This Morning’s Alison Hammond was jokingly accused of causing ‘trouble’ during her visit to the Netflix Bridgerton set, with Luke Thompson playfully exposing her cheeky antics on the backlot

TV presenter Alison Hammond was left gobsmacked after being accused of stirring up “trouble” on the set of a hit Netflix series.

The This Morning favourite, 51, has remained one of Britain’s most beloved television personalities since her Big Brother debut in 2002. Beyond This Morning, she fronts the Great British Bake Off and has featured on Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Loose Women.

However, it was while visiting the period drama Bridgerton’s set where Alison apparently landed herself in “trouble”.

The Birmingham native is a devoted super fan of the Netflix sensation, and received an invitation to Shepperton Studios in Surrey, the production’s main filming location.

She assumed interviewing responsibilities for YouTube channel Still Watching Netflix, speaking with the show’s fourth series leads Luke Thompson, who portrays Benedict Bridgerton, and Yerin Ha, who portrays Sophie Baek, reports Birmingham Live.

During their discussion about Alison’s set visit, Luke seized the moment for some cheeky teasing.

Alison remarked: “You know I’ve been to the set,” to which the actor replied: “I do know you’ve been to the set. I think you got in trouble.”

The presenter appeared shocked by the claim, laughing: “Did I get in trouble? What did I get in trouble for? I don’t remember that Luke. Moving on. Let’s get into Bridgerton. Don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Luke responded: “It was lovely. You were wearing one of Golda’s (Bridgerton actress Golda Rosheuvel) wigs, I believe. And you looked, I think the happiest I’ve seen anyone, ever. You were just crossing the backlot.”

Filming for Bridgerton’s fourth season has now wrapped, with the hit period drama already commissioned for a fifth series.

Meanwhile, Alison Hammond has revealed why she declined Strictly Come Dancing – while also claiming to have turned down Celebrity Traitors.

The presenter competed in the 2014 series of Strictly, placing 10th alongside professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec.

She has been heavily rumoured to take over following last year’s surprise departure of veteran hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

Alison says she was approached about the position but couldn’t commit due to her hectic diary. She also confirmed she won’t feature in the upcoming series of Celebrity Traitors owing to scheduling conflicts.

She told The Radio Times: “I’m so busy, that I’m not sure it [Strictly Come Dancing] is going to happen. It’s unrealistic. I’m so happy they considered me but, like Traitors, I can’t do it because everything clashes

“I would have loved to have done it, anybody that gets it, they’re going to land the perfect job. But I’m so happy with everything I’ve got. What would I drop, to do Strictly?”

Alison can be seen on For The Love of Dogs on ITVX.

Aimee-Ffion Edwards, who was born in Newport, has had some major roles before ITV drama Believe Me

Aimee-Ffion Edwards is poised to captivate audiences in Believe Me.

The four-part drama on ITV tells the story of convicted criminal John Worboys, who became known as the ‘black cab rapist’ following his attacks on women under the cover of being a legitimate taxi driver. In 2009, he was convicted of offences including sexual assault and drugging with intent against 12 women.

The series centres on the experiences of Sarah, who is played by Aimee-Ffion, and Laila, who is played by Aasiya Shah. The story tells how Sarah and Laila – both pseudonyms – reported sexual assaults by Worboys, and how their complaints were not thoroughly investigated, reports the Mirror.

As audiences watch the distressing drama unfold, they might be curious about where they’ve previously encountered Welsh star Aimee-Ffion.

What has Believe Me actress Aimee-Ffion Edwards been in?

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The Newport-born actress launched her television career almost two decades ago and has featured in numerous popular programmes, including Skins, Luther and Casualty prior to Believe Me. She also appeared in Being Human, and has had parts in Wolf Hall and the beloved crime drama Death in Paradise.

Nevertheless, audiences will most likely remember her from two of her most prominent television successes – Peaky Blinders and Slow Horses.

Aimee-Ffion featured in multiple episodes of period crime drama Peaky Blinders, portraying Esme Shelby between 2013 and 2017 before reprising the character in 2022.

Esme, who came from the Lee gypsy family, made her debut in the opening season of the historical drama. She married John Shelby (Joe Cole), the brother of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy). The union was designed to forge peace between the Shelby and Lee clans, though the couple subsequently developed a strong bond.

The actress previously told Cosmopolitan of the role: “I feel like I got to do some really good stuff, and the storylines were really strong, and I could make the best of Esme.”

In Gary Oldman’s thriller Slow Horses, which follows a dysfunctional group of MI5 operatives, the actress portrays Shirley Dander.

Shirley made her debut in the second series of the Apple TV+ success, appearing as one of the intelligence officers based at Slough House.

