The former PC met the girl through his policing duties

A former Cambridgeshire police officer had an “inappropriate” relationship with a vulnerable teenage girl. A gross misconduct hearing was held on Tuesday, September 1, at Huntingdon police station for the former Cambridgeshire PC Neil Woodley, after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The IOPC found that between June 2022 and April 2023, Woodley had an “inappropriate personal relationship with a girl in a vulnerable position”. The former PC met the girl through his policing duties, and she was known to police because of her history of mental health difficulties.

Woodley attended to incidents involving her in his role as a response officer. After getting the girl’s contact details for a policing purpose, he used them to communicate with her in a personal capacity.

Messages exchanged before her 18th birthday used inappropriate terms. Woodley signed off messages with kisses, and also called her “hun”. He also wrote: “If I was 20 years younger, I would genuinely ask you out for a drink” and repeatedly offered her a “hug”.

The IOPC hearing also found that Woodley failed to discharge his duties and responsibilities by not taking appropriate safeguarding action after receiving messages from the girl in which she disclosed welfare issues.

He failed to seek support on her behalf or share information through appropriate channels on several occasions. His actions came to light in April 2023 after a friend of the girl raised concerns about the nature of her contact with Woodley.

The misconduct hearing found Woodley breached the police standards of professional behaviour relating to duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.

It concluded that he would have been dismissed if he was still serving as a police officer. The police barred list has also been updated to reflect the outcome of the hearing.

IOPC director of engagement Emily Barry said: “The public rightly expect police officers to maintain professional boundaries and safeguard vulnerable people they encounter through their duties.

“Former PC Woodley’s actions represented a serious breach of the standards expected of police officers. He developed an inappropriate personal relationship with a child in a vulnerable position that he met through his role and failed to take appropriate action when she disclosed serious welfare concerns.

“Officers hold positions of trust and must always act with integrity and professionalism. Where they fail to do so and abuse their position, they will be held to account.”

Following its investigation, Woodley was also sent to court and charged under section 170 of the Data Protection Act (2018) for knowingly or recklessly retaining personal data without consent. On April 4, 2025, he pleaded guilty at Cambridge Magistrates Court and was fined £957.

After his sentencing, in July 2025 he faced an accelerated misconduct hearing organised by the force. He was dismissed with immediate effect for discreditable conduct as a result of his criminal conviction.

By JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER

Published: 06:53 BST, 4 September 2026 | Updated: 10:47 BST, 4 September 2026

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm has been targeted by rustlers who have stolen 11 of his sheep.

Police are investigating the theft at the Cotswolds property – with the former Top Gear presenter demanding the return of the animals and warning thieves against any further raids, saying: ‘We’re armed.’

Clarkson found out about the suspected late-night raid when he went to count his flock with co-star Kaleb Cooper.

They discovered that only 16 of his 27 easycare breed sheep were in the remote Cotswolds field.

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Clarkson spoke of his anger at the theft, telling The Sun: ‘It’s a farm. We’re armed. Just so they know.’ He added: ‘It p***** me off. Honestly, it just p***** me off.’

He said the sheep were worth more than £2,000 at market with lambs worth up to £8,000 for meat – and added that he was now worried that other livestock might have been stolen from the farm in Oxfordshire.

Clarkson believes the sheep, which were featured on series five of his Amazon Prime show, were taken at night or on a day when camera crews were not present. 

Asked whether he believed the show had made the farm a target, he said: ‘It’s more likely to make you a target than less but I still don’t think they’ve been stolen because they’re on Diddly Squat. How can you [stop it] if someone’s determined to steal your livestock?’

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Jeremy Clarkson says 11 of the easycare breed sheep from his Diddly Squat farm have been stolen

The sheep have featured on the Amazon Prime series Clarkson fronts

Last month Clarkson said the harvest at Diddly Squat was ‘f*****’ because of the scorching summer.

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The farm and pub owner posted a screenshot of the BBC weather forecast for nearby Chipping Norton showing a high of 29C (84F) to Instagram with the caption: ‘Harvest already f*****. May as well just enjoy it now.’

Filming has started for a sixth series in recent months and it does appear likely that the focus will be on the record-breaking weather this year and the challenge it has posed for farmers.

The 1,000-acre farm has previously produced traditional crops including wheat, barley and rapeseed alongside potatoes, mustard and clover.

