiere’s film credits include 2006’s Bring It On: All or Nothing, the comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.

Faye Marsay stars as Lizzie Davis in the latest series of Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso, joining one of television’s most acclaimed and anticipated shows as its long-awaited fourth season begins rolling out this month.

Many will recognise the Middlesbrough-born actress for her iconic role as The Waif – a mysterious and ruthless member of the Faceless Men in Game of Thrones.

Faye Marsay as the Waif in Game of Thrones. (Image: IMDB)

The 39-year-old went on to portray Steph Chambers in the acclaimed mining strike comedy-drama Pride, before appearing as Sybil Holland in the Oscar-winning wartime film Darkest Hour alongside Gary Oldman.

Her work across both film and television has continued to span a wide range of genres, including period dramas, crime thrillers and literary adaptations.

Among them was Lady Chatterley’s Lover as Hilda, before more recently appearing in Stephen Graham’s award-winning Netflix hit Adolescence – one of the most talked-about dramas of 2025.

Faye Marsay in Adolescence. (Image: IMDB)

Now, Marsay is back in the spotlight, with audiences introduced to Lizzie Davis, a player on Richmond AFC’s women’s team in the fourth season of Ted Lasso.

The actress’ newest role is a major credit, as the Apple TV+ series became a global success following its launch in 2020, winning multiple Emmy Awards and attracting fans around the world.

Marsay moved from Middlesbrough to Loftus in her youth, and attended Laurence Jackson School in Guisborough before studying at Prior Pursglove College.

Faye Marsay. (Image: IMDB)

Her acting ambitions eventually took her to the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where she won the Spotlight Prize in 2012, before landing a major role in historical drama The White Queen.

While her career has taken her from Teesside to some of the biggest productions in film and television, Marsay’s roots remain firmly in the North East.

With a starring role in one of television’s most popular shows, the Middlesbrough-born actress continues to represent Teesside on an international stage.

A man convicted of murder in Romania travelled to Britain after being released from prison and killed his flatmate in an attack described as ‘strikingly similar’. 

Eugeniu Neamtu, 59, was this week found guilty of fatally stabbing 63-year-old Gheorghe Trica at their Walthamstow, north-east London, flat on February 20.

It was heard at the Old Bailey that the two men had been arguing about money in the moments before Neamtu stabbed his victim in the chest with a kitchen knife. 

Witnesses reported hearing Mr Trica shouting: ‘Give me back those £5’, before Neamtu cried: ‘F**k off, I don’t have any to give you, leave me.’ 

Mr Trica was found lying in a pool of blood on a communal balcony outside the flat a short time later. Despite the efforts of paramedics and police, he died at the scene from a single stab wound to the chest.   

Neamtu was spotted throwing an item over the balcony’s banister shortly after the attack. A police dog was used to search the area and the murder weapon – a black-handled steak knife – was recovered from the garden. 

The ‘dangerous offender’ also made a call to 999, in which he said: ‘There was an incident here and a person is injured. There was an altercation, a man was cut, and I am the perpetrator’ .

Witnesses identified Neamtu as the man who stabbed Mr Trica when police officers arrived at the scene a short time later. 

Gheorghe Trica, 63, was found lying in a pool of blood at the scene and died from a single stab wound to the chest

Following his arrest, he claimed in prepared statements that Mr Trica had threatened to kill him, pushed him down the stairs and made throat-slitting gestures.

He said he picked up the knife from the kitchen to ‘scare’ his flatmate and stabbed him in the chest to protect himself.

Prosecutor Philip Evans KC said: ‘He said that Gheorghe Trica was swearing towards his family members and had been drinking cider from cans.

‘At one point Gheorghe pushed him and he fell down the stairs, and that he had an injury on his rear right shoulder and a scrape on his forehead.

‘He said that Gheorghe Trica continued swearing and making threats towards him and went to grab a chair to attack him with.’

But Mr Evans also pointed out during the trial that, in fact, Neamtu had stabbed a man and tried to cast the blame on his victim on a previous occasion.  

The 59-year-old was convicted in May 2007 of fatally stabbing his housemate Adrian Vas during a drunken row centred around money in his native Romania. 

The incident occurred during August 2006 at the home where Neamtu and Vas were living together.  

Mr Evans said the housemates had been drinking plum brandy and rowed over rent and work that the defendant had agreed to carry out at the property.

During the confrontation, the defendant took up a knife from the hallway and stabbed Mr Vas several times in the chest, jurors were told. 

Neamtu told Romanian authorities that he and Mr Vas had argued, insulted each other and fought with objects to hand, and that it was possible he struck Mr Vas with a knife in self‑defence.

After being arrested, Neamtu claimed in prepared statements that Mr Trica had threatened to kill him, pushed him down the stairs and made throat-slitting gestures

The 59-year-old was found guilty of the crime at the Old Bailey and will be sentenced on Friday, August 21

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In later accounts, he said that he picked up a knife because he was afraid and that Mr Vas had provoked him, the court was told.

The Romanian court rejected the defendant’s claim of self‑defence.

Mr Evans said: ‘The prosecution in this case relies on this previous conviction because of the striking similarities between the circumstances of that offence and the allegation you are concerned with in this trial.

‘In both cases the defendant was involved in a drunken argument with an associate over money. In both cases he took up a knife from within the home.

‘In both cases he stabbed the other man in the chest. In both cases he later claimed that he acted in self‑defence.’

Neamtu’s earlier murder conviction can only now be reported following the conclusion of his trial for the killing of Mr Trica. 

He was released from prison in Romania in 2023 and moved to Walthamstow, where he carried out his latest attack just three years later.  

Before the week-long trial began, Mr Evans had asked for the full details of the earlier stabbing to be put before the jury because of its ‘powerful probative evidence’ in the new case.

He pointed out many aspects of the two cases were the same and the fact Neamtu would have known his second victim, Mr Trica, might die if he was stabbed in the chest.

During legal argument, Mr Evans said: ‘The court in Romania in 2007 rejected the argument he did not intend to inflict injury in 2006. This is directly relevant to a key issue – was it to scare him or cause serious bodily harm?’

Defence barrister Paul Hynes KC argued it would be too prejudicial to his client for the full circumstances to be shared with the jury.

Judge Richard Marks KC allowed some details to be put before the jury but not that the first victim had in fact died from stab wounds to the heart and lungs, or that Neamtu had been convicted of his murder.

In his ruling, Judge Marks told the prosecution: ‘In fairness, I am not proposing to allow you to adduce the consequences of the death.’ 

Neamtu, of Westbury Road, Walthamstow, was assisted by an interpreter in court. He denied murder but declined to give evidence in his trial.

The jury deliberated for three hours to find him guilty of murder.

Following the verdict, Judge Marks told jurors the victim in Romania had died and remanded the defendant in custody to be sentenced on Friday, August 21.