ITV NEWS anchor Ralph Blunsom has died aged 66.

The broadcasting legend’s passing was shared last night by Granada Reports, the channel’s northern division.

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His death was confirmed on air by colleague Rob Smith.

Blunsom’s career had seen him also work for BBC North West.

Co-star Victoria Grimes was among those to post a heartfelt message on X.

She shared a photo taken in Granada’s newsroom at MediaCity UK and a snap of Blunsom with 1958-2024 written across it.

She wrote: “A candle burning in @GranadaReports newsroom tonight for our Ralphy.

“A first class journalist, hilarious good company and a loyal friend. We will miss you more than you can ever know.”

BBC Breakfast editor Richard Frediani said: “All my thoughts with the family and friends of Ralph Blunsom, the former BBC North West Tonight and Granada Reports reporter who has died.

“He was always a lovely, friendly, fun colleague and he will be missed by many.”

ITV news reporter Jam Williams-Thomas shared several photos with and wrote: “Ralph. I had the absolute privilege of being your colleague, but more importantly your friend.

“We shared so many funny times and I can still hear your laugh now.

“You were always a champion of me and others coming up in the industry. Love you lots mate and will miss you greatly.”

WALFORD residents face a crisis as the market and Square Gardens are potentially being abolished.

Martin Fowler, Honey Mitchell and Billy Mitchell hold a crisis meeting in The Vic pub next week in EastEnders.

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They gather all the market traders and they discuss the possibility of the abolishment of the market and the Square Gardens.

Ian is summoned, and reveals the councils plans to transform the land.

Things soon escalate when the punters learn that Junior Knight has been given the prospective contract for the job.

Meanwhile, Nish starts to grow suspicious of The Six after he overhears a clandestine chat between Kathy and Suki.

He later rumbles the women’s group meet at No.41 where  they try to remember their statements from Christmas. 

Nish is adamant something is awry, but the women insist they have nothing to hide.

Nish insists on travelling with the group to the police station where he and the women are re-interviewed by DCI Arthurs on the events of Christmas.

Later, Nish heads to No.41, convinced Suki is hiding something.

Suki reels as Nish confronts her about the truth.

Suki invites the rest of The Six to No.41 on false pretences on Nish’s orders.

And it’s not long before things escalate as the women learn their secret is no longer safe.

Suki decides to take matters in her own hands and sends the rest of the women home.

But, it soon becomes clear that Nish will not be easily bought.

At No.41, Suki rejects Stacey’s calls as she prepares for the worst – Nish is moving back into No.41.

Most complained about soap storylines

Over the years, all three of the main soaps have featured plots that have had even die-hard fans reaching for their phones and laptops so they can get in touch with Ofcom and complain. Here are just some of the most scandalous…

EastEnders baby theft: 13,400 Ofcom complaints – Back in 2011, EastEnders was flooded with complaints when Ronnie Branning (RIP) swapped her baby for the dead son of Kat Moon. The storyline drew the most number of objections in the soap’s long history and saw it roundly criticised by campaigners – with 13,400 flying in over the course of the storyline. Some viewers called it “distressing” and “horrific” but Ofcom ruled the scenes were not “unduly disturbing”.

Emmerdale dog-napping: 550 Ofcom complaints – Back in 2016, Ross Barton and Charity Dingle came up with a plan to steal a dog and hold it ransom – but viewers didn’t like it one bit. The nation’s pet owners rose up, insisting the storyline would encourage copycats (not to mention copydogs). Complaints over two episodes totalled a staggering 550 and soap writers quickly learnt you don’t mess with animal-lovers.

Coronation Street double murder: 546 Ofcom complaints – Marginally less people complained about a gruesome double murder than objected to a dog-napping plot when Pat Phelan was at the centre of a spate of killings. First he forced Andy Carver to shoot dead Vinny Ashford – and then Pat killed Andy. All the bloodshed back in 2017 proved to be too much for some viewers, who lodged complaints in vast numbers about the “violent scenes”.