But Clarkson said earlier in the summer that he had deliberately left 200 acres uncropped this year because planting wheat or barley would have guaranteed financial losses.

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He warned it was becoming ‘quite simply impossible’ to make money from growing food and warned more farmers could be left with little choice but to use their land for other means.

Clarkson at the premiere of the new series of The Grand Tour on Wednesday

In 2021, Clarkson told The Times that avoiding inheritance tax had been ‘the critical thing’ in his decision to buy the land in 2008. He did not start farming it himself until 2019.

During a protest in 2024 against proposed reforms by Keir Starmer’s Government to the tax he said he had actually bought it ‘to shoot’.

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The Government had proposed imposing a 20 per cent levy on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1million from April this year, ending the 100 per cent tax relief which had been in place since the 1980s.

But after months of protests by farmers – including tractors bringing traffic to a halt in Westminster – the Government raised the threshold to £2.5million.

In its first year the farm – originally bought by Mr Clarkson for £4.45million – made just £144 in profit before making less than £15,000 in the year from 2023 to 2024 and losing £5,000 in the year from 2024 to 2025.

He wrote last year: ‘If those numbers are typical, it means farmers are working twice as hard as anyone else and not even getting the minimum wage.’

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Earlier this year, Clarkson said he had been diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer which had been discovered early.

He later told The Sunday Times a PSA test in April showed no sign of cancer and he was in remission.

On Wednesday he appeared at the premiere of the latest series of The Grand Tour, which will see Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Engelsman take over from him, James May and Richard Hammond.

A leading lawyer has accused the Irish Prison Service of falsely detaining his drugs accused client – by driving him to court through Northern Ireland.

Ciaran Mulholland says Patrick Irwin, charged over a €100,000 (£86,000) cocaine seizure, was brought from Dublin to Ballyshannon District Court in Co Donegal in a prison van that crossed the border into Northern Ireland – and argues that the officers had no legal basis to keep him in the vehicle.

And he says that the staff from the Irish Prison Service, or IPS, acted illegally by bringing Mr Irwin outside the Republic into the north – where they have no powers of detention.

“The fact that an IPS escort felt it was appropriate to drive through a neighbouring jurisdiction without authority is not merely reckless and irresponsible but illegal,” the Dundalk, Co Louth criminal defence solicitor told the Irish Mirror.

A spokesman for the Irish Prisons Service declined to comment when contacted. He said: “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoner cases.”

But sources have confirmed that the Prison Service van did make the journey via Northern Ireland, as revealed by Mr Mulholland.

The sources said the van went into NI by mistake and pointed out that apps such as Google Maps do send drivers heading from Dublin to Donegal via Northern Ireland as one route.

The sources said it was not immediately clear to the crew that they had crossed the border – as it is in effect an invisible frontier. And once they realised they were in NI they were so far in that they believed it was quicker to keep going to reach Ballyshannon than retrace their route back into the Republic.

Mr Mulholland has now written to the head of the IPS to demand answers about the incident – in which he says Mr Irwin was driven in Northern Ireland for up to an hour on the journey from Wheatfield Prison in Dublin to Ballyshannon District Court in Donegal last Wednesday.

Mr Irwin 44, of Carrowgubaddagh, Ballisodare, Co Sligo, is charged with having one kilo and nine grammes of cocaine for the purpose of selling or supplying to another, at Keadue West, Co. Roscommon on August 16 – and was in court in Ballyshannon last Wednesday over a bid for bail.

And, speaking at the start of last Wednesday’s hearing – at which he failed to get an independent surety accepted – Mr Irwin told Judge Ciaran Liddy that he had been driven through Northern Ireland without authorisation.

Now Mr Mulholland, who is representing Mr Irwin, says the van taking the accused to Ballyshannon court from Dublin went via Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh, after crossing the border in Co Cavan.

And that, he says, means the van was outside the Republic for around an hour – with his client in the back.

Mr Mulholland says he wants an independent probe into the incident: “This incident is of considerable gravity and warrants an urgent independent investigation, however given the dysfunctionality of our criminal justice system, we remain one of the few EU members without a Prison Ombudsman hence an absence in reality of impartial oversight and no watchdog to scrutinise the situation.

