Diane, who is currently appearing in the BBC sitcom Ann Droid, which she wrote, reunited with Ricky, for the new animated series, Alley Cats.

Alley Cats is the latest creation from the Ricky and follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral cats from different walks of British society as they seek companionship while reflecting on the absurdities of everyday life.

The adult animated series comprises six 15-minute episodes and reunites several of Gervais’s After Life collaborators, who lend their voices to the foul-mouthed feline cast.

Diane, 50, joked “If Ricky asked me to do anything, obviously I’d do it. I would have made sandwiches, to be honest.”

David Earl as Puke, Jo Hartley as Kitten, Diane Morgan as Olive, Ricky Gervias as Gus, Andrew Brooke as Fang, Tom Basden as Ponce (Image: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026)

She added: “I know you see the cats and you think, ‘Oh, aren’t they cute and lovely?’ And they have these little adventures, and then they just open their mouths. It’s sort of like Derek and Clive, they used to be these really sweary comedians.

“It was just the whole thing was as sick as it could be, and it’s sort of like that when we improvised as Alley Cats.”

Unlike many animated series, where actors record their lines separately in a voice booth, the cast of Alley Cats recorded the series together as an ensemble.

“It was lovely because we all know each other from After Life,” said Diane.

She added: “It’s basically the cast of After Life again, with a few new additions. And it’s such a treat as well to be able to just sit there and listen to Ricky improvise. You know, it feels like an honour, doesn’t it? I have a private audience with Ricky and all these amazing comics.

“I didn’t think of it as an animation. It’s basically a lot like After Life, and I think you had to think of it as just like a comedy.”

Speaking about her character and the show’s themes, she says: “Olive’s an idiot, and she’s Ricky’s half-sister, so she’s got a lot of funny lines. You know those best bits where you just pop up, say a line, disappear again, and then I can sit back and watch everyone else improvising and just enjoy my afternoon.

Jo Hartley as Kitten See PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Alley Cats (Image: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026)

“That’s what Ricky does. He’ll do these really emotional, poignant pieces, and then all of a sudden he’ll have this massive gear change into filth, but it sort of works.

“You can do that, it’s sort of like magic. Yeah, it’s just these stray cats that have these little adventures, and they’re trying to make sense of the world and why humans are such idiots and are wrecking everything. It’s lovely, actually.”

The ensemble also includes Jo Hartley, Tom Basden, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Andrew Brooke and Natalie Cassidy.

Alley Cats premieres on Netflix on Friday, August 7.

The homes form part of bigger plans to build up to 3,000 homes

Plans for more than 1,600 new homes could present a “significant opportunity” to extend a Cambridgeshire city, according to an investment group. The Church Commissioners for England, which manages the Church of England’s investment portfolio, has submitted plans for up to 1,607 new homes in Ely.

The plans are for land at High Flyer Farm on the north of Apollo Chase. They also propose an extension to Ely Country Park, a community allotment/orchard, and an extension to the Chesttisham Business Park. The site covers 85.21 hectares.

The applicant said: “The redevelopment of the site will contribute towards meeting the council’s housing requirements within the planned growth strategy for Ely, delivering a range of homes including affordable housing to meet local needs, alongside significant publicly accessible open space and landscape enhancement.”

They added that the plans would aim to create an “attractive, distinctive and inclusive new neighbourhood of exemplary design quality”.

The housing development is also seen as a “significant opportunity” to extend Ely to the north. The applicant added: “The development at Highflyer Farm North represents the final jigsaw piece in completing the planned northern growth of Ely to create a sustainable and well connected new neighbourhood on the northern edge of Ely.”

Extending Ely Country Park as part of the plans will support the applicant’s aim for around 45 per cent of the site to be accessible open space. The extension of Chettisham Business Park aims to “support local jobs and a balanced mixed-use extension”.

The plans form part of the larger Ely1 allocation in the East Cambridgeshire District Council Local Plan for 2015. This covers around 210 hectares of land and plans for up to 3,000 homes.

The applicant also proposes to build two new primary schools and two local centres to “incorporate retail and community facilities”.

Garry Smithies, 37, of no fixed address, is accused of threatening a cyclist with a Stanley knife in a public place and wounding him with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm in Museum Street on Thursday.

He was not asked to enter a plea.

As the wounding charge can only be tried by a judge and jury, he was sent to York Crown Court. He was remanded in custody.

