THE CROWN star Imelda Staunton got royal approval as she was made a Dame by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.

The 68-year-old, who earned Bafta TV and Golden Globe nominations for the role in Netflix’s hit drama The Crown, was honoured for her services to drama and charity by Prince William yesterday.

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She is also known for playing the evil Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films, with her other film credits also including Downton Abbey, Paddington and Nanny McPhee.

Asked if it felt surreal to be recognised with her damehood by Charles in the King’s Birthday Honours having played his mother, Dame Imelda said: “It was a huge privilege. That was two years of filming, and I absolutely adored it.

“It was of course devastating when Her Majesty died – we were filming as well, it was tricky.”

Dame Imelda starred as the former monarch in the fifth and sixth series of the royal drama.

She joined Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon, former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder turned pundit Graeme Souness, plus M People lead singer Heather Small as well as X Factor’s Rebecca Ferguson at the gong ceremony. 

Graeme Souness has said fundraising for a charity has allowed people to see “the real me” as he was made a CBE at Windsor Castle.

Souness, who represented his country at three World Cups and won five league titles and three European Cups with the Reds, was honoured for his services to football and charity with a CBE.

Le Bon and Heather Small were both made an MBE.

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Barney & Friends musical director Bob Singleton has revealed he received multiple “horrible” death threats over the infectious songs featured in the show.

The children’s show, which was led by a singing purple dinosaur named Barney, was a major hit from 1992 to 2010.

Speaking on a new episode of the podcast Generation Barney, Singleton recalled that the show’s critical acclaim was matched by disturbing feedback from viewers.

“When I was nominated for a Grammy, a local talk radio station said, ‘Hey, this is great,’” he said. “Then someone called in and said, ‘I wish I could get my hands around the neck of that guy. I would just, I would really like to take him out.’”

The rise of the internet made it even easier for disgruntled viewers to contact and threaten Singleton.

“My email address was out there, and I was getting people sending me emails… that [were] threatening me and my family with horrible, horrible death and dismemberment and terrible things,” said the producer and composer.

“It was frightening. I remember going to a luncheon once and they’ve got us sat at a table. I said I had been the music director on Barney and this one guy – and I’m sure he was well-meaning – said ‘Wow, my kids loved you but I just wanted to kill you.’

“In that moment, I have to think, ‘Okay, is this somebody that I need to watch for in the parking lot, you know?’ Or is he just, is that just his way of going, ‘My kids liked it, I didn’t’. So, it was awkward.”

In 2022, the documentary I Love You, You Hate Me explored why so many adults despised Barney.

The Independent’s Eloise Hendy wrote about some of the more lurid stories included in the documentary, asking: “Did you know it’s believed that the Pentagon used Barney music as a torture device, forcing prisoners to listen to his saccharine and relentlessly peppy theme song for 24 hours straight?

“Did you know that the son of Sheryl Leach, one of the show’s creators, once shot his neighbor multiple times in the chest? Or that one of the very first websites in existence was named ‘alt.dinosaur.Barney.die.die.die’? Or that there was once a roleplaying game called ‘The Jihad to Destroy Barney,’ supposedly dedicated to the ‘general eradication of Barney the Dinosaur from television airwaves, the internet, all media, and the face of the Earth?’”

MARRIED At First Sight viewers tonight slammed “selfish” Sacha for “making Ross choose between his daughter and her”.

It comes just hours after the Brummie bride lashed out at E4 bosses for “doing her dirty” with the edit for the final vows.

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Sacha previously said her marriage would be over if Ross didn’t move to her hometown Walsall.

When it comes to where they’ll settle together after the experiment, Ross had reservations as his daughter, Blue, is currently living in Manchester and he didn’t want to be too far away from her.

But tonight fans were left fuming when Sacha burst into tears as Ross talked about needing to be close to his daughter, during their final vows.

Before he could finish what he was saying, the bride ran off and was seen crying hysterically.

Fans took to social media to share their dismay at her reaction.

One wrote: “Sacha and her family, are incredibly selfish with their demands that Ross should move there.

“Absolutely no thought for his very young daughter!”

While another tweeted: “Am I the only one that thinks Sacha is so selfish, making Ross move away from his daughter because she can’t be away from her dad, so selfish.”

This one added: “I’m sorry but Sacha is so selfish he can’t just leave his daughter?”

However, Sacha need not have worried as when she returned from crying, Ross said he would move to Walsall.

Before tonight’s episode was aired, Sacha revealed that there was a part of the scene that has been cut – as she dropped a major spoiler.

It came after the scene was teased at the end of last night’s episode of MAFS.

Sharing her frustration on social media, Sacha wrote: “OMG already fuming with the edit for final vows.”

She then shared: “I can’t write here now why I was crying but it was to do with them ruining a surprise I had for Ross.

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“As if they’ve done me that dirty.”

She also captioned her post: “Absolutely disgusting they’d do that to me.

Sacha insisted she’d explain what exactly happened after the episode airs tonight.

The reality star then posted an Instagram story where she vented at the producers.