“The fact that an IPS escort felt it was appropriate to drive through a neighbouring jurisdiction without authority is not merely reckless and irresponsible but illegal.

“It questions the legality of our client’s imprisonment in the neighbouring Northern jurisdiction but also raises possible road traffic offences whether the vehicle was even insured to travel outside the 26 counties of the Republic.”

In his letter to the IPS, Mr Mulholland also refers to an allegation made by Mr Irwin in the court hearing last week that he had been threatened when he raised the fact that the van was in NI.

The Donegal Daily website quoted Mr Irwin as saying in the hearing: “On the way here, I was brought into Northern Ireland, into Enniskillen, without authorisation. I was threatened that if I didn’t shut up, he would throw me out by the neck.”

Sources say an IPS investigation is now underway into the entire incident, but they strongly disputed Mr Irwin’s allegations.

Mr Mulholland said the prison service could now be liable for falsely imprisoning Mr Irwin. He said in a statement to the Irish Mirror: “Whilst on a superficial level it could be said that we are simply dealing with the Irish Prison Service’s incompetence, that is simply not good enough particularly when we have senior Gardaí objecting to bail days earlier and then have a blasé IPS escort travel across an international border outside the jurisdiction for one hour for their own geographical convenience.

“The deprivation of liberty by the State must at all times have a clear and lawful basis in which administrative convivence cannot be substituted for a lawful authority.

“The IPS is now potentially liable for the false imprisonment of Mr Irwin whilst held in Northern Ireland without any lawful authority and I have made representations to the IPS Director General and Justice Minister in this regard.”

Mr Irwin was due back in court again in Sligo on Thursday morning.

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Russell Howard has announced the death of his baby boy Felix who passed away soon after his wife Cerys Morgan gave birth to him earlier this year.

The comedian, 46, shared the devastating news on his Instagram page on Friday morning and thanked the National Health Service (NHS) for their support.

Russell explained he and his NHS doctor wife are now launching the Felix Foundation in their son’s memory, to help other families who experience child loss.

The TV star, who did not publicly announce they were expecting a second child, revealed Russell will be hosting a gala to raise funds for the charity.

Sharing the news online, Russell said: ‘Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth.

‘During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.

The comedian, 46, shared the devastating news on his Instagram page on Friday morning and thanked the National Health Service (NHS) for their support (pictured 2024)

‘We were assigned a bereavement midwife, Lauren, who had experienced a similar tragedy.

‘After losing her own baby, Lauren retrained as a midwife so that she could help other families going through what she had been through.

‘Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words. During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy. We could hold him, talk to him and tell him just how much we loved him.

‘Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix.

‘We were overwhelmed by the care we received, and we made a promise to each other: that we would try to help other families who find themselves facing the same devastating circumstances.

‘And so, in Felix’s memory, we are establishing The Felix Foundation. The foundation will aim to relieve the needs of parents, siblings and other close family members affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement by:

‘Supporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care, through yearly grants to enable them to access resources such as counselling qualifications.

‘Funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance.

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Sharing the news online, Russell said: ‘Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth’

‘Providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings, supporting the care, wellbeing and dignity of babies and their families.

‘Providing information, guidance, signposting and other resources to affected families.

‘Raising awareness of late miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal loss and related bereavement, and the support needs of affected families.’

In his statement, Russell revealed he will be hosting a charity gala with his famous comedian friends to raise money for the foundation.

He said: ‘To help launch the foundation and raise vital funds for this work, I will be hosting a very special charity gala at The 02 in London on 8 February 2027.

‘Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of friends and colleagues, we have managed to put together an incredible line-up of comedians, including:

‘Michael Mcintyre, Jimmy Carr, Aisling Bea, Guz Khan, Greg Davies, Mo Gilligan, Michelle Wolf and John Bishop.

‘Every single one of these incredible performers is giving their time completely free of charge. I will never forget their generosity.

‘We would absolutely love it if you could join us for what promises to be a very special evening: a night of comedy, laughter and celebration, all in aid of a cause that means everything to our family.’

He concluded: ‘The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.’

‘We would love it if you came along and helped us make Felix’s legacy something truly special.’

If you have been affected by this story, you can call Child Bereavement UK on 0800 028 8840 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or email helpline@childbereavementuk.org 

Teenage wing sensation Noah Caluori has revealed that he spent the majority of his breakthrough season – featuring 18 tries in 13 Prem games and an England debut – playing with a detached ligament in his wrist.