Avani has some difficult questions for Nish.

Then Nish summons The Six to meet him in The Vic pub.

But what has he got planned for them?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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I was expecting to like Rivals, Disney+’s new steamy eight-episode adaptation of the classic Jilly Cooper novel. With Eighties hairstyles and soundtrack, an all-star cast and more bonking than you can shake a stick (or, should I say, “rock-hard member”) at, what’s not to like? What I definitely wasn’t expecting, however, was to find myself swooning over Danny Dyer. But swoon I did.

In a completely unprecedented turn of events, it was the ex-EastEnders actor – amid an ensemble cast stuffed full of thinking women’s crumpets – who set pulses racing in the role of straight-talking, salt-of-the-earth, boy-dun-good tech magnate Freddie Jones.

Forget David Tennant (the dastardly Lord Baddingham), Aidan Turner (the tenacious rottweiler of a journalist Declan O’Hara) and Alex Hassell (cartoonishly sexy rake Rupert Campbell-Black) – Dyer’s gruff brand of charm sparked a thousand WhatsApp chats as the nation succumbed to what can only be described as “Freddie Fever”.

“It’s all I’m talking to people about,” one friend messaged me frantically over the weekend. “The quiet love and respect of Danny Dyer and how wholesome that is. We don’t want bad boys; we just want Danny Dyer! (Also DD is everyone’s w*** fantasy now).” I never thought I’d be reading these words, let alone agreeing with them. But credit where credit’s due.

“I love a ladder – stairway to heaven and all that,” he mutters at one point to sexually frustrated romance novelist Lizzie Vereker, played by Katherine Parkinson, in reference to the ladder in her tights. “Have you got any idea how f***ing beautiful you are?” he says at another. Her vapid fop of a husband, James Vereker (Oliver Chris), is too busy preening and presenting a daytime TV show to perform his marital duties. At Freddie’s words, she melts; we all melt with her.

Dyer and Parkinson are an unlikely pairing – one whose languid, simmering journey towards infidelity sounds, on paper, like the least sexy thing about a show bursting at the seams with adultery, betrayal and naked tennis matches. Why would anyone be on the edge of their seat to find out whether a man frequently typecast as hooligans and criminals and a character actor best known for her role as Jen Barber in The IT Crowd are going to finally rip each other’s clothes off? Yet their understated subplot (well, understated for a show in which the opening scene consists of Campbell-Black renewing his mile-high club membership) is the heart of the entire series. It’s the believable backbone, providing a much-needed injection of emotional investment that grounds the rest of this hugely entertaining shag-fest in something approaching reality.

Their slow-burn romance is perhaps so beguiling because it is slow, set in a fictional Cotswolds world where people need do no more than glance at each other before dropping trow and getting down and dirty. If desire is all about wanting and not having, then Freddie and Lizzie are its epitome; they find themselves first thrown and then drawn together at shoots and dinners and garden parties, creating a two-person bubble of warmth and intimacy whenever they meet before it’s abruptly popped by one of their deeply unlikeable spouses.

In spite – or perhaps because – of being rooted in simplicity, this dynamic is several hundred degrees hotter than Lord Baddingham’s torrid affair or Campbell-Black’s fast-paced bed-hopping. Freddie and Lizzie bond over their shared love of sweet treats, secretly snaffling a bar of Cadbury’s or a piece of fruitcake in defiance of their partners’ enforced diets; they giggle like school children while hiding in a train toilet to avoid paying for a first-class ticket. No innuendos or cheesy chat-up lines necessary – their admiration for one another is straightforward and no-frills, the Ryanair equivalent of saucy dialogue. Yet the sexiest line of the whole show comes courtesy of Freddie after he gallantly rescues some pages from Lizzie’s work-in-progress novel that she accidentally leaves on the train.

“I hope you don’t mind, I read your chapters,” he says upon dropping them back to her. “They were brilliant… And sexy. Like you.” Like I said: swoon.