She furiously added: “I am seething, I want to swear so bad. How dare they make it look like I was crying over something to do with what Ross was saying.

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“No no no no no…they ruined something for me, a surprise I had for Ross right before the vows and they’ve edited to make it look like I was crying about Walsall.

“They’ve done me dirty, how false and fake and ridiculous and a complete lie that edit is.

“I didn’t think they were that bad, but they are that bad.”

Fans were previously left shocked to learn that the distance between where the two lived wasn’t a long journey.

It came when they discovered that Walsall and Manchester is only about an hour-and-a-half drive down the motorway from each other.

However despite all of this, it has been revealed how the couple split – two weeks after filming wrapped.

A source told MailOnline: “Sacha had an incredible experience filming Married At First Sight UK and she truly thought her marriage with Ross would work.

“She moved to Manchester to be with him but after just two weeks he went cold and ended their romance for good

“Sacha was devastated and now watching their journey back as the show airs makes processing their breakup even harder.

“Producers weren’t happy either… Ross gave away that he and Sacha were no longer together by posting photos with his new girlfriend – he had no problem flaunting his romance despite the fact it would hurt his ex-wife’s feelings.”

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Elon Musk has spoken out amid claims he made Chloe Fineman cry on the set of Saturday Night Live.

In a now-deleted TikTok post, the 36-year-old comedian said the Tesla CEO upset her when he hosted the comedy sketch series in 2021. According to Fineman, she had pulled an all-nighter during the week Musk was hosting the show. When she presented her sketch to Musk, he allegedly critiqued her writing and told her he wasn’t the least bit amused.

“You made I, Chloe Fineman, burst into tears because I stayed up all night writing a sketch. I was so excited,” she said in the video. “I came in, I asked if you had any questions, and you stared at me like you were firing me from Tesla and were like, ‘It’s not funny.’”

Fineman initially thought the SpaceX owner was joking, and waited for him to say he actually loved the sketch. Instead, Musk further criticized her work.

“I waited for you to be like, ‘Haha, JK.’ No. Then you started pawing through my script, flipping each page, being like, ‘I didn’t laugh once. Not one time,’” she said.

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One day after Fineman shared and deleted the video from her TikTok page, Musk took to X/Twitter to indirectly address her accusations. The billionaire businessman offered his side of the story, without calling out Fineman for bringing their alleged conversation online.

“Frankly, it was only on the Thursday before the Saturday that ANY of the sketches generated laughs. I was worried,” Musk wrote on November 12.

“I was like damn my SNL appearance is going to be so f***ing unfunny that it will make a crackhead sober,” he said. “But then it worked out in the end.”

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Musk also responded to one X/Twitter user who wrote about Fineman: “She’s a professional comedy writer who cries when someone doesn’t think her jokes are funny? That’s funny.”

“Seriously,” Musk replied, along with a straight face amoji.

On November 9, SNL sarcastically praised the results of the 2024 U.S. election, which saw Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris, in its first post-election show. During the cold open, comedian Dana Carvey impersonated the tech tycoon jumping for joy in a “Make America Great Again” hat, much like he did at Trump’s October 5 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Check it out, dark MAGA,” Carvey said, flailing his arms in the air and pointing to his hat.

While many fans found Carvey’s take on Musk to be frighteningly accurate, Musk was once again not amused. Under a clip from the show on X/Twitter, he wrote: “Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey.”

Musk also said: “They are so mad that @realDonaldTrump won.”

Fineman’s claims come after fellow cast member Bowen Yang revealed on Watch What Happens Live that one former host made “multiple” castmates cry before the table read “because he hated the ideas.”

At the time, Yang did not reveal who the SNL host was.

SHIRLEY Ballas today hit out AGAIN after being cruelly trolled amid an on-going fix row.

It comes as the head judge, 60, fueled speculation she might quit Strictly Come Dancing, following backlash from fans.

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The speculation comes after Shirley responded to criticism on social media, addressing negative comments about her judging.

Her recent remarks suggest frustration with the ongoing scrutiny and trolling she has faced, sparking concerns she may choose to quit.

Today she posted an Instagram video where she thanked fans, after she had been cruelly trolled.

Speaking from a hotel in Gibraltar, Shirley said: “Hi everyone, I’m currently in Gibraltar for a couple of days, promoting my new book. I’m going to see the Rock of Gibraltar and all the monkeys, I’m excited about that.

“But I’m mainly on today because I wanted to thank you all for reaching out with your beautiful messages.

“For you know, for the handful of vitriol and awful messages I got, I got thousands of supporting messages and that really made my day.

“So I appreciate that. Anyway, I’m looking forward to Blackpool next week.

“I shall be doing a book event at the Winter Gardens on Friday and then we’ll have the competition on Saturday in the Tower Ballroom.

“So I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of you outside that stand and want to say hello.

“But again, you know, hugs from me to you because you sure made me feel better this week.

“To each and every one of you that understand the show, I love you. Take care.”

