The beloved BBC drama has been on screens since 2012, but is set to take a break

Beloved BBC period drama Call The Midwife will not be returning for a Christmas special this year.

The popular show about midwives working in the East End is currently in its 15th series, which is set to conclude on March 8. Show creator Heidi Thomas has confirmed that the programme will then take a hiatus. Although it is slated to return for a 16th series at some point, it won’t be in January as per tradition, with the series taking a break.

It’s also been confirmed that the usual festive special – which is typically a highlight of the Christmas TV schedule for many viewers – will not be broadcast this December, reports the Mirror.

“We have made 15 series in 15 years – I’ve known for a couple of years that that situation won’t go on for ever,” Heidi revealed to Radio Times. “The sets need repair. The nuns’ habits are worn out. It takes 14 months to make every series.”

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READ MORE: Call the Midwife fan reveals unique reason for falling asleep to BBC showREAD MORE: Helen George admits she ‘sobbed’ filming Call the Midwife season 15 finale

Heidi explained that she and producer Annie Tricklebank work on two series simultaneously for two months each year, describing the workload as “immense” and explaining that it’s only sustainable for “so long”.

During the Call The Midwife interlude, audiences will instead be treated to a wartime prequel series.

Kicking off on Christmas Day, it will feature 1940s versions of Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), and the late Sister Evangeline, previously played by Pam Ferris.

A film featuring the regular cast, likely set in Australia in 1972, is also in the works.

The air date for the 16th series of the show remains unconfirmed.

However, Heidi informed Radio Times that the show will return with a “slightly recalibrated” format. “Changes will have taken place, but the change itself is not destructive,” she explained. “It’s nourishing.”

Call The Midwife, featuring Helen George as Nurse Trixie Franklin, debuted in 2012 and has since broadcast 15 series set between the 1950s and 1970s, along with numerous Christmas specials.

The current series, centred on the midwives of Nonnatus House, commenced in January and is set in 1971.

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Call The Midwife will air at 8pm on BBC One on March 8

Two fire crews were called to the scene in Sheriff Hutton, between York and Malton, shortly before 1.30pm on Monday (March 2).

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the crews were called to a report of a hedge on fire in Finkle Street which “spread to a nearby shed”.

Crews extinguished the blaze using two hose reel jets and dampened down the area, the fire service said.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for California schools to inform parents if their children identify as transgender without student approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

This order temporarily blocks a state law that prohibited automatic parental notification when students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.

The ruling follows challenges from religious parents and educators against California school policies preventing schools from outing students to their families. Catholic parents, represented by the Thomas More Society, claimed schools misled them and secretly facilitated their children’s social transition despite their objections.

California officials countered that students have a right to privacy regarding their gender expression, especially if they fear family rejection, and that school policies aimed to balance this with parental rights.

The high court, though, sided with the parents and reinstated a lower-court order blocking the law and school policies while the case continues to play out.

The Supreme Court has ruled for religious plaintiffs in other recent cases, including allowing parents to pull their children from public-school lessons if they object to storybooks with LGBTQ+ characters.

The California order comes months after the court upheld state bans on gender-identity-related healthcare for minors. The justices also seem to be leaning toward allowing states to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams.

School policies for transgender students, meanwhile, have also been on the court’s radar in other cases.

The court rebuffed another similar case out of Wisconsin in December, but three conservative justices indicated they would have heard the case. Justice Samuel Alito called the school policies “an issue of great and growing national importance.”

The Trump administration, meanwhile, found in January that California’s policies violated parents’ right to access their children’s education records. The Justice Department also sued after determining the states’ transgender athlete policies violate federal civil rights law.

It’s difficult to imagine the landscape of British pop culture without Lily Allen, one of its most influential and, at times, divisive figures. She’s been making headlines since the release of her debut album Alright, Still in 2006, and now, 20 years later, she continues to exorcise her demons in public, for her latest record West End Girl.

West End Girl is a ferociously candid account of the ruptures and revelations leading to the collapse of a marriage. It is her big comeback, her renaissance, and it has been met with widespread acclaim — praised for its storytelling and Allen’s trademark candour. The Independent’s review called it a “brutal, tell-all masterpiece”.