The 19-year-old sustained the injury when he came down heavily on his arm while competing for a high ball in Saracens’ defeat by Exeter in December.

After consulting both club and national team coaches, Caluori opted to play through his pain and wait until the summer for an operation to reconnect the ligament.

“It would just hurt,” said Caluori. “A lot of movements hurt, I had to modify a lot of my gym plans, catching the high balls hurt.

“I learnt how to manage the pain. That’s it, really.

“I came to the conclusion that I’m going to push for this. I’m going to hope that I go on tour [with England], I’m going to try for the best season I can for Saracens, try and help us get to the play-offs.

“You just ride the adrenaline and learn to get on with it.”

Caluori posted a picture on social media in July of himself in a hospital bed with a heavily bandaged right wrist.

Explaining now why it felt right to keep playing, he said: “Saracens and England gave me the freedom. If it was too bad and I wasn’t able to play, they would have not let me.

“But they gave me the freedom to choose, I chose what I wanted to do, and then you’ve just got to live with your decision. I was pretty happy that I’ve done it.”

Fin Lawlor is now able to start high school with a functioning arm

An 11-year-old boy who had all four limbs amputated after contracting meningitis has been fitted with a new bionic arm in time for starting high school.

Fin Lawlor developed meningococcal septicaemia when he was just two years old and had to have both his legs and arms amputated. Before going to high school, the youngster wanted to be able to perform basic tasks such as using a ruler and carrying a bag to school.

And this week, Fin, from Hereford, was fitted with an advanced bionic arm, a Hero PRO from UK bionics company Open Bionics.

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After trying out the arm for the first time, Fin said: “I’ve picked up a bottle and opened it and was able to pick up a pen. I could also pick up and unlock my phone. It feels amazing. I just wanted it to help me out and make my life easier.”

Within an hour of being fitted, Fin had put his new bionic arm to the test.

“When I was fitted, I was amazed at the design, it looks so cool. After the fitting, I practised writing using the key thumb mode, and was able to use a ruler and draw a straight line on paper.

“I also carried a backpack, grabbed fruit, but had to adjust the sensitivity on the grip as it crushed a honeycomb square.”

This is the first time Fin has worn an upper limb prosthesis. On his left side, where the amputation is at his wrist, he has a partial palm and thumb and already manages well day-to-day. His right side, amputated closer to his elbow, has less function, and it’s this side Fin wanted a Hero PRO to support him at school.

Fin was just two years old when what his parents thought was a cold or flu turned critical. Mum Sarah Bonner said he had become “a little floppy,” with a few pimple-like spots on his shoulder.

Once at hospital, his condition declined dramatically over the next three hours, until doctors made the decision to place him in an induced coma to stop the infection spreading.

After two weeks in hospital, surgeons amputated his arms and both legs below the knee. Fin has since had 10 operations in total, including having pins inserted into his leg bones.

Sarah said: “It was heartbreaking after the amputations to see such an active toddler try to get up and run around, but not being able to. Even though Fin was only two years old, after the amputations he refused to let me put black socks on his legs.

“I think the colour triggered the memory of waiting for the amputations. We made it our mission to get him leg prosthetics that will keep up with his energy and resilience.

“Today he loves kung fu, football, and swimming. The next chapter is helping him get back to riding his bike more confidently, and trying out tennis and ping pong, which is where I think the Hero PRO will really help him build that confidence.” commented mum.

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Speaking of the bionic arm, Sarah said: “It all happened much faster than we expected, from finding out about the Hero PRO, to a check socket appointment in June, we didn’t think it would be ready before school, but the clinical team worked so hard to make it happen for Fin.”

Fin’s Hero PRO was custom-built to his shape and individual requirements. It uses myoelectric sensors that detect muscle movements and convert them into intuitive, proportional bionic hand movements.

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Samantha Payne MBE, Co-founder of Open Bionics, said: “Starting secondary school is such a big moment for any child, and it means so much to know Fin is walking into it with more independence and confidence with his new bionic arm.

“We wish Fin the very best luck at his new school.”

