EastEnders fans have worked out that Max Branning won’t actually be connected to the death of Zoe Slater, despite being the last person who spoke to her before she died

EastEnders fans have foiled a “red herring” linked to Max Branning. Last week, viewers of the BBC One soap opera saw Max confronting Zoe Slater in the flat above the Queen Vic after she caught him and Linda Carter kissing, hours after he called off his marriage to Cindy Beale.

But unbeknownst to Max, Zoe was suffering from a head injury after falling onto a pile of rubble while stealing the London hackney cab which belonged to her late grandad, Charlie Slater.

At the time, Zoe’s speech didn’t make sense, and she seemed confused, leading Max to believe she was drunk. Despite Zoe pleading for her mum, Kat, and Max brushed this off and left her in her bedroom, demanding that she keep his secret. Just hours later, Zoe tragically died, alone.

While some fans believed that Max may now be linked to Zoe’s death, after it emerged she dialled 999, some fans have foiled this plot. During the New Year’s flashforward episode, Max is seen being chased by armed police for solicitation to murder, with many thinking that his could be connected to Zoe’s death.

One fan said: “Just a thought Zoe was downstairs and she saw Max and Linda and ran back upstairs and collapsed. So when did the 999 call happen??”

A second replied: “Max being in the room is a red herring, the new year episode can’t be connected as he was wanted for conspiracy to murder. That means basically hiring someone to murder someone.”

But another commented: “I really am puzzled as to why so many people seem to think Max gets arrested for Zoe’s death in the flash forward. In the flash forward, he gets arrested for solicitation to murder (paying someone to kill someone) and then gets released as the police have probably found out that the person he supposedly paid someone to kill is actually alive.

“Max is going to be set up but gets cleared. As for the death of Zoe, an autopsy will show the haemorrhage was caused by a knock on the head & Kat will confirm that Zoe told her she’d fallen and banged her head.” During Tuesday’s episode, it became clear that Max was unaware Zoe had died, as he had returned to the hospital just after seeing her.

The news was confirmed to him by his daughter, Lauren, following a confrontation in the middle of Albert Square with both Cindy and Peter Beale. “People are grieving over there,” Cindy fumed.

“What’s she talking about, grieving?” Max asked Lauren, who later revealed that Zoe had actually died. Zoe’s death comes just a year after the character returned to EastEnders.

It was reported earlier this year that Michelle Ryan had decided to leave the soap and her character would be killed off. Michelle is not the only star to announce she is stepping away from the soap this year. Kellie Bright, who plays Linda Carter, has also said she is quitting. Linda is not expected to be killed off and will remain on the show until early 2027.

It is thought that Aaron Thiara, who plays Ravi Gulati, and Pierre Counihan-Moullier, who plays Oscar Branning, are also set to exit the show. Likewise, Charlie Suff, who plays Linda’s son, Johnny, is reportedly leaving the show with Kellie.

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Eight Cambridgeshire nurseries were served with the notice in June

Ofsted has provided an update on a nursery chain that was told it wasn’t meeting safeguarding and welfare requirements. Back in June, Ofsted served Bright Horizons with a Welfare Requirements Notice (WRN).

The chain runs 247 sites across England, including eight in Cambridgeshire. Ofsted carried out checks between October 2025 and June 2026 and found “significant weaknesses in organisational safeguarding leadership, governance, oversight and practice”.

Ofsted has since carried out further inspections at 68 nurseries, which were selected through a risk-based analysis. The care inspectors have found that “measurable progress has been made”.

The latest visits have shown that significant resources have been invested into strengthening safeguarding, governance and oversight, as well as training.

However, inspectors identified breaches at 39 nurseries, including significant weaknesses in safeguarding, leadership and governance. Ofsted has issued another WRN to Bright Horizons setting out actions the chain needs to take. The names of these 29 nurseries have not been disclosed.

The actions relate to: concerns about children’s safety and welfare; safeguarding policies and procedures; and staff supervision.

The eight nurseries in Cambridgeshire are:

• Eddington Nursery, Cambridge
• Wolfson Court Day Nursery and Preschool, Cambridge
• Bright Horizons Cambridge Milton Road Day Nursery and Pre-school, Cambridge
• Cambridge Science Park Day Nursery and Preschool, Cambridge
• Long Road Day Nursery and Preschool, Cambridge
• Bunnybrookes Day Nursery and Preschool, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge
• Fulbourn Day Nursery and Preschool, Fulbourn
• Ely Day Nursery and Preschool, Ely

His Majesty’s chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said: “While I’m pleased to see evidence of improvement across the Bright Horizons group, work is still needed to ensure that requirements are met consistently. The majority of Bright Horizons nurseries are doing well, but we have set clear expectations about what needs to improve.