The backlash against Shirley came after Strictly Come Dancing said goodbye to Shayne Ward on Sunday when he became the seventh celebrity to be axed on Sunday night.

The former X Factor star went up against GoCompare star Wynne Evans and Katya Jones during Sunday’s results show.

Both couples performed their routines again, with Shayne and Nancy Xu dancing their rumba to Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper.

Then, Wynne and Katya performed their American smooth to Grace Kelly by Mika.

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After both couples had danced a second time, the judges delivered their verdicts.

Both Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse chose to save Shayne and Nancy.

But Anton Du Beke opted for Wynne and Katya.

With two votes in favour of Shayne and Nancy, the decision on who would stay came down to Shirley, who decided to save Wynne and Katya.

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As Head Judge, Shirley’s was the deciding vote, meaning that Shayne and Nancy would be leaving the competition.

Some fans have blasted Shirley for having favourites in the dancing competition.

Taking to X, one fan wrote: “Can we start a petition to get Shirley off this show, she doesn’t even bother trying to conceal her favouritism anymore and she’s head judge?? It’s just not fair on the other contestants #strictly.”

Shirley jokingly replied: “Where do I sign lol. Night night. X”

Some fans disagreed: “The right one was voted off!! Shirley is brilliant!”

Others suggested: “I do think in that situation, two each, they should revert to the public vote, i.e whoever got most goes through.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:45pm on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

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Charlamagne Tha God has been hit with backlash after he repeatedly misgendered Caitlyn Jenner.

The 46-year-old radio host recalled how Jenner came out as a transgender woman in 2015 during a new episode of his show,The Breakfast Club. His remarks came as Jenner showed her support for U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election last week.

“If there’s one thing this election taught me it’s that people really do vote their interest, and their interest is not attached to their identity. And I must say, it’s fascinating to me,” Charlamagne said while pointing out that many people who voted for Trump were Latinos, despite the 47th president’s mass deportation plans.

“I just find it fascinating,” he continued. “That is also how I feel about Caitlyn because Caitlyn is trans but she is a huge Donald Trump supporter.”

Charlamagne – real name Lenard Larry McKelvey – then claimed that Jenner offered to work alongside Trump after he won the election.

“These two men will single-handedly save Western civilization and that starts with a strong United States of America,” she wrote on X/Twitter on November 6, alongside a picture of herself with Trump and Elon Musk. “I am here and at your service and forever indebted to your sacrifice for this country. Let’s Make America Great Again!”

She later clarified that she didn’t necessarily want to work in Trump’s administration, calling the Daily Mail’s headline about her making an “offer to Donald Trump” after the election “a bit misleading.”

“My stance remains unchanged as entirely supportive of the President, since 2015, emphasizing a commitment to serve if called upon,” she explained in a follow-up post.

However, Charlamagne still hit back at Jenner by describing her using he/him pronouns. He once again criticized the former decathlete’s support for Trump, who has pledged to “stop” gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors.

“Caitlyn Jenner, as a transgender, you just look like a devil damn fool glazing Trump and Elon the way you are after hearing stuff like that,” he said, after playing recent remarks from Trump, in which he planned to revoke President Joe Biden’s policies for gender-affirming healthcare. “Now, I don’t have a problem choosing issues over identity, but not if one of the issues is somebody trying to erase the existence of my identity altogether.”

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He added: “What I don’t like is when someone can reap the benefits of a community, but not stand up for the rights of that community.”

Charlamagne also alleged that Jenner “doesn’t want to be an advocate for the trans community,” but she took “advantages of all the privileges” of being transgender. He then discussed how Jenner was named Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” in 2015, in which she was described as “a trans champion.”

“If you’re going to be labeled a ‘trans champion,’ you have to be ready to go to the mat for them at all times,” he added, before calling Jenner “a rich white male.”

In the podcast’s YouTube comments section, many people criticized Charlamagne for misgendering Jenner during the episode.

“So y’all gonna let Charla get away with misgendering Caitlin like that? Where’s the outrage and the time to cancel him,” wrote one person.

“Charlie, you’re missing the mark on trans rights,” another user wrote. “Meanwhile you’re speaking ignorantly about a trans person, going against your party. Pick a lane bruh.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for Charlamagne Tha God for comment. A representative for Jenner declined to comment.

Following Jenner’s viral X/Twitter post congratulating Musk and Trump after the election, the reality TV star clarified her stance on being a voice for the entire transgender community. “I am not a trans advocate. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. But, I am a trans person,” she posted on November 6.

Days later, she reflected on receiving Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” award in 2015 – a title that, according to Jenner, she didn’t want to hold anymore.

“While I never competed for one of the dozens of ‘Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year’ awards, awarded to me in 2016, I accepted the award,” Jenner wrote on X/Twitter on November 9. “It has become clear, in speaking with many families, men and women, the distraught nature this acceptance of the award still brings them today. Upon discussion, thought and reflection, I agree.”

She concluded: “It’s important to me that I walk the walk, like I have on so many of the issues (minors not being treated for transitioning, and sports – no men in women’s sports) I can no longer in good faith hold onto this award.”