Relations between London and Moscow reached another peak of tension in August over the UK’s support for Ukraine. The success of Ukraine’s long-range strikes against targets deep inside Russia, with the help of UK-made drones, and the UK’s commitment to supply blueprints to help it manufacture long-range missiles, led the Kremlin to accuse the UK of deliberately escalating the conflict.

Russia’s London embassy promised that the deeper the UK’s involvement in the war “the higher price it will pay”.

The embassy accused the UK government of “seeking to contain Russia and inflict maximum damage on it by proxy”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, described Britain as “methodically and regularly” fuelling war and “hatching schemes” to sabotage peace. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that British military targets could now be attacked because of Ukrainian strikes using British weapons.

The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, responded by reaffirming Britain’s position, saying the UK would “support Ukraine 100%”.

But Russia is presenting Britain not simply one of Ukraine’s principal supporters, but an influential member of an anti-Russian coalition, operating behind the scenes and pursuing its objectives through proxies.

The Kremlin’s messaging is crediting the UK with outsized influence. But this image of British power closely resembles Soviet thinking exactly 100 years ago. In the mid-1920s, the Soviet leadership made similar accusations about British support for another country on its western border. This time it was Poland.

Poland and Soviet Russia had fought a bitter war in 1919–20, ending in a stunning Soviet defeat. Soviet hostility towards Poland was therefore hardly surprising. Nor was distrust of Britain, which had intervened in the early years of the “Russian civil war” in support of the Bolsheviks’ enemies, the counter-revolutionary “White Armies”.

But by the mid-1920s, these real antagonisms had become entangled with a conspiratorial understanding of international politics. Britain, still the world’s preeminent imperial power, increasingly appeared in Soviet thinking as the hidden hand behind apparently independent threats to the USSR.

Poland, in this way, occupied a position remarkably like that assigned to Ukraine in Russian rhetoric today. Soviet officials struggled to imagine Poland acting entirely on its own. From the early 1920s, Soviet military intelligence and the security services reported that Britain was actively organising an anti-Soviet bloc including Poland and other border countries that could be pushed into war against the fledgling Soviet Union.

These suspicions deepened in May 1926 when Józef Piłsudski, a nationalist figure who had led the Polish Army to victory in 1920, seized power in Poland. Senior Soviet officials interpreted Piłsudski’s coup as having been inspired by Britain.

The head of the increasingly powerful soviet secret police, the OGPU, Feliks Dzerzhinsky, was convinced the coup was “entirely supported by England” and warned Josef Stalin that Poland now intended to seize Ukraine and Belarus. Another intelligence assessment from senior police officials described Piłsudski vividly as Britain’s “guard dog” in eastern Europe.

Reports from influential figures such as the Soviet representative in Warsaw, Pyotr Voikov and Soviet diplomat Maxim Litvinov – who arguably had access to better information and who contradicted this narrative – struggled to be heard. When Litvinov complained about the Soviet tendency to see “the malevolent hand of the British government everywhere”, Stalin disagreed. He insisted that there was an international conspiracy against the Soviet Union, which would make another war inevitable.

The ‘hand of England’

Fears that Britain would manipulate Poland into war intensified in June 1927, when Voikov was assassinated by a Russian émigré in Warsaw. Stalin immediately wrote to his closest ally, Vyacheslav Molotov: “I feel the hand of England in the murder of Voikov. They want to provoke a conflict with Poland. They want to repeat Sarajevo.”

Soviet hostility was not entirely detached from reality. Only weeks earlier, British authorities had raided the Soviet trade mission in London and uncovered what it said was evidence of clandestine Soviet activity and had broken off diplomatic relations. This was seen in Moscow as evidence of British hostility towards the Soviet Union.

But Stalin went considerably further, insisting that Britain was coordinating hostile activity against the Soviets by countries such as Poland and sponsoring assassinations. In the days following the Voikov murder, the main Soviet newspaper Izvestiia accused Winston Churchill of directing a secret group of assassins, charged with the elimination of Soviet officials.

The Soviet commissar of foreign affairs, Georgy Chicherin, summarised this understanding of British power clearly. In 1928, in discussion with the king of Afghanistan, he argued that Britain was “always striving to push others instead of itself into military actions against us”. This image of Britain persisted into the early 1930s, until the rise of Nazi Germany reorientated Soviet perceptions of the principal military threat.

