A Harvard conversation between Stephen Colbert and cellist Yo-Yo Ma ended abruptly on Thursday night, after a dispute over a Colbert picket line outside the venue and a fire alarm that forced an evacuation. The cause of the alarm has not been established.

The event was part of the university’s Office of the Arts “Learning from Performers” series and was held at Sanders Theatre. It was scheduled to run 90 minutes, but according to Harvard Magazine’s reporting, as relayed by The Hollywood Reporter, it stopped about 40 minutes in when the alarm sounded. Colbert, the former late night host, was evacuated from the building.

Why strikers targeted the Colbert picket line

The Harvard Graduate Students Union has been on strike since Oct. 27, seeking higher wages and stronger workplace protections. Before the event, the union posted on Instagram asking the two performers not to cross its line, and urged them to relocate, postpone or cancel the appearance in solidarity with workers. “Please don’t cross our picket line tomorrow night!” the post read.

Colbert and Ma went ahead as scheduled. Dozens of Harvard workers then demonstrated outside the theatre. Fox News framed its coverage around the union’s claim that the pair had crossed the line, while The Hollywood Reporter described the entertainers as having been “accused” of doing so. Neither Colbert nor Ma had publicly responded in the coverage available, and The Hollywood Reporter said it had asked Colbert and Harvard for comment.

The fire alarm and who is responsible

The timing invites speculation, but the available reporting offers none of the answers. The union said in a statement that the alarm “was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity” and that it had no knowledge of its cause. It added that members at the picket were relieved to learn no one inside was at risk. No other party has been named as responsible, and the cause remains unclear.

Fiona Coffey, director of the Office of the Arts, apologized in a statement to Harvard Magazine. She thanked the students and staff who spent “an enormous amount of time and energy” preparing the evening and said she was “profoundly sorry that it ended in such a disappointing way.”

Why the Colbert picket line charge stung

The union’s appeal leaned on Colbert’s own history. During the 2023 Hollywood strikes he stood with protesters. He also co-founded the limited-series comedy podcast Strike Force Five with fellow late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, which was meant to help financially support out-of-work production staff and writers. That record made the request to honor a labor action on campus a pointed one.

For now, the story has two unresolved threads: whether the performers will address the criticism, and what set off the alarm. The strike, meanwhile, continues, with the union still seeking the pay and protections it says its members need.

File photo: Stephen Colbert June 2023.jpg by Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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The latest Strictly Come Dancing elimination came down to a single vote. Bethany Antonia and her professional partner Nancy Xu left the 2026 series on Sunday night after head judge Shirley Ballas broke a deadlock in favour of their dance-off rivals.

A split panel and a deciding vote

Antonia, 28, known for playing Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon, and Xu landed in the bottom two against former Love Island contestant Cach Mercer and his partner Maddie Ingoldsby. Both couples performed their routines again. Antonia and Xu repeated their foxtrot to Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”, while Mercer and Ingoldsby reprised their waltz to “That Ain’t You” by Mulaa Joans.

The judges split evenly. Anton Du Beke backed Mercer and Ingoldsby, while Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood wanted to keep Antonia and Xu. That left Ballas to settle it, and she sided with Mercer and Ingoldsby.

Why this exit stands out

On paper, the result looks like an upset. Antonia and Xu’s foxtrot had earned 30 from the judges on Saturday, which put them joint fourth on the leaderboard before the public vote was counted. One source says they were level with Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola, whose rumba to Coldplay’s “Yellow” also scored 30. Turner and Coppola had topped the table the previous week.

Mercer and Ingoldsby scored 26 for their waltz, which left them joint bottom on judges’ marks. The dance-off exists to fix this kind of gap, because the public vote can pull a couple down the table. In this case the viewers’ verdict, combined with the panel’s split, outweighed a healthy judges’ score. The sources do not say how close the public vote was, so it is not clear how narrowly Antonia and Xu missed out.

Dyer’s first 10 tops the table

At the top, former Love Island winner Dani Dyer and her partner Nikita Kuzmin scored 36 for an American smooth to Harry Connick Jr.’s “It Had to Be You”. The routine earned them their first 10 of the series.