Tonight, Allen performs it in full at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, the opening show of a tour of UK theatres and her first proper live gig in seven years. It feels like an unconventional venue for a pop star, but what lies ahead is more like a one-woman play. Allen turns out to be her own support act, in a way, as three cellists play instrumental versions of her biggest hits. This karaoke session is messy, awkward and delightful, a singalong pub affair chanting “f*** you very, very much”. It is the prologue before ACT I begins.

The setlist unfolds in the same order as the album itself. We begin with the title track, “West End Girl”; strobe lights flash as Allen appears in a staged apartment scene, complete with shag carpet. Each song unfolds in this intimate setting, with the music played on a backing track paired with Allen’s crystalline vocals. There is a certain coyness to the delivery of her paradoxically confronting lyrics, the pain and heartbreak almost Disneyfied – “my marriage has been open since my husband went astray” – as she modestly sways between lamp fixtures to the synth-pop of “Dallas Major”.

The theatre direction of this tour somewhat confines Allen when it comes to any sense of spontaneity, yet her superb storytelling and stage presence make for a captivating watch – the jaunty song arrangements and subtle humour soften the blow of each song’s dark truth. Phone torches illuminate the concert hall as she reaches her penultimate song, “Let You W/In”, the audience serving as spectators to Allen’s reclamation.

It is absolutely no surprise that Allen is currently in talks to modify West End Girl into a proper stage play. Her tour shows it’s almost there already, a blend of concert and play, in which Allen plays the starring role. It takes real skill to transform cataclysmic hurt and betrayal into something so dazzling.

If you’re a Great British Sewing Bee fan, you might remember my face. I’m Annie Phillips. I won the 2022 series of the show and now I sew for a living. I divide my time between running my own fashion house (Made by Annie) and leading upcycling workshops to breathe new life back into your wardrobe. I’ve even written a book on the subject called Upcycle: A Modern Maker’s Guide to Sewing and Mending a Preloved Wardrobe.

Some of the people who sign up for my classes have never used a sewing machine before, while others are more experienced, but most are coming for the same reason. They’ve fallen out of love with their wardrobe, but they can’t bring themselves to buy new clothes when their old ones still have so much wear.

If that sounds like you, then you should try your hand at upcycling. It’s just another word for the “make do and mend” ethos that has inspired generations of sewers. Here are my top tips for first-timers. You can see all the garments behind my advice in this short video:

Watson had appeared unsteady in the aftermath of the collision, failing in an initial attempt to stand from a kneeling position.

Jack Nowell replaced Watson as he was assessed for signs of concussion, but six minutes later, Watson jogged back on to the pitch and proceeded to play the remainder of the Lions’ 24-21 win.

Watson also played 72 minutes of the drawn series decider at Eden Park seven days later.

The recall element of the head injury assessment has since changed.

Instead of being asked to recall a set list of five words, with results compared to a baseline set when unimpaired at the start of the season, a random sequence is generated from a bank of 20 different words for each assessment.

Players are penalised for incorrect answers, meaning learning and repeating all 20 would result in a fail.

Watson’s fellow England wing Jonny May admitted in 2019 that, after a head knock in a game against Wales, he had tried, and failed, to pass the same part of the test by repeating words., external

Players are also tested on their balance and orientation, and have to pass all elements of the assessment to return to play.

Independent doctors also review video replays and data from smart mouthguards to review collisions. In rare cases they can overrule the results of an assessment if they still have concerns about a player’s performance in it or there was an error in administering it.

Whether players pass and return to action, or fail and are removed, they will continue to be assessed in the hours and days that follow.

The Good Food Easter Taste Awards has named the best Easter eggs on supermarket shelves this year

The finest Easter egg available in shops this year has been officially crowned by culinary specialists. With Easter rapidly drawing near, chocolate enthusiasts will be eager to discover which delectable treat has claimed this prestigious accolade.

According to expert panellists from the Good Food Easter Taste Awards, this specific milk chocolate offering emerged victorious following a blind tasting session featuring over 100 chocolate products. The highest-scoring egg wowed judges with its taste, consistency and seasonal charm.

How the assessment was carried out

To run their awards, Good Food invited nine supermarkets to submit their finest Easter products spanning 13 categories. Every item was sampled blind, with wrapping stripped away to guarantee fairness.