She finds herself allocated to Jackson Lamb’s (Oldman) unit following an assault on a superior and battles with substance abuse problems.

“There’s so much stuff that I really enjoy,” she told Flickering Myth about the series. “I really love the scenes with lots of the slow horses and Slough House. I just think they’re so brilliantly written and the dynamics between all the characters, they’re just so important.”

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.

Believe Me starts at 9pm on ITV on Sunday May 10.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his job after devastating local election results for his Labour Party spurred dozens of lawmakers to call for his resignation.

Starmer plans to use a speech on Monday to argue that he can change tack and revive his government’s fortunes. But his position is fragile as rivals weigh their options. One lawmaker, Catherine West, said she will try to trigger a leadership contest if she doesn’t like what she hears in the speech.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, often seen as a potential challenger, said the party “needs to change,” though she did not explicitly call for Starmer to go.

She said “the prime minister must now meet the moment and set out the change our country needs.”

Starmer is trying to regain momentum after heavy losses for his center-left party in local elections across England and legislative votes in Scotland and Wales. Last week’s elections were widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he swept to power in a landslide less than two years ago.

His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps and policy U-turns on issues including welfare reform. He has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Last week’s elections saw Labour squeezed from both right and left, losing votes to both the anti-immigration Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party. It reflects the increasing fragmentation of British politics, long dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.

Still, Starmer told The Observer newspaper on Sunday that he wants to remain in office for a decade. He’s pinning his hopes on Monday’s speech and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set out in a speech Wednesday by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

A key policy is closer ties with the European Union, which the United Kingdom left in 2020, four years after the “leave” side narrowly won a membership referendum. Starmer’s government has already moved to ease some of the trade restrictions that have burdened British businesses since Brexit, and he says he will secure a youth mobility deal so young people can spend a few years working across the continent.

“Brexit has held back our young people,” Starmer told The Observer, adding that “we have to be closer to Europe.”

Labour campaigned to stay in the EU during the 2016 referendum campaign, but has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly divided the country. Starmer has ruled out seeking to reenter the EU, or to rejoin the EU’s customs union or single market, two things that would make a big difference to U.K. businesses.

Starmer’s future hangs in the balance

None of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers to Starmer — including Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — has called for him to resign.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

Josh Simons, a formerly loyal Labour lawmaker, wrote in the Times of London that Starmer “has lost the country” and “should take control of the situation by overseeing an orderly transition to a new prime minister.”

West, a former junior minister, is trying to hurry the process along, vowing to try to trigger a leadership contest unless Starmer delivers a barnstorming speech on Monday. West acknowledged she does not have the support of 81 colleagues, needed to force a contest, and her move appeared to be an attempt to force more high-profile contenders to make a move.

“Working people sent us a message,” West said. “We have to listen to that, and we have to change and we have to do it quickly.”

Daizen Maeda scored a double, including a stunning overhead kick, as Celtic came from behind to defeat Rangers in the Old Firm derby

Martin O’Neill reckons Daizen Maeda’s stunning Old Firm heroics were right up there with Henrik Larsson’s iconic derby chip.

The Celtic legend crushed Rangers’ title ambitions – and propelled his side to within just ONE point of league leaders Hearts heading into the final week of a thrilling campaign.

Maeda netted twice – with his second an outrageous bicycle kick. The striker spearheaded the fightback as the Hoops recovered from going behind, and the Premiership trophy is now firmly within their grasp following Hearts’ draw at Fir Park on Saturday evening.

O’Neill has witnessed plenty of derby triumphs and countless unforgettable occasions – including Larsson’s exquisite lob in the 6-2 thrashing back in 2000.

And O’Neill said: “Was it up there? Yeah, it is very much so. Henrik will disagree of course, but it was great goal. He was super today. Honestly. Which goal was better? I’m going to take him out tonight.”, reports the Daily Record.

“He was terrific, really terrific. I don’t know where he gets the energy from. Sensational, really sensational. His second goal was out of this world. Big his whole performance… he starts off with his closing down and the negative part of the game. It galvanises the side because he’s so good about it. Then his own performance, with the ball and scoring the goals, was magnificent.”

O’Neill relished the strike – but even more so the crucial victory that has thrust Celtic right into contention for Five-in-a-Row. He said: “Yeah. It was obviously really important to win the game. It was a great fightback from the players and lovely to win. We played some great stuff, strange enough, so did Rangers. The first half was really hectic. It was one of those, you have it, no you have it. Coming from behind was great for us.”

Celtic are set to travel to Fir Park on Wednesday evening to take on Motherwell, while Hearts welcome Falkirk ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash between the two sides in Glasgow.