He will appear before the higher court on August 17 for a plea and trial preparation hearing when he will be expected to enter his plea.

A cyclist was taken to hospital on Thursday following an incident at 8.08pm which led to a police cordon being set up for a time around Museum Gardens. He was in his 50s and from Leeds.

A 37-year-man was arrested later the same evening.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Bridget Phillipson as Labour Party chair.

A Labour spokesperson said Phillipson, who is also minister for women and equalities, will work closely with deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell to modernise the party ready for the next general election.

Phillipson and Powell went head to head for the deputy leader position last year, after a race triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation, with Powell emerging victorious following 54% support from the party membership, external.

Phillipson had been education secretary under Sir Keir Starmer but that job was also handed to Powell by Burnham when he appointed his cabinet last week.

Announcing Phillipson’s appointment, Burnham said she would help the party focus on preparations for a new digital campaigning environment.

“She will play a vital role in ensuring the Labour Party is match fit for the next election,” he said.

She replaces Anna Turley who was made a minister in the Home Office last week.

The leadership team, which also includes chief whip Anneliese Midgley, is expected to focus on culture change, and building the infrastructure and policy platform needed by 2029, which is the latest an election can be held.

Posting on X, Phillipson said she was honoured, external to take on the role.

“I joined our party as a teenager and saw first hand the difference a Labour government makes,” she said.

“I’ll work with members to build the election-winning machine that sees off Reform [UK] for good and secures a second Labour term.”

Welcoming her, Powell said: “Working together, we will ensure the party continues to lead the way in campaigning, with the strongest ground operation in British politics as we prepare for the next general election.”

An Islamic charity accused of being an outpost of the Iranian regime in London has the right to bring workers into Britain.

The Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale appears on a Home Office list of organisations with approval to sponsor skilled worker visas.

Licensed visa sponsors have been officially vetted and approved by the Home Office to hire non-UK citizens.

The centre remains on the list despite claims it has been involved in spreading pro-Tehran propaganda and has successfully issued a number of certificates of sponsorship – documents required for migrant workers applying to enter Britain.

It is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission over alleged ties to Tehran.

The charity was reported to the watchdog earlier this year for hosting a ‘community bazaar’ where stalls sold pro-Tehran key rings and Hezbollah-themed phone cases.

Other stalls sold stickers featuring the silhouette of General Qassim Soleimani, former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). When Soleimani was killed in an American air strike in 2020, the centre hosted a candlelit vigil.

Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns called for the centre to be immediately removed from the list.

‘This is a bona-fide backdoor into the UK for Iranian agents,’ she said.

‘For years I’ve worked to get the Islamic Centre of England, an indoctrination hub, shut down.’

Kasra Aarabi, director of research on the IRGC at United Against Nuclear Iran, a non-profit organisation, called its inclusion on the Home Office list ‘truly appalling’.

He added: ‘This is no ordinary mosque or charity. It operates as the UK office of the Iranian regime’s supreme leader. The situation is far worse than has been reported.’

In response, the centre insisted it was not a representative of ‘any government, political entity, or individual’.

A spokesman said: ‘Like many charities, faith organisations and other eligible institutions in the UK, the centre holds a Home Office sponsor licence, which allows it to sponsor skilled workers where it meets the requirements of the UK’s immigration system.

‘We recognise that questions have previously been raised about the centre and its perceived relationship with the Iranian government. The centre has consistently maintained that it is an independent UK charity and carries out its activities in accordance with UK law and its charitable objectives.’

A string of Islamic bookshops flogging anti-Semitic texts also appear on the visa list.

Some of the books being sold offer outrageous claims, such as one saying that Jewish people have a ‘wicked nature’, while other texts have been labelled as a radicalisation threat by our prisons.

One of those on sale is Milestones by Sayyid Qutb, an influential former Muslim Brotherhood leader who believed Islam should govern every aspect of society.

His work also denounces ‘world Jewry’.

Other texts include those by Hasan al-Banna, the Brotherhood’s founder, and Bilal Philips, a cleric banned by the Home Office, who offered advice on beating wives.

The books sold by these businesses are not illegal in the UK and in some cases are sold through a number of mainstream platforms.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the businesses.

But Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: ‘It is clear the ‘skilled’ visa route is being abused.

‘This is not skilled work by any definition – it is a blatant loophole, exploited by businesses who should never have been trusted with a sponsor licence in the first place.