Remembrance Sunday tribute

The results show also marked Remembrance Sunday. The professional dancers performed a group routine to Peter Gabriel’s arrangement of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, choreographed by Lizzie Gough. It opened with British soldiers leaving for war. The piece took its inspiration from the Monument to the Women of World War II and focused on women’s lives during the conflict.

The programme also featured music from Gregory Porter, with a routine from professionals Alexis Warr and Aljaž Škorjanec.

What happens next

The remaining couples return on Saturday 14 November, with the results show on Sunday 15 November. The sources give slightly different start times of around 6.25pm to 6.30pm for the live show and 7.10pm to 7.15pm for the results, so check BBC listings. There is also hope that actress Jaime Winstone will be back after missing Saturday’s live show through injury. Her return would matter to the leaderboard as the field narrows.

For Mercer and Ingoldsby, the dance-off win is a reprieve after a bottom-two finish on judges’ marks. After a tight Strictly Come Dancing elimination that turned on a deciding vote, they will have to improve quickly to avoid being back in the bottom two next weekend. Episodes of the 2026 series are available on BBC iPlayer.

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Maya Jama has announced she is leaving her role as Love Island host, ending a three-year run fronting one of ITV’s biggest entertainment franchises. The 32-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Sunday 8 November, posting a highlights reel and a message saying it was “time to throw myself into something new”.

What Maya Jama said about leaving

Jama’s statement was warm rather than dramatic. “While my own Love Island journey has come to an end, I wish the show and the team all the success in the world,” she wrote, adding that she will be “cheering you lot on from the sidelines forever”. She thanked viewers, saying the show “really does belong to the people who watch it”, and praised the production team for working “for months every year” to make it happen.

She also reflected on how far she has come, noting she was 28 when she started and has loved “every slow-mo walk, fire pit and live show”. Her reasoning was simple: “to truly grow, you have to take a leap every now and then.”

One detail needs clarifying. Jama refers to “nine incredible series” over three years, while most reports put her tenure at three years since she succeeded Laura Whitmore in 2023. Digital Spy notes she also fronted the Aftersun companion show and the spin-offs All Stars and Games, which likely explains the higher count, though the sources don’t spell it out.

ITV’s response and what happens next

ITV was gracious. A spokesperson called her “a fantastic and much loved host” and wished her “every continued success”. Digital Spy reports an insider describing the split as “all very amicable” and unsurprising given her “very busy schedule”. The same outlet says channel bosses are expected to begin the search for a new Love Island host straight away. That is a report from an unnamed source, not an official announcement, and ITV has not named a successor.

The departure follows a remarkable few weeks. Jama competed as a traitor on the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors, reaching the final alongside Richard E Grant, King Kenny and James Acaster. According to the Mirror, she came close to winning before being unmasked at the last moment. She still donated the sum she stood to win to Action for Children, which confirmed a gift of £83,500.

Why the timing makes sense

Few will be shocked by the move. Jama made her acting debut in the second series of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix drama The Gentlemen, and the BBC notes that the Times speculated she could command “£1m per deal” after her Traitors run. One commentator quoted by the BBC said the show let her seem “less like the presenter of Love Island and more like a genuinely versatile television star”. Digital Spy also links to a report that she was approached to host The Voice UK, though the details were not available in the material we reviewed.

Her career path also shows why she may be ready to move on. She rose through Rinse FM and BBC Radio 1, then hosted MTV’s The Wrap Up and Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star. Love Island was her biggest presenting job to date, and leaving at a career high gives her room to try something different.

Fans, meanwhile, are already mourning. Former contestants including Amy Hart and Casey O’Gorman posted tributes, and some viewers wrote that they hoped the news wasn’t true. Whoever ITV picks next will inherit a show with a loyal audience and a very recognisable standard for the slow-mo walk.

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The Talarico SNL cameo gave Saturday Night Live’s first post-midterms episode its biggest moment. The Texas senator-elect walked into a Trump sketch built around Republican defeat and turned it into a joke about the show itself.

How the Talarico SNL cameo played out

The sketch opened with Sarah Sherman as Chuck Schumer and Kenan Thompson as Hakeem Jeffries, according to Variety. The two celebrated the “blue tsunami” while resisting calls to hand over to a younger generation of Democrats. James Austin Johnson’s Trump then froze the action, as the cold open’s president routinely does, and began a postmortem.