A familiar view of British power

Things are very different today. The Soviet leadership badly exaggerated the danger it faced in the 1920s. Neither Britain nor Poland was preparing an anti-Soviet war that Stalin increasingly forecast. By contrast, Britain is not only providing substantial military and political support to a country fighting Russia, it is playing a prominent role in coordinating a coalition of other countries to do the same.

There is a strong parallel in the way that British power is perceived in Moscow. As in the 1920s, the Russian government’s rhetoric once again presents Britain as a malevolent force, working behind the scenes in the war in Ukraine. This is in tune with the Russia government’s wider framing of Nato’s role in the war – yet Britain has been given an outsized role in this.

As former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev remarked in 2023: “Britain was, is and will be our eternal enemy.”

It’s interesting to note that Russia’s new standard history school textbook, first published in 2023, has an account of the events of the war scare in 1927 which reinforces this idea that Britain was playing a leading role in an international campaign against the Soviet Union.

As relations with Britain have deteriorated, these ideas have found fresh relevance in the official history now being taught to a new generation of Russian students.

Reality star Gemma Collins has said her ‘whole world apart’ after letting the cameras in to her life for a new documentary series

Gemma Collins has said her ‘whole world apart’ after letting the cameras in to capture what she thought would be a year of planning her wedding and starting IVF treatment.

The former The Only Way is Essex star, dubbed ‘The GC’, is giving fans an intimate look at her life in a new eight-part Sky documentary series, titled Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once.

But when Gemma started filming for the fly-on-the-wall series, things dramatically changed in her personal life. Speaking in a newly released trailer, the reality favourite is heard saying: “I thought I had it all planned out. Marriage, babies, but the minute I started filming this show, my whole world fell apart.”

Sharing a video of her filming some content for the upcoming release , Gemma shared on Instagram: “For the past year, I’ve let the cameras into my life in a way I never have before. It’s been a year I could never have predicted. A rollercoaster of emotions, with some of the happiest moments, some of the hardest, and times where I’ve felt more vulnerable than I ever thought I would.

“I’ve shared parts of myself and my life that I’ve always kept private, and looking back now, this film means more to me than I could ever put into words. Thank you to Sky and Navybee for treating my story with so much care, kindness and sensitivity, and for allowing me to tell it in my own way.“I want to thank you all for baring with me and I hope you look forward to watching the show. This is me, my family, my life… everything, all at once. Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once coming to SKY on the 15th September.”

The release of the docuseries comes after Gemma announced the heartbreaking loss of her mother, Joan. She told fans her “heart is shattered into a million pieces” as she confirmed the news on social media in July.

She shared a black and white picture of Joan as a young woman and wrote in view of her followers: “Today our beautiful mum passed away peacefully surrounded by LOVE.

“Mum, today, every piece of my heart left with you. No words will ever be enough to thank you for loving me, guiding me, and being my mum. You gave me life, you gave me strength, and you gave me memories that I will carry for every day I have left.

“The house will never sound the same without you. Your voice, your smile, your little ways, they are woven into every corner of my life. I will miss you more than I could ever put into words.”

Joan had been in hospital several times over the past few years. In 2024, Gemma revealed that Joan had been unwell, informing fans that “no day is to be taken for granted.” She was rushed into hospital again last month, and Gemma shared at the time that her mum had contracted pneumonia.

Gemma continued her tribute: “I hope you are finally free from pain. I hope you can walk again, laugh again, and feel light. I hope you are surrounded by peace and by everyone who has gone before you, watching over us with love. Thank you for every hug, every sacrifice, every lesson, and every moment.

“Thank you for being my mum. It has been the greatest privilege to be your daughter. Until we meet again, I will carry your love with me. I will look for you in the sunrise, in the flowers, in the birds singing, and in the quiet moments when I need you most.”

The reality TV favourite rounded off her emotional post: “Sleep peacefully, my beautiful Mum what gives me comfort was today we was all with you. You will be loved forever, missed every single day, and never, ever forgotten.”

Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once. begins on Sky and NOW on September 15

Alderman Jones told the LDRS: “The safety of people using our facilities is our top priority. Like many leisure facilities, our flexible booking system helps us manage ticketing and tackle anti-social behaviour, especially during periods of high demand. We offer a range of concessions, season tickets, and free early morning swims for under-16s and over-60s.