Panellists provided feedback and ratings out of 10 for each entry via anonymous digital forms, with the whole procedure was supervised by an independent moderator.

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What claimed top spot?

Aldi’s Moser Roth Millionaire Overload Egg, retailing at £8.49, has triumphed in the milk chocolate egg category. The culinary specialists noted: “This drama-filled half-egg is a super-indulgent Easter treat.

“There’s a lot going on inside to channel the flavours of millionaire’s shortbread: a generous layer of sweet caramel and plenty of crunchy, buttery shortbread pieces inside a super-thick milk chocolate shell – which is sprayed gold for a little extra Easter glitz.”

The cost might leave many reeling, given Aldi’s reputation for wallet-friendly pricing. Nevertheless, numerous Easter eggs appearing on supermarket shelves this year are becoming more expensive, according to The Guardian.

Assistant editor Samantha Bartlett from The Mirror recently visited a supermarket and was left stunned by Easter Egg pricing. She noted: “I had to do a double-take when I saw that the supermarket wanted an eye-watering £16 for its Maltesers Crunchy Milk Chocolate Easter Egg. Yes, you read that correctly.”

Samantha added: “I understand that different Easter eggs have a higher or lower price point, but I’ve never considered Maltesers and Mars (the company who make them) to be a luxury brand, so I was stunned to see it was so expensive.

“It wasn’t just the Maltesers Easter egg too that was costly, the Toblerone ‘Egdy Egg’ is also a whopping £15.50, as is the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunky Ultimate Egg and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Biscoff Egg.”

Easter eggs are also experiencing a reduction in size owing to soaring cocoa prices, which are driving a “fresh wave of shrinkflation”.

This occurs when products become smaller. Toothpaste, coffee and even indigestion remedies are amongst the latest items to be affected.

Winners in the other categories

• Top dark chocolate egg: Tesco Finest Free From Seville Orange & Dark Chocolate Egg (£8.50)
• Best unique flavour egg: Waitrose No. 1 The Chocolate Almond Croissant (£15)
• Best novelty shape egg: Waitrose Lulu Guinness Milk Chocolate Lips (£15)
• Best chocolate bunny: Aldi Specially Selected Milk Chocolate Baby Bunny (99p)

So far, only Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee City Councils have approved the day off for staff.

Staff at Dundee City Council are set to receive an extra day off after councillors backed proposals to mark the World Cup bank holiday.

The City of Discovery has become the third Scottish council to approve the day off after Aberdeen and Glasgow but the majority of councils have so far rejected the idea.

Schools are also set to be closed for the day in the cities after councillors agreed to the holiday.

Last month, King Charles III formally proclaimed the bank holiday which will taken place on Monday, June 15 – a day after Scotland open their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Boston.

Last week, Aberdeenshire, East Lothian, Midlothian, Perth and Kinross, Shetland, Moray and East Renfrewshire Councils all officially rejected the holiday for their employees.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has also rejected the day off for its staff while Edinburgh, Fife, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire and Scottish Borders Council have all said they don’t plan to offer the holiday to employees. Council officers in Argyll and Bute are also recommending refusing the holiday.

Most councils who have refused to recognise the public holiday for their employees have cited the costs involved.

South Lanarkshire Council is set to decide on the proposals when it meets later this week.

First Minister John Swinney proposed the bank holiday to mark the national men’s football team’s return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Steve Clarke‘s men will take on Haiti, Morocco and Brazil at the competition which is being staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July.

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In both cases, the US sent thousands of ground troops into combat. Trump has limited the attack on Iran to air strikes, as he did last year in a separate strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He did not, however, rule out sending ground troops in the future “if they were necessary” in a brief telephone interview with the New York Post on Monday.

North Yorkshire Police are hunting for 36-year-old Robert Chinchen on recall to prison for breaching his Slavery and Trafficking Risk Order.

They added that they believe he is likely to be in the Scarborough area.

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“Extensive enquiries have been ongoing to locate Chinchen and we’re now appealing for your help to help find him,” said a spokesperson for the force.

He is described as white with a slim build.

If you see him, or have any information about his current whereabouts, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101 or if the sighting is immediate, please call 999.

Alternatively, you can pass on information anonymously through independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Please quote reference number 12260036434 when providing any information.