“I didn’t even say it was rigged,” Johnson’s Trump said. “I accepted the results, which is even scarier in a way.” He said his only real concern was the White House ballroom, then muttered, “Oh my God, I hate my life.” He also complained that the next two years would be unbearable, not because the opposition is Democratic but because it is Millennial. That led to a long tangent about the sitcom New Girl.

Rolling Stone reported that Trump also ran through his nicknames for incoming Democrats, including “Talafreako” for the Texan. Talarico walked out to correct him: “That’s Senator Talafreako.” The audience applauded for roughly 20 seconds, according to The Independent. He then poked fun at his own fundraising: “I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you every day asking for five dollars.” Trump’s reply: “In this economy, who can blame you?”

Talarico pivoted from a call to work together to a jab at the show. “It’s clear people want something new,” he said. “I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?” Johnson’s Trump answered, “Infinity.” Talarico closed with the show’s signature “Live from New York” line.

The real-life win behind the joke

The cameo came days after Talarico beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Variety put his vote share at 55.09%, and The Hollywood Reporter described a 12-point margin in the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history. He is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988. Rolling Stone also noted that Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected to succeed Greg Abbott as governor.

The Hollywood Reporter said Democrats gained at least 42 House seats and seven Senate seats. Variety reported that the party also won a majority of governorships.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that surprise appearances by political figures have a long history on the show, from Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin to Kamala Harris’s 2024 turn opposite Maya Rudolph. A sitting or incoming senator is less common. The outlet argued that the moment reflected the growing media profile of a new class of Democrats, many in their 30s or early 40s.

The rest of the episode

The night had other firsts. Druski became the first online content creator to host the show. He appeared in whiteface as Elizabeth Holmes in a spoof of the Nathan Fielder documentary You Can See Everything, after warning in his monologue that he could not promise to avoid it. Emma Stone joined his monologue to tease their upcoming film The Catch, and Walton Goggins appeared with musical guest The Strokes. Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Michael B. Jordan turned up during the goodnights.

Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth also appeared in the cold open. The Hollywood Reporter suggested the scene could read as a send-off, given rumors that the defense secretary may leave the administration.

The show has momentum to build on. Variety said the Halloween episode drew 5.2 million viewers, the season’s biggest audience so far. John Mulaney hosts next on Nov. 14, with Phoebe Bridgers as musical guest. Whether the Trump cold open is still around then is a question Talarico’s SNL appearance has now put to the show on air. By Johnson’s Trump’s account, the answer is “infinity.”

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File photo: James Talarico Press Conference.jpg by Antonioaesparza, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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The I’ve Had It podcast has lost at least nine sponsors in a matter of days after a 39-second clip of its hosts laughing at a joke about Charlie Kirk spread across social media. Hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan have since apologized, calling the joke “insensitive” and saying they should not have laughed.

What happened on the I’ve Had It podcast

On Thursday’s episode, the pair read social media reactions to Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Independent reports that Democrats took control of the House and Senate and won key governors’ races. One post they read said, “We’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again.” Both hosts laughed. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated at age 31 during an outdoor campus event in Utah in September 2025.

The moment was clipped and posted to X, where Business Insider says it drew nearly 6 million views. Critics called for a boycott. The segment has since been removed from the episode, though copies of the clip remain online.

Sponsors pull out

The advertiser reaction was fast. After one X user urged followers to boycott Cash App for sponsoring the show, the company said Friday that it does not condone violence of any kind and was no longer a sponsor. On Saturday, Chewy said it does not sponsor or support the podcast, adding that the hosts’ comments “do not reflect Chewy’s values.” Its CEO, Sumit Singh, publicly backed the decision.

Other brands followed. Zenni said it had canceled its advertising and was reviewing podcast placements against its brand safety standards. Casper and Honeylove also cut ties, and Honeylove posted its announcement Sunday. Boll & Branch said it does not currently advertise on the show and will not in the future. Business Insider put the total at no fewer than nine companies.

The hosts’ apology and donation

Welch and Sullivan responded Saturday in a statement on the show’s Instagram account. “It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed. We regret it, and we apologize,” they wrote. They added that “there is nothing funny about gun violence,” noted their long-standing support for gun safety reform, and said they had donated to Everytown for Gun Safety. They closed by promising to keep using their platforms “to fight for the safety of all Americans.”