Maura Higgins looked ready to get stuck in as she arrived at the Dancing With The Stars rehearsals on Thursday after it was reported she is embroiled in a ‘fix row’ with her co-stars. 

The 35-year-old Love Island star built her US fame by hosting an American spin-off of the dating series and finishing as runner-up on The Traitors US. 

Now she’ll be waltzing her way on to American TV screens once again – while partnered with none other than Strictly judge Shirley Ballas‘s son Mark.

Yet Maura’s appearance on the show has already ruffled some feathers before the competition has even started. 

After her pairing with Mark was revealed and the star being seen rubbing shoulders with judge Bruno Tonioli on a night out, her co-stars are allegedly not best pleased. 

A source revealed: ‘Maura’s been rubbing everyone up the wrong way, even before their first spray tans have dried.

‘She was desperate to be partnered with Mark, who’s hugely popular, and was dead against Gleb, who’s now out of a job. It’s as if what Maura says goes.’

The star opted for a white halter neck sports top and black gym leggings before tying a black jumper around her neck as she headed to rehearsals 

The Love Island star, 35, is partnered with none other than Shirley Ballas’ son Mark for the competition – who she met on the US Traitors last year 

They told The Sun: ‘She’s even made sure to get close to judge Bruno Tonioli and wasted no time posing arm-in-arm with him after a night out. 

‘It’s not gone unnoticed within the cast that she’s being favoured. It’s as if she’s being set up to win.’ The Daily Mail has contacted Maura’s representatives for comment.

Maura appeared to have already grown close to judge Bruno, as they linked arms on a night out together on Tuesday evening.

And Maura and Mark already know each other after they both appeared on the US Traitors earlier this year and are now set to embark on a new challenge together.

Their pairing comes after Maura was very vocal about a particular professional dancer she did not want to be partnered with. 

She sparked controversy after she said she didn’t want to face the Russian professional dancer Gleb Savchenko because she doesn’t agree with the ‘way he talks about women’.

She said she will be remaining fiercely ‘loyal’ to her best pal and former DWTS contestant Brooks Nader, who dated Gleb.

Gleb has since responded to Maura explaining he has ‘never heard’ of the star and insisted he will not ‘lose any sleep over the opinion of someone I’ve never met’.

In a statement to the Daily Mail he said: ‘Until I was asked to comment on this story, I’d genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura, so I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I’ve never met.

Yet Maura’s appearance on the show has already ruffled some feathers before the competition has even started

After her pairing with Mark was revealed, the star was later seen on a night out with judge Bruno Tonioli – and her co-stars are allegedly not best pleased

They added: ‘She was desperate to be partnered with Mark, who’s hugely popular, and was dead against Gleb, who’s now out of a job. It’s as if what Maura says goes’

Mark also shared a cheeky video of the pair in training as she took a tumble and he joked: ‘So how’s it going with Maura?’ 

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‘It’s odd to publicly attack someone you’ve never even met, but if that’s how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that’s her choice.

‘I’ll stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else.’

Gleb and Brooks endured a ‘messy’ split after they sparked a romance during their time partnered on the show in 2024.

Maura told E! News: ‘I’d be happy with anyone but Gleb. That’s only because I’m loyal and I’m friends with Brooks [Nader].’

She added: ‘I don’t really like the way he speaks about women. I don’t really want to spend all my time with someone like that. I’m like, no thank you.’

Meanwhile Maura’s career in the US has continued to soar after she landed her biggest TV job to date after being confirmed as the host of the hotly anticipated Blind Date reboot.

The star has been hailed the ‘perfect match’ as she prepares to step into the late Cilla Black’s shoes ahead of the iconic dating show’s upcoming return to screens next year.

After attempting to find romance on ITV dating show Love Island in 2019, Maura went on to bag a hosting role on Love Island US: Aftersun and also starred on The Traitors US.

The Irish TV personality is set to continue her US takeover on DWTS, before filming the Blind Date reboot in a secret location later this year.

Angela Jain, head of content at Disney+ EMEA, said in a statement: ‘Maura is the perfect match for our version of Blind Date.

‘Her distinctive straight-talking humour, coupled with her experience as a reality dating show contestant, means we know she has the gravitas plus the wit to bring Blind Date to new audiences.

‘We’re very much looking forward to Maura helping our daters navigate their own journeys to find love as she steps into the famed Blind Date host role.’