“We will always take any necessary action to keep children safe, because every single child deserves the same level of care and protection.”

Britain should abolish the monarchy to save Prince George from his future role as King, Nicola Sturgeon has said as a poll found one in four Brits support the idea.

The former first minister of Scotland insisted in a new documentary that scrapping the institution would relieve the 13-year-old of a ‘burden’ he has ‘no choice over’.

Ms Sturgeon questioned whether it was fair for future generations of the Royal Family including George to have their lives determined for them from birth.

Speaking to fellow republican John Humphrys on Channel 4‘s The Royals: Time To Go? airing at 9pm tonight, Ms Sturgeon said she had ‘huge sympathy’ for the family.

She added: ‘In fact, I would say one of the arguments for getting rid of the monarchy is for the sake of members of the Royal Family, like Prince George, for example.

‘That kid doesn’t know any different. He has a certain life ahead of him that he has no choice over. Is that really fair?

‘And so I actually think it is one of the arguments for getting rid of the monarchy, to free the future members of the Royal Family from carrying that burden.’

Ms Sturgeon also claimed some of the monarchy’s popularity was attributable specifically to the late Queen Elizabeth II rather than the institution itself.

Queen Elizabeth II receives Nicola Sturgeon at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2022

George – who began his first day at Eton College last week, having previously attended Lambrook School in Berkshire – is second in line to the British throne after his father.

The poll carried out for the documentary found one in four Britons now support abolishing the monarchy – with scandals surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor having a major impact on its popularity.

Some 28 per cent of UK adults are now in favour of bringing 1,200 years of monarchy in the country to an end, a figure rising to 38 per cent among 18 to 24-year-olds.

Meanwhile 41 per cent say Andrew has made them less supportive of the Royal Family – with 49 per cent believing Buckingham Palace moved too slowly when claims emerged about his involvement with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Separately, 64 per cent believe King Charles III should be required to pay the same income tax as everyone else.

In the programme, veteran broadcaster Humphrys recalls encounters with the royals, including how the late Queen Elizabeth II told him she would ‘most certainly’ never give him an interview.

Humphrys said Elizabeth had invited him to lunch and they were alone in an anteroom afterwards, where he asked whether she had ever considered giving an interview.

The Queen listened politely before telling him: ‘No, and what’s more Mr Humphrys, if one ever were to do such a thing, it most certainly would not be with you.’

Humphrys traces his republicanism back to his childhood in working-class Cardiff, remembering the excitement when newly crowned Elizabeth visited in 1953.

Nicola Sturgeon greets King Charles III at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in 2022

Prince William with Nicola Sturgeon at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2021

He says his neighbours poured onto the street to see her – apart from his father Edward, whom Humphrys remembers as a ‘very proud man who had a very tough life’.

He adds: ‘He swore that he would never bow his head to any man or woman. He was a republican and he stayed a republican and I became a republican too.’

Humphrys, now 83, explores whether the monarchy can be justified in a modern democracy, and how much deference towards the monarchy exists in Britain today.

While 28 per cent of people support abolishing the monarchy, the Survation poll of more than 2,000 people from across the UK also found 44 per cent oppose this.

The survey further revealed that 57 per cent of people believe the King should have to pay inheritance tax, while 49 per cent say he should be required to publish full details of his private earnings.

Humphrys examines the Sovereign Grant, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the monarchy’s tax arrangements, questioning whether the UK public is getting value for money and whether there should be greater financial scrutiny of the royals.

He also asks whether working royals should be subject to greater accountability, with the poll finding 48 per cent of people support a formal code of conduct for working members of the Royal Family.

While there are 11 working royals, only 46 per cent of people in the survey could name more than two of them.

They are: the King and Queen Camilla; Prince William and Catherine; Princess Anne; Prince Edward and Sophie; Prince Richard and Birgitte, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

John Humphrys (left) and other broadcasters meet Queen Elizabeth II at a reception in 2006

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John Humphrys interviews Princess Anne on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 1995

Among those backing the case for the monarchy is former Chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt, who says the institution provides stability and a head of state who can ‘unite us in a period where politics is incredibly polarised’, adding: ‘I think they’re worth their weight in gold.’