Reaction to the apology was mixed. Some commenters on one report suggested it came only after the financial pressure began. The sources do not show whether any sponsors have reconsidered.

A familiar pattern since Kirk’s death

The episode fits a pattern that has followed Kirk’s killing. Business Insider notes that ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show over his remarks about Kirk before reinstating it, and that companies including Office Depot and Nasdaq disciplined employees over negative online comments. Brands have also shown how quickly they will respond to online pressure. In the I’ve Had It podcast’s case, several announced their exits on X within a day or two of the clip gaining traction.

For a podcast that depends on advertising, the episode shows how little time a single viral moment needs to put revenue at risk. The longer-term effect on the show’s finances remains unclear.

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Jack Bayles, head of comedy at the production company Various Artists Limited (VAL), has been asked to step back from the business a day after Russell Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault. He will no longer work on two sitcoms the company is making for the BBC.

VAL said in a statement that it had asked him to step back “while we consider the verdict and events surrounding the trial”. It added that its thoughts were “primarily with every one of Brand’s victims”. The BBC, approached by the Press Association, referred questions to VAL’s statement.

What the court heard about Jack Bayles

Bayles has not been charged with anything, and the claims about him come from evidence given at Brand’s trial. The court heard that in 2009 Bayles and Gareth Roy, another member of Brand’s team, pressed a young female staffer to give the comedian a massage during work on a Channel 4 project. According to evidence reported by The Times, the pair told her Brand would only carry on working if she agreed.

Once she reluctantly did, the court heard, Brand pushed his head into her groin. He reportedly got up only after seemingly taking offence at her remark about his “bony” body. A workplace manager told the trial the woman had complained that Bayles and Roy told her several times to “just do it”. The manager also said the woman reported that the men were present throughout and “watched and laughed”. The woman said she was left “so repulsed by the situation” and complained to her Channel 4 bosses. The jury convicted Brand of sexually assaulting her.

Bayles says he has no memory of the incident

In a statement to The Times, Bayles said he was “appalled and sickened” by Brand’s actions and had cooperated voluntarily with the investigation. He said he does not remember the incident, which happened 17 years ago. But he accepted he “clearly missed something at the time and did not see nor recognise that it caused distress”, and apologised.

He described a “frantic, pressured and toxic” workplace early in his career and said Brand was “chaotic, dismissive and manipulated the people around him”. He said he stopped working with Brand in 2010 and has had no contact since. He also said no complaints about Brand’s behaviour were made to him, and that he does not know whether any reached more senior people. “If I was ever present when Brand acted inappropriately and I failed to spot it and step in, then I sincerely apologise,” he said.

The wider fallout for the industry

Bayles joined VAL four years ago to oversee its comedy slate. The company was founded in 2017 by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. At VAL he was involved in the BBC sitcoms Such Brave Girls and Push. He previously produced Channel 4’s Catastrophe and became a Channel 4 commissioning editor in 2017.

The case of Jack Bayles shows how the Brand verdicts are pushing scrutiny beyond the comedian himself to the people and workplaces around him. Brand, 51, was found guilty of one count of rape and three of sexual assault after six women gave evidence. He was cleared of two further rape charges and one allegation of attempted indecent assault. Jurors heard he used his fame to pursue women, sometimes within seconds of meeting them, and that he ignored pleas to stop. None of his celebrity friends or former colleagues gave evidence in his defence.

Reports elsewhere said the Metropolitan Police is still investigating two further rape allegations against Brand. The force’s chief, Sir Mark Rowley, said he would not be surprised if more alleged victims came forward. The Daily Mail also reported criticism of the BBC for “buck-passing” over Brand, after it emerged he had boasted that his bosses were “incredibly tolerant” of his behaviour at work.

For now, Bayles’s step back is described as a pause while VAL reviews the situation, not a final decision on his future. Brand awaits sentence.

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File photo: 20191017 BBC Studios London, BBC Radio Theatre, New Broadcasting House photo by Amy Karle.jpg by Igbofur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The James Bond screen tests for the next 007 reportedly included two bigger names than anyone had expected: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Multiple outlets reported on November 6 and 7 that the pair auditioned alongside Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor. Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed any of it.