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Hats off to whoever was responsible for casting. It takes real vision to see the potential of Dyer, in particular, to become the romantic hero we never knew we needed (though past viral clips airing his political views and an unlikely friendship with the late, great playwright Harold Pinter have long been testament to the fact that there’s much more to him than the hardman, cockney wide-boy image). There’s a beautiful stillness in both performances, with Dyer and Parkinson playing the gentle build-up just right, the very ordinariness of their longing making it all the hornier. While other characters flirt so brazenly that they should, by rights, burst into flames on the spot, Freddie and Lizzie convey overwhelming tenderness with just a look or a smile; their pauses say as much as the words they frame. We knew Parkinson had this in her locker, but Dyer? The master of nuance? It’s as shocking as it is tantalising.

Both actors are in their forties; both have refreshingly normal-looking bodies to match. And perhaps that’s the lesson in all of this: that underneath the gloss and the glamour, six-packs and DD cleavages, caricature baddies and virginal innocents, the hottest thing in the world is genuinely liking someone who likes you back; someone who sees and accepts you, flaws and all; someone who wants nothing more than to share a bar of Cadbury’s, rip open your hideously garish floral dress (with shoulder pads) and pour champagne over your heaving bosom.

“I’ve never done this before – adultery,” Lizzie says nervously when things finally get steamy between them.

“I’ve never met anyone I wanted to do it with before,” replies Freddie. Lock up your wives: after watching Rivals, I’m pretty sure there’s an army of women who wouldn’t mind, ahem, doing it with him…

ROCHELLE Humes has revealed she would never take part in Strictly Come Dancing after being left in a ‘bad way’ doing the Christmas special.

The This Morning presenter, 35, appeared in the festive episode alongside pro Ian Waite in 2013, and while her close friend JB Gill is currently taking part, she has ruled out a return.

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She said: “I basically got dragged around the dance floor by the lovely Ian Waite, and I was the most nervous I could be. I was in a bad way, I don’t know how anybody does that, week in, week out.”

Rochelle added to Closer: “I could never… and the respect that I have for the people that do Strictly, it’s just beyond!”

JB, who is in JLS with Rochelle’s husband Marvin, is currently competing with Amy Dowden.

Speaking about how he is getting on, Rochelle said: “We went to watch JB last week, and he was so brilliant – he didn’t look nervous at all!”

Unfortunately, JB found himself in the bottom two over the weekend despite getting an impressive score of 30.

Following the public vote they found themselves at risk, but fortunately the judges opted to save the duo over former footballer Paul Merson and his dance partner Karen Hauer.

Speaking on Strictly spin-off series It Takes Two about it, JB said: “I mean, we got 30.

“So it wasn’t like we had a shabby score, so, of course, it’s always disappointing I think when you put so much work into training and obviously you work hard throughout the week, as everybody does, to kind of not have the result that you want – which is obviously to go through to the next week.

“And to find yourself in a dance-off is always a little bit disheartening, because it’s not what you’re looking for.

“But you know, the level of competition this year is very, very high.

“You can see that the standard is is right up there. And so, it’s one of those things – part of the show.”

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BIG Brother stars were pushed to breaking point and one threatened a hunger strike after being forced to eat only porridge all day.

Big Brother punished the housemates by banning other food after three broke the rules by discussing nominations.

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Drama erupted as contestants were pushed to their limits, as plain porridge made with water, once served to orphans in Victorian slums, became their only meal option.

One housemate declared they would refuse to eat if things didn’t change.

The show has a history of using food rations to stir the pot, but it seems the porridge diet may have been too much for some to handle.

After a day on gruel, Dean was the first to break, and he slammed his bowl down saying, “this is disgusting”.

A ‘hangry’ Dean stomped into the living room and when Ali asked if he was “OK”, he snapped: “No I’m f*****g not OK”.

Referring to the huge divide in the house, after the latest round of nominations, he added: “Everyone is childish and I just told Big Brother I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Dean later took himself off to a corner for a cry.