Humphrys concludes: ‘In a country proud of its openness and willingness to debate pretty much anything, we should feel we can ask hard questions of one of our oldest institutions and expect more answers.

‘I suspect that’s what my father would have wanted too. Hope he’s listening.’

Virginia Giuffre, who died last year, had accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager after being trafficked by Epstein.

Andrew has strongly denied this but in 2022 reached an out-of-court settlement with her, despite claiming never to have met her.

The King last year stripped his brother of his royal titles after fresh revelations about his Epstein ties and Andrew was forced to leave his Windsor mansion and move to the monarch’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

The scandal also saw Peter Mandelson fired as UK ambassador to the US.

Both were arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office over their connections with Epstein. They were subsequently released under investigation and deny any wrongdoing.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace provided a statement to Channel 4 relating to Andrew, saying: ‘Since there is an ongoing police enquiry into Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, it is not possible to provide comment.

‘We would point you to His Majesty’s unprecedented actions taken on this matter since accession, and the unequivocal words in which the King pledged his ‘wholehearted support’ for the ‘full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities’.’

‘The Royals: Time to Go?’ airs on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm 

Strictly Come Dancing star Chris Appleton wasn’t having any of it on Good Morning Britain as he chided Susanna Reid for ‘rolling her eyes’.

The 55-year-old presenter was interviewing celebrity hairstylist Chris and his Strictly co-star Delta Goodrem ahead of the launch of the new BBC series this Saturday.

After discussing whether Eurovision icon Delta felt somewhat equipped to tackle the dance floor with her prior stage experience – to which she replied that she was just ‘excited to dance’.

Chris, notably best friends with Kim Kardashian, then jumped in to say it was ‘such a magical experience’ as the camera panned over to him.

He continued: ‘If I get overwhelmed, I just remember how lucky we are to do it because it’s such a special experience,’ but interrupted himself to declare, ‘the eye rolls here, you’re scaring me’.

The camera isn’t on Susanna at the time, so we can’t see exactly what facial expressions or movements she was making, but she firmly pushed back at Chris’ eye-roll accusations.

‘No, I think that’s a really grounded thing to say; no, you’re absolutely right,’ she said with an earnest expression on her face once the cameras turned back to her. Chris is also heard sounding reassured and nodding in agreement.

Reiterating his message, she said it was ‘a privilege to be able to do it, absolutely’.

The media star added: ‘Watching it on TV when I was younger with my family to then being on that dance floor is a really special experience.’

Even if it does come with its risks, as he rolled up his sleeve to show the ‘war wounds’ from the launch episode in the form of some thin gashes.

As for whether we can expect Kim in the audience anytime soon, he simply said she sent him a ‘beautiful bouquet of flowers the other day and said break a leg’, saying ‘it’s really nice to know I have that support’.

There have been a few hiccups on the show in recent days, with Kate Garraway having to go off air suddenly yesterday after looking and sounding under the weather.

In the end, it seemed as though she had thoroughly talked herself out of a voice after last week’s festivities, including the NTAs, with Susanna explaining that journalist Faye Barker would be taking her place.

‘I must apologise to you. I’m so sorry. I’m in absolutely no pain; I don’t feel unwell, but I talked way too much last week,’ she told audiences.

Metro has reached out to ITV for comment.

MORE: Kate Garraway apologises to GMB viewers before being abruptly taken off air

MORE: Emma Willis: ‘I’m ready for negativity on Strictly – I won’t engage with it’

MORE: Ex-Strictly star criticises AJ Pritchard days after Oti Mabuse warning

And North East viewers may spot more than a few familiar locations as the six-part psychological drama was filmed largely in Northumberland.

County Durham also played a key role during production, with film crews spending weeks shooting scenes in Consett and surrounding areas.

What is Forever Home about?

Everything we know about Graham Norton’s drama Forever Home. (Image: Helen Williams)

The series is based on Graham Norton’s 2022 novel and follows Carol Crottie, played by Amy Nuttall, whose life is turned upside down when she begins investigating secrets hidden within her family home.

As her older partner Robert’s dementia worsens, Carol becomes suspicious about the disappearance of his first wife.

A shocking discovery beneath the house forces her to question everything she has been told.

The cast includes:

• Amy Nuttall
• Douglas Henshall
• Denise Welch
• Kevin Whately
• Samantha Bond
• Lewis Cope

(Image: Helen Williams)

Why was the story moved to the North East?

Norton’s original novel was set in the fictional Irish village of Ballytoor, County Cork.