Who tested, and when

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the tests took place the weekend of October 24 in London, where Pattinson is currently filming The Batman Part II. Variety reported that Pattinson auditioned for director Denis Villeneuve. The two recently worked together on Dune: Part Three, due December 18. Deadline’s sources also named Hoult but stressed that the names are not officially confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter had earlier said four, possibly five, actors were in the mix, though only three names had surfaced. Deadline’s insiders say a fifth actor was added at the eleventh hour, but the outlet did not know who that last addition was. It also said the group was no bigger than five.

A surprising pair

Pattinson is 40, already leads a major franchise as Bruce Wayne, and became a star through the Twilight films. That makes him an unlikely fit for the “fresh face” producers were reportedly seeking at one stage, as IGN noted. NME called his inclusion a surprise given how established he is.

Hoult, 36, has his own franchise credentials: Beast in the X-Men films and Lex Luthor in Superman, plus a well-received turn in Nosferatu. The two have a history. Hoult was reportedly the runner-up to Pattinson for the Batman role in the 2022 film, so they may be going head to head for a second blockbuster franchise.

Variety added that Harry Styles “had discussions” about the part, though it is unclear whether he actually auditioned. IGN’s summary of the Variety report says Theo James has not been ruled out either. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone noted that the buzz around Jacob Elordi, once seen as a frontrunner, has quieted in recent weeks.

How the search got here

The hunt began in May, when the studio said casting director Nina Gold had joined the project. Deadline reports that first-round auditions followed in August, and that the studio, producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, and Villeneuve narrowed the list and sent out test offers in September. The final James Bond screen tests were originally planned for earlier in October. Scheduling conflicts among the finalists pushed them to the end of the month so they could happen around the same time.

Public speculation has run ahead of the facts. NME noted that Bond experts claimed Turner had effectively won the role after he was reportedly spotted at a screen test at Bray Studios in Berkshire. A separate rumour, based on an account allegedly from a colleague, said O’Connor had been cast. Neither claim has been confirmed, and the arrival of two more reported candidates complicates both stories.

What happens next

The new film will be the first since Amazon took creative control of the franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in February 2025. Villeneuve will direct from a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Pascal has said the new Bond will be announced before the end of 2026, adding: “We are being really, really methodical… Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow.”

Deadline says most observers expect a decision by the end of November, potentially before Thanksgiving. Until Amazon says otherwise, the full list of candidates, and who made the final cut, remains unverified. Craig himself was announced as Bond in October 2005 and played the role in five films through 2021’s No Time to Die.

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File photo: MJK 08789 Robert Pattinson (Damsel, Berlinale 2018).jpg by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sebastián Lelio, the Chilean director whose A Fantastic Woman won the Oscar for best international feature, has died in Santiago at the age of 52. His family announced the news on Friday in an Instagram post that cited health reasons without giving a cause.

What is known about his death

The family statement, shared through the account of his partner, Amalia Kassai, spoke of “profound grief” and described him as “a beautiful person who contributed to Chilean culture in great moments of its history.” The family asked for privacy. The Hollywood Reporter, citing Chile’s El Mercurio Online, said Lelio was found dead by Kassai at his home in the Las Condes district of Santiago. Deadline likewise cited local media reports that he was found at home. None of the accounts gives a medical cause, and the family has referred only to “health complications.”

A career that crossed languages and borders

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, in 1974, Lelio moved to Chile as a toddler, grew up in Viña del Mar and studied journalism for a year before switching to the Chilean Film School. His first feature, The Sacred Family (2005), played at San Sebastián. Navidad (2009) and The Year of the Tiger (2011) followed.

The international breakthrough came with Gloria (2013), a Berlin premiere about a free-spirited middle-aged divorcee played by Paulina García. He remade it in English as Gloria Bell (2018) with Julianne Moore. Disobedience (2017), set in a conservative Jewish community in London, paired Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. The Wonder (2022), a period drama with Florence Pugh as a nurse sent to investigate a girl said to be living without food, earned a BAFTA nomination for outstanding British film.

His most recent release was The Wave, a musical that premiered at Cannes in 2025. It dramatises the feminist protest movement that swept Chile in 2018 and was his first film in his home country since A Fantastic Woman.