Next up, Hanah threatened to go on a hunger strike in the Diary Room.

She said: “Big Brother I can’t do porridge. Plain porridge. That’s famine.”

When Big Brother refused her some honey to sweeten it, she said: “I’m just letting this be known. I will end up starving myself. I will starve myself.”

Marcello plotted to eat chicken by sneaking one in the oven, but didn’t tell the other housemates.

His plan was exposed when Dean and Sarah smelled the roasting chicken and she walked around screaming: “There’s a chicken in the oven!”

Lily opened the oven and took it out, much to Marcello’s fury.

He then kicked off at Sarah for ruining his plans.

The rule breaks happened after housemates were nominated in pairs but Ali and Dean were immune as Heads of House.

Sides began to form as Khaled and Marcello were put up for eviction despite not receiving any nominations.

Ali was the first to break the rules by telling everyone she hadn’t originally voted for Khaled, even though they had fallen out.

Next up, Hanah spoke about Marcello, and said: “The fact they used me as a pawn, to put you two up … she (Ali) is a charlatan …

“If you and Marcello stay in and everything, I need next HoH to be this group.”

Segun hammered the final nail into the coffin as he agreed with Hanah.

He said: “Yeah I think Marcello said it as well, he was like if I stay in, she [Ali] goes next week.

“I hear it. I can’t lie, we need to get rid of this wolf man. The red witch is coming”.

Big Brother played the conversation over the speakers in front of the irritated housemates.

Ali was seen laughing off the remarks, but Big Brother continued: “Housemates… when will you learn?”

Big Brother 2024 cast

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A brand new batch of Big Brother housemates are living it up in the famous compound.

Meet the cast of the 2024 series:

• Rosie, 29, dental assistant from Cornwall.
• Emma, 53, aesthetics business owner from Altrincham.
• Segun, 25, charity videographer from Watford.
• Nathan, 24, pork salesman from Dumfries.
• Daze, 24, climate activist from London.
• Khaled, 23, sales manager from Manchester.
• Martha, 26, NHS administrator from Scarborough.
• Lily, 20, Chinese takeaway server from Warrington.
• Ali, 30, Forensic psychologist from London.
• Thomas, 20 amputee footballer from Carlisle.
• Ryan, 28, marketing and events from Stockport.
• Hannah, 24, HR consultant from West London.
• Izaaz, 29, sales consultant from London.
• Sarah, 27, spa account manager from Shrewsbury.
• Marcello, 34, youth mentor from East London.
• Dean, 35, barber from East London

HOLLYWOOD legend Lynda Obst has died aged 74.

The executive producer, who worked on Sleepless in Seattle, Interstellar and The Invention of Lying, had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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Her son Oly Obst told The Hollywood Reporter that Obst passed away on Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles.

He said in a statement: “My mom was a trailblazer and a fierce advocate for women.

“Also, she was an amazing mother, sister and best friend.

“[My wife] Julie and I are incredibly grateful that she was my mom and that my daughters got to have her as a grandmother.

“We will miss her.”

Obst’s brother Rick Rosen, the longtime and respected partner of TV at WME, added: “Our family is immensely proud of the career that she had and the role model she was for women in the industry, but beyond that, we will always remember her incredible love of our family.

“She was always happiest when she was around the family.”

Obst started producing in the 1980s after working as an editor at The New York Times.

She produced Adventures in Babysitting, Heartbreak Hotel and The Fisher King with Debra Hill.

Obst then set up her own film company making The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais in 2009.

She co-produced Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, with Christopher Nolan in 2014.

Tributes have poured in across the industry.

Top Gun star Glenn Powell tweeted: “I interned for Lynda when I first moved to LA.

“A true trailblazer who never missed an opportunity to help me learn.

“I’d often get to drive her home from the office and witnessed someone who took in everything.

“To her, the entire world was a great story ripe for the making. RIP.”