O’Neill is aware that back-to-back wins would guarantee success, stating: “If we win the matches it’s true, it’s in our own hands. If you look at the result on Saturday night, it’s what you would have wanted. I said before, even if Hearts had won it was very much in their hands as the goal difference would be too great. But at least, yeah, it’s in our hands.

“We have to try and do something about it. If Hearts had won, it’s a long way back for you. And it might have been, particularly having conceded the goal. But it gives a bit of a boost as well too. So, ready to go. We have to win. We have no grounds for dropping points. We can’t afford to do it. I expect Hearts to win their game and we have a really difficult match at Motherwell. I can’t even think about the following match until it’s played.”

O’Neill was delighted to secure victory over Rangers during a dramatic afternoon in Glasgow’s East End. Mikey Moore opened the scoring, but Yang Hyun-jun equalised before half-time, and Maeda proved decisive with two goals in a frantic four-minute spell during the second half.

O’Neill said: “The players are delighted with their own performance and the comeback. They could have wilted but they didn’t do that. But in the dressing room there are only thoughts about Wednesday.

“I’ve never been confident, never! People talk to me about momentum, but it can shift quickly. We’re doing fine in the game and it’s about finding a way to win. Its obviously special against Rangers. But in the scheme of things it’s just three points and we can look no further than Wednesday.”

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Eurovision fans are more worried than ever about how the UK will fare at this year’s contest after a clip of the artist’s performance was released.

Look Mum No Computer – real name Sam Battle – is this year’s representative for the UK and is in Vienna, ready to take to the stage to battle (pun not intended) for the top spot against the other nations with the song, Eins, Zwei, Drei.

With the Grand Final taking place in a week, the general public has been provided with a first glimpse of what the live version of the techno-pop song will look like.

And the 37-year-old music artist is fully leaning into the electronic aesthetic with a set design of wirey-button machine and a group of dancers with furry computers for heads, with the ‘experimental’ singer executing a mad scientist look as he pulls various fake levers.

Of course, aside from a rare exception in 2022 when UK entrant Sam Ryder landed second place with Space Man, it has been decades since our little island has done well in the final rankings.

The UK is all too used to being at the bottom of the lot. In 2025, girl group Remember Monday finished in 19th place out of 26 with 88 points from the professional jury and a brutal zero points from the public vote.

However, after seeing Look Mum No Computer’s offerings, viewers are worried this could be the worst year yet.

‘So the zero points streak continues…’ X user ka_morian0121 shared.

‘Great Britain receives NIL POINTS,’ M predicted.

‘Safe to say, were not winning it this year,’ Joe shared.

‘This is a complete mess. Nil pwahhhhh,’ J declared.

‘Let’s get ready for last place again!’ S lamented. ‘Another year at the bottom of the leaderboard,’ Lily W echoed.

‘A serious contender… for the last place,’ Crashgrana brutally declared.

Some have come to Look Mum No Computer’s defence, attempting to give it the benefit of the doubt.

‘I love the song. Was not keen on it [at] first but now I love it,’ StuartIbertson added.

‘Shame the “machines” look pretty fake and I did expect more from the UK. Still a unique and catchy song though, but I think it’s bottom five again for us,’ DougnutDoney wrote.

We want to hear your thoughts on whether Stormont should be reformed so that no single party can collapse the Executive

Earlier this week, the Alliance Party published their 18 point plan for political reform in Northern Ireland.

Among the proposals was a suggestion to reform the Northern Ireland Act so that the next-largest party can nominate a First or deputy First Minister if the first eligible party refuses to do so.

They also propose that the titles of First and deputy First Minister be equalised to reflect the joint nature of the office.

Defending the party’s proposals to change how First Ministers are nominated and to expand the use of weighted majority voting, the party’s deputy leader, Eóin Tennyson, rejected suggestions that such reforms would undermine the Good Friday Agreement.

“In 1998, people were promised a stable power-sharing government that would deliver for them and improve people’s lives, and instead, what we’ve had over the past nearly three decades is Stormont being suspended for almost half of that time,” he said.

“Then, when it is up and running, it is beset by deadlock, by delay, by veto, and is vulnerable to vested interests and dark money. So this document is actually about renewing and re-energising Stormont to restore public confidence.

“We have been very clear with the UK and Irish governments that to argue for reform is not to undermine the Good Friday Agreement at all. It’s actually to recognise that if we fail to reform, then we are condemning its institutions either to death by 1000 collapses or death by a slow bleed of public confidence in their ability to deliver.”

Alliance’s 18 proposals for political reform

• Reform the Northern Ireland Act so the next largest party can nominate a First or deputy First Minister if the first eligible party refuses to do so.
• Implement a weighted majority system (approximately two-thirds) to determine cross-community support for the election of the Speaker and other key decisions, rather than using parallel consent.
• Restrict Executive cross-community votes and the Petition of Concern strictly to matters relating to national identity, the legacy of the Troubles, or the constitutional structures established under the Good Friday Agreement.
• Put the ‘three meeting rule’ on a statutory footing so items cannot be blocked from the Executive agenda, and publish all Executive meeting agendas.
• Scrap the ‘anti-democratic’ system of Assembly designations.
• Change the First and deputy First Minister titles to ‘Joint First Ministers’ to reflect their equal status, and include these posts in the D’Hondt calculation along with every other Ministry.
• Establish a statutory Commission in the long term, sponsored by the Executive and the UK and Irish governments, to design a plan for implementing a voluntary coalition in Stormont.
• Conduct all cross-community votes on Ministerial sanctions on a weighted majority basis.
• Empower the Standards Commissioner to recommend the level of sanction that should apply for breaches of the Ministerial Code, which would then be reviewed and verified by an independent lay panel.
• Introduce an annual cap on donations from single private sources, applying to both individuals and companies, as well as foreign and domestic donors.
• Lower the reporting threshold for political donations from £11,180 to £500.
• Publish all donations to local political parties retroactively from 2014.
• Support more rigorous donor checks as outlined in the UK Government’s Representation of the People Bill.
• Provide better funding to the Electoral Commission, so it is equipped to investigate and sanction breaches of third-party campaigning rules.
• Establish a Lobbying Register in the Assembly to ensure greater transparency around who is seeking to influence politics and how much money they are spending.
• Implement a fairer electoral system for Westminster elections, preferably the multi-member Single Transferable Vote (STV) system already used for Assembly and Council elections in Northern Ireland.
• Transition to a directly elected House of Lords using a Proportional Representation (PR) system to represent the 12 regions of the UK, and implement maximum term limits to avoid politicisation.
• Convene a UK-wide constitutional convention to develop a fully codified UK constitution

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Emergency services attended the scene on Sunday afternoon

One person was on board during a plane crash in Co Down.

Police received a report of a light aircraft crash in the Saintfield Road area of Ballynahinch at around 2.50pm on Sunday, May 10.

Ambulance crews and firefighters were also called to the scene.

One person was on board at the time, with police confirming there are “no reports of any serious injuries” at this time.

A PSNI spokesperson added: “Air Accident Investigations Branch has been informed of the incident.”

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Tom Wills, 27, who grew up in Chorley and attended Southlands High School, has released ‘Laid’, a dance-pop and melodic house reinterpretation of James’ iconic 1993 track.

The single dropped on May 8 and has already begun climbing the UK iTunes Dance Chart within hours of release.

The track follows the success of Tom’s previous single, ‘Mid-Night Moves’, which reached four on the UK iTunes Dance Chart and 40 across all genres, while racking up more than 5,000 radio plays across the UK and Europe.

Produced by Preston-based Sholz-Y, winner of this year’s Dance Division/Label Radar competition, the new release transforms the original’s indie melancholy into a club-ready anthem, combining driving basslines, synth-led production and soaring vocals.

For Tom, the song carries personal significance.

He first discovered ‘Laid’ as a child through a free CD included with a Sunday newspaper, playing it repeatedly alongside other James tracks.

Years later, seeing the band live at Lytham Festival reignited his connection to the song, this time with a deeper understanding of its themes.

Tom said: “As a kid, it was just a song I loved.

“But growing up, especially as a queer artist, the lyrics took on a whole new meaning.

“It was ahead of its time in how it played with identity and gender. I wanted to bring that energy to today’s dancefloors.”

Now based in Manchester and signed to Swedish label The Dance Division, Tom has been building a name for himself at the intersection of commercial dance and pop.

His new track Laid is available to stream (Image: Tom Wills)

His performances have included Pride events and festivals across the UK, playing to audiences of up to 40,000.

He is set to debut ‘Laid’ live at Pride in Trafford (HomoGrown) this month, marking another milestone in what he describes as a “rebuild” following the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I lost momentum during Covid, like so many artists,” he said.

“But coming back in 2025 and seeing the response to my music has been incredible. ‘Laid’ feels like the next step.”

With early radio support ranging from Manchester stations to international outlets and confirmed coverage from music publications including Plastic Magazine and Earmilk, the track is already gaining traction beyond the North West.

Rooted in Manchester’s rich musical heritage, from indie to club culture, Tom reimagining of ‘Laid’ reflects both his upbringing and the city’s enduring influence on UK music.

He added: “Manchester shaped how I hear music.

“It’s always been about bringing people together on the dancefloor.”

‘Laid’ is available to stream now.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The problems of the country are real and big, but the idea that they are caused by immigrants is an absolute falsehood, fallacy, and it suits people like Nigel Farage to make people believe that, because actually the problems of the country are caused by people like him, the proponents of Brexit.”