For the television adaptation, producers relocated the story to the fictional Northumberland town of Allentown.

Norton said the move made the story feel “fresh”, giving it new scenery and different voices.

The series had its premiere in the North East. (Image: Supplied)

The change also allowed the production to make extensive use of North East locations and local crews.

Support came from North East Screen and the North East Production Fund.

Which North East locations feature?

County Durham

County Durham’s biggest role in the production came in Consett.

Northern Echo readers first spotted film crews in the town in January, with cast and production vehicles seen at multiple locations during filming.

Later, crews returned to shoot scenes at popular Consett restaurant The Giddy Goose on Newmarket Street.

The venue was reportedly used as a café setting, with production teams installing lighting rigs and dressing the interior for filming.

Hexham and Northumberland

Much of the series was filmed in and around Hexham.

Locations include:

• Hexham Market Place
• Hexham Rowing Club and Tyne Green
• Hexham Bridge
• Tynedale Terrace
• Stocksfield

A Victorian manor house near Stocksfield was converted into key interior sets used throughout the drama.

Why is the filming significant for the North East?

The show’s arrival is another boost for the region’s growing screen industry.

Previous Northern Echo reporting highlighted how Forever Home was backed through regional funding designed to attract major television productions to the North East.

At the time filming began, North East Screen said the fund had already supported 15 productions and invested millions of pounds into the industry locally.

County Durham has increasingly become a destination for television productions in recent years, helped by efforts to make the county more film-friendly and attract bigger projects.

When is Forever Home on TV?

Forever Home began on Channel 5 on Monday, September 14, with the six-part drama airing across consecutive nights at 9pm.

Episode two airs on Tuesday, September 15, at 9pm, with the remaining instalments continuing throughout the week.

Viewers can also stream episodes through Channel 5’s on-demand service after broadcast.

The eight Scots have appeared at Chester Magistrates following the brawl.

Eight Scottish men have appeared in court after a group of masked men attacked a property in Cheshire.

The violent scenes are understood to be linked to warring traveller families with the yard owned by the McGinleys.

Shocking footage showed a tipper truck reversing at speed into vehicles parked in the driveway of the property in Middlewich, on Saturday, September 12, before dozens of masked men wielding weapons then jumped out of a convoy of cars.

Horrifying scenes unfolded with men seen trashing cars and the windows of the home with baseball bats and pick-axes. The truck used to rammy was then set on fire during the chaos.

The mob was then witnessed being chased by a man who emerged from the home. Eight Scots were subsequently arrested and charged in connection by Cheshire Constabulary, with a 26-year-old man still in police custody.

The men appeared at Chester Magistrates on Monday, where a variety of charges were read out. Seven are due to appear at a plea hearing at Chester Crown Court on October 12.

Nathaniel Lowe, 34, from Motherwell, was charged with two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

James Lowe, 29, from Morningside, Newmains, was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

Nathaniel Lowe, 58, of the same address in Morningside was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

A 17-year-old boy who can’t be named for legal reasons was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

John McPhee, 30, from Larkhall, was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

Billy McPhee, 52, from Larkhall, was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

A 19-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life, criminal damage and violent disorder.

A 26-year-old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was charged with violent disorder, two counts of criminal damage, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

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This is the moment a grandmother was left with catastrophic injuries after a driving instructor ploughed into her bike from behind at 55mph.

Rebecca Tanton says Jon Dick has never apologised since launching her from her bike in Lincolnshire two years ago, and always insisted he had done nothing wrong.

But he was found guilty in November of causing serious injury by careless driving, earning him a suspended prison sentence and two-year driving ban that thwarted his instructor career.

Ms Tanton, in her late 50s, says she will ‘never recover’ from her injuries, which required seven metal plates to be screwed into her bones and led to her contracting sepsis. 

In a cruel twist of fate, she had just emerged from one of six surgeries when her 33-year-old son died from brain cancer – and she had to arrange the funeral from a hospital bed.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘My helmet saved my life, there is absolutely no doubt about that.

‘But my life is changed completely. I am simply existing in constant pain, while Jon Dick is still walking around freely – and he has shown no remorse whatsoever.’ 

Ms Tanton, a mother of three, led an incredibly active life before the crash. She was a keen horse rider and swimmer, and cycled 40 miles every day.

She clattered onto the tarmac, breaking numerous bones along the right side of her body and sustaining injuries from which she will ‘never recover’

Dick was driving his Ford Puma clearly marked as an instruction car, and according to Ms Tanton has never apologised for the crash

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One of these daily rides, at just after 4pm on October 7, 2024, saw her sharing Manby Road towards Louth with Dick, in his mid 50s.

