Cardiff City return to Championship action this afternoon as they travel to Bolton Wanderers looking to finally get their first league win of the season.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s side have drawn four and lost two of their opening six matches since winning promotion back to the second tier, with the 1-1 midweek draw with Stoke City extending their wait for victory.

The Bluebirds now head to the Toughsheet Community Stadium to face a Bolton side who have also endured a difficult start to life back in the Championship. Steven Schumacher’s promoted side won their opener against Preston but have since gone five league games without a victory, including defeats to Lincoln City, Sheffield United, and