‘We don’t want extremists in this country.

‘I would like to see these organisations lose their sponsor licence and anyone they have brought into the country who is still here on a temporary work visa deported.

‘The Government must urgently review this.’

Skilled worker visa certificates were introduced in 2020 as part of a post-Brexit immigration overhaul.

The scheme, overseen by the Home Office, allowed registered employers to bring workers into the country to fill jobs meeting a specific skill level.

Businesses such as vape shops and newsagents are among those to have been given licences, drawing questions over whether all those brought over are truly ‘skilled’.

Dozens of official certificates of sponsorship, the paperwork needed to apply for a skilled worker visa, have been issued by Islamic bookshops.

Home Office figures show that one of those stores, in Birmingham, has issued up to 16 skilled worker certificates since 2021.

A Home Office register says more than 120,000 organisations are licensed to issue certificates of visa sponsorship in the UK.

These organisations range from huge firms such as Barclays Bank to small corner shops and vape stores.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The Islamic Centre of England has not sponsored any workers since 2022, and the Charity Commission is currently investigating this organisation.

‘We treat the threat posed by the Iranian regime and those who do its bidding with the utmost seriousness. That’s why we have fast-tracked a change in the law to outlaw support for the IRGC, equipping the police and intelligence service with more powers to disrupt those working on their behalf, and making it easier to prosecute them.

‘If wrongdoing is uncovered, those responsible will face the full force of the law, with the possibility of lengthy prison sentences, loss of licences and further civil action.’

Visitors will be able to see Father Christmas as well as enjoy food and drink along the trail

Tickets are now on sale for a major Christmas event in Cambridgeshire. Christmas at Wimpole will return with a brand-new light trail at the National Trust estate in 2026.

The event will take place between November 20 and January 3. It has been created by award-winning light trail producers, with seasonal music accompanying the visual displays.

Visitors will also be able to glimpse Father Christmas and enjoy food and drink at stalls along the way. A spokesperson for the event said it will be “bigger, bolder and more spectacular than ever”.

James Dakin, director of live experiences at RG Live, a subsidiary of Sony Music, said: “Christmas at Wimpole 2026 promises an evening of light, wonder and festive joy, set against the remarkable backdrop of the Wimpole Estate.

“It is the kind of experience that turns a simple winter walk into a shared Christmas moment, with bold new installations, beautiful details and plenty of surprises along the route. From the first glow of the trail to the Christmas Cathedral, we want visitors to feel fully immersed in the festive season and to create a night people will remember.”

Hilary Wilson, visitor experience manager, said: “Christmas at Wimpole is all about bringing people together and creating those special moments that make the festive season so memorable. Whether you’re visiting with family, friends or loved ones, the trail offers a chance to step away from the everyday, enjoy the magic of the estate, and soak up the spirit of Christmas.”

A study by Pepper Money ranked more than 300 locations across England and Wales using factors including house prices, mortgage affordability, rental costs and local earnings to determine where buyers can get the best value for money.

Middlesbrough topped the nationwide index, ahead of Burnley in Lancashire and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.

Researchers found the town’s combination of lower-than-average house prices, affordable mortgage repayments and relatively strong earnings made it the most attractive location for aspiring homeowners.

The average first-time buyer property in Middlesbrough costs £123,831 — less than half the UK average of £261,700.

Pepper Money said local earnings compare well with house prices, making it easier for buyers to save for a deposit and keep mortgage costs manageable.

The North East emerged as the strongest-performing region overall, with the study suggesting it offers some of the best opportunities for people looking to buy rather than rent.

In total, 13 of the top 20 locations were in either the North East or North West, reinforcing the North’s reputation as one of the most affordable parts of the country for first-time buyers.

According to the research, every North East local authority except Northumberland has lower monthly mortgage costs than local rental prices.

Across the region, the average monthly mortgage payment is £699, compared with a national average of £1,310. In Middlesbrough this is estimated to be £157 per month cheaper than renting.

In Middlesbrough, County Durham and Hartlepool, mortgage payments also account for just 24% of monthly earnings – among the lowest proportions recorded in the study.

Pepper Money said the findings show that despite ongoing challenges in the housing market, there are still many parts of the UK where buying is more cost-effective than renting, with 41% of areas analysed proving cheaper to buy in than rent.

Researchers used Office for National Statistics data on earnings, property prices and rental costs, alongside mortgage affordability calculations, to compile the rankings.