Dashcam footage shows him driving alone in his Ford Puma, marked as a training vehicle, out of Manby with the radio playing, and accelerating up a hill just as Ms Tanton comes into view.

Despite wearing his glasses, Dick fails to spot Ms Tanton and ploughs into her from behind, shouting ‘f****** a***holes’ as he realises.

Rear-view footage shows her being thrown into the air before sickeningly clattering onto the tarmac, forcing the next car to swerve in order to avoid running her over.

Ms Tanton says: ‘I remember very little of the aftermath, but I heard someone say I wouldn’t make it if they put me in the air ambulance.

‘The paramedics wanted to take me to Hull, but realised I would have to go to Grimsby first by road to be stabilised. I needed an emergency blood transfusion because I was losing so much.’

Her pelvis was smashed to pieces, and bones were broken along the entire right side of her body.

A hole in her face down to the bone over a fractured eye socket was hemorrhaging so much blood that it had to be treated with plastic surgery that evening.

Rebecca Tanton was a keen horserider, swimmer and cyclist before the accident completely changed her life

Dick was a driving instructor in Lincolnshire before he was banned from getting behind the wheel for two years after the guilty verdict

Josh Tanton, Rebecca’s youngest son, died from a rare brain tumour just as she was coming out of a major surgery

Long weeks in ICU followed, during which five plates were screwed into Ms Tanton’s pelvis, one into her hip, and one into her shoulder.

She said: ‘From the moment Jon Dick carelessly drove his car into me, he took away my freedom, independence and love of life.’

In March last year, just as the wounds were beginning to heal, Ms Tanton was struck down with sepsis – meaning infection had taken hold around the plates screwed to her bones.

Everything had to be opened back up, the infection washed out, an abscess cut away, and her wounds filled with antibiotic beads.

During this operation, however, her bladder was accidentally torn – saddling her with a catheter for three months.

When it seemed things could get no more difficult, Ms Tanton awoke from a surgery to the worst news imaginable: her 33-year-old son had died suddenly from a rare brain tumour.

Josh was a marine pilot out of Gravesend, meaning he used his expert knowledge to guide large commercial ships along the River Thames.

Dick stopped his car after realising he had hit the bike and remained on the scene as emergency services rushed to help Ms Tanton

Ms Tanton has been unable to return to the saddle of her bike, which she described as ‘her life’

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Ms Tanton said: ‘The funeral of my beloved son had to be postponed until I was in a stable condition to attend.

‘Which I did with a catheter, and barely able to walk, because of the injuries caused in this collision.’

Meanwhile, the sepsis was cleared, but doctors found that infection was clinging to the plates – which couldn’t be removed, because the bones had not properly fused.

That means Ms Tanton is now living with a ‘ticking timebomb’ with the threat of sepsis returning. If that happens, doctors have said she has just a one-in-three chance of survival.

Dick was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and first appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court in July 2025, but he was allowed at the time to continue driving.

He was sentenced in December 2025 to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from driving for 24 months. 

In her victim impact statement, read out in court, Ms Tanton said: ‘The impact this has had on my elderly father, my eldest son and family, also my daughter, nearly seeing me die praying every time I am hospitalised, is unquantifiable. It’s all a living nightmare for all of us.’

Jason, her eldest son, told the court: ‘This incident has changed all of our lives completely. It’s hard to describe the fear, sadness and stress we’ve all gone through.

‘Every time I see my mum struggle, I’m reminded how close we came to losing her. I’m so proud of her strength and determination, but I also wish none of this had ever happened.’

Dick was approached by the Daily Mail for comment.

President Donald Trump accused the Biden administration and FBI of mishandling the investigation into the 2024 assassination attempt against him, claiming newly discovered information shows key evidence was missing, altered or corrupted.

“Everybody knows the Crooked Joe Biden FBI didn’t do what they should have with respect to the Lunatic who shot me in Butler, PA. By the time I got into Office, on January 20th, most of the information was missing, altered, corrupted, or gone,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

There is no evidence that Democrats were involved in the attempted assassination of Trump.

The president continued, “New info was just found! Why wasn’t it seen long ago? This was all a Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election, that failed. Dirty Cop Christopher Wray should pay a price for the way he handled this assassination attempt, and certainly for the things he said.

“GOD BLESS AMERICA — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump concluded.

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