The film that made history

A Fantastic Woman starred the transgender actress Daniela Vega as a waitress and singer who is shut out of mourning when her older partner dies. It won the Golden Bear’s top prize at Berlin, a Spirit Award and, in 2018, the Academy Award. Reports differ slightly on the framing: the Independent notes it was Chile’s second Oscar after the animated short Bear Story, while Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter stress that it remains the country’s only win in the foreign-language category.

In the Guardian, critic Peter Bradshaw called it Lelio’s masterpiece. He saw it as a work with a plain political edge, in which a hostile society tries to erase a woman from her own grief. Bradshaw also drew a thread between that film and Gloria. In his reading, both are about people denied pleasure and dignity, and Gloria’s generation, he argued, had its young adulthood warped by the Pinochet years. That is why Bradshaw placed Lelio within Chile’s wider film renaissance, alongside Pablo Larraín and the late Patricio Guzmán, while saying few directors captured the country’s conflicted 21st-century mood as fully. He called him “a great humanist and a great cinematic poet of ordinary lives.”

Unfinished work and tributes

Lelio began shooting Chilean Poet, adapted from Alejandro Zambra’s book, in September. Deadline also reports he had Voyagers in development, with Andrew Garfield as Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Ann Druyan. It is unclear from the sources what will happen to either project.

Sony Pictures Classics, which released A Fantastic Woman in the US, called him “a one-of-a-kind filmmaker whose work continued to evolve and surprise audiences around the world.” The studio said his work “challenged conventions, touched hearts and left an indelible mark on international cinema.”

That range, from a Santiago divorcee’s dance floor to a Victorian Irish village and a protest musical, is what the tributes keep returning to. Whatever the setting or language, Sebastián Lelio’s films kept coming back to people pushing against the limits imposed on their lives, and he did it with warmth and a sense of play.

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File photo: Sebastián Lelio (Berlinale 2017) (cropped).jpg by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monty Don’s Gardeners’ World farewell arrived on Friday 6 November, when the 71-year-old presented his final episode from Longmeadow, the garden that has been the show’s home for 16 years. Joined by his dog Ned, he closed the programme with the words: “From myself, Ned, and Longmeadow it’s the final goodbye.”

It ended a stint that began in 2003, when he took over from Alan Titchmarsh at Titchmarsh’s own request. The episode is available on BBC iPlayer.

A sign-off built around the garden and its dogs

Don did not use his last broadcast for a grand speech about his career. He spoke about the garden. He recalled starting out at Berryfields, the show’s earlier base, and moving to Longmeadow, and noted that “the garden has grown.” He also remembered Nigel, Nellie and Patty, the dogs who appeared alongside him in earlier years.

He described the “constant factor” as the “incredible privilege and pleasure” of sharing his garden and gardening life with viewers, and of working with “so many superb people.” His closing line was a message to the audience: “good luck with your own gardens in the future.”

Longmeadow is also his private home, which he and his wife Sarah bought in 1991. For viewers, that meant the line between presenter and gardener was always thin. Seasons of planting, mistakes and changes were played out in a real, lived-in space.

Why he is stepping back, and what he is still doing

Don announced in September that the current series would be his last. He called the job “deeply rewarding” but said “now is the right time for a change.” The Independent reports that he wanted a break from the relentless demands of the show, and that he will keep working with the BBC on other projects.

The Gardeners’ World farewell is therefore not a full disappearance. During the episode he confirmed he will remain on the presenting line-up for next year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He will also appear in two winter specials expected before Christmas. One will be a celebratory episode in which he reflects on his years on the programme and how Longmeadow has changed.

Who takes over Gardeners’ World?

The BBC has not named a successor. It says details of the next series will come later. Bookmakers and viewers have pointed to regular co-presenters Frances Tophill and Adam Frost as leading contenders, although Tophill has played down expectations that she would step directly into his role.

Whoever gets the job inherits a format closely tied to one person’s garden and personality. Don has shown that the programme can survive a change of host, since he himself replaced a much-loved predecessor. He also showed it can survive an absence. After a minor stroke in 2008 he took a three-year break, and the show moved to his private garden when he returned.

Tributes and a long career

According to the Independent, Jo Whiley, Sharleen Spiteri and Tophill were among those who paid tribute after the broadcast. The BBC said earlier that he had “inspired and guided millions of viewers with his warmth, wisdom and passion for gardening.”

Before Gardeners’ World, Don’s television work included Tomorrow’s World, Holiday and a gardening slot on This Morning. He was made an OBE in 2018 for services to horticulture, broadcasting and charity, and has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest honour in horticulture.

For now, viewers have two more winter specials and a Chelsea appearance to look forward to. After that, the Gardeners’ World farewell will be complete, and the BBC will have to decide who stands in the garden next.

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File photo: Monty Don Left.jpg by jo-h, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A throwaway answer during a video game livestream has put the newly crowned NBA champions in the awkward position of apologizing, in effect, for their own players. Taylor Swift was labeled a performative fan by two New York Knicks guards this week, and the team moved within a day to say she is nothing of the sort.

The remarks came on Thursday during an NBA 2K livestream, part of the league’s “Deflected” series. Guards Tyler Kolek and Miles “Deuce” McBride were playing the game when they were asked to name the “fakest celebrity Knicks fan.” Kolek went first. Some famous faces at Madison Square Garden, he said, “just want to be seen at the game, they’re not necessarily fans.” Then he added: “Maybe Taylor Swift?”

What the players actually said

The comments were softer than the headlines suggest. Kolek said he didn’t know whether he had seen Swift at any other games, then offered her an out: “I guess she’s got a lot going on, so she can’t come all the time.” He still landed on calling her appearances “a little performative.” He also predicted he would “get some hate from the Swifties.”

McBride said he agreed. He also named two celebrity fans he considers reliable, actor Ben Stiller and comedian Tracy Morgan, saying “everybody else is usually solid.” According to one report, McBride joked that Kolek was only trying to cushion the blow.

The Knicks respond

On Friday a team spokesperson gave the same statement to several outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter and the BBC. “Taylor Swift has been a Knicks fan for many years, has a long history with Madison Square Garden, and we are incredibly appreciative of her support of the organisation.”

The reaction also reached Kolek’s home. His girlfriend, Alexi Sousa, posted a TikTok describing herself as a Swiftie “waking up next to Tyler & seeing what he had to say about my girl.” She added that Swift is her “favorite celeb Knicks fan btw.” Swift had not responded publicly when the sources were published.

Is the performative fan label fair?

The record shows a mixed picture. Swift sat in the crowd for Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland, reportedly with Travis Kelce, and again at Game Four of the NBA Finals in New York in June. Kolek’s point that her sightings are sporadic is not baseless. But the team’s argument rests on a longer history than one postseason.

Swift was photographed at Knicks games in 2014, including a October matchup with the Chicago Bulls. In a TIME interview that November, she tied her interest in the team to friendly encounters with then-Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire and his wife at the Met Gala. She also recalled performing in the Garden’s halftime talent contest as a young girl. Asked why she supported a struggling team, she replied, “I love them, though. Why does that matter?”

Her ties to the arena go deeper than basketball. She has headlined there on tours, and in July she married Kelce at Madison Square Garden in a ceremony officiated by Adam Sandler.

Her Game Four appearance was also hardly passive. She wore a custom blue shirt reading “Stevie Knicks” alongside Este and Alana Haim and actor Mariska Hargitay. Alana Haim told Vogue that Swift texted her the pun and asked her to make the shirts, which she printed at home on $2.99 tees. The night itself was historic: the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106, the largest comeback ever in an NBA Finals game, according to the NBA. They clinched their first title since 1973 in Game Five.

Why it matters beyond the quip

Celebrity courtside culture has long invited skepticism from players and fans who see seats as a place to be photographed. Kolek’s comment tapped into that. But naming the most famous woman in pop music as the example, in the same season she was at the center of the team’s championship celebrations, guaranteed a bigger reaction than a casual answer in a game stream would normally get.

The Knicks’ quick response suggests the organization saw little upside in letting the label stand. It also shows how a light-hearted question can become a public-relations matter once a name like Swift’s is attached. Whether she is a devoted supporter or an occasional visitor, the team has made clear which description it prefers. And on the court, at least, the champions have little to complain about from anyone who showed up for that comeback.

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File photo: Taylor Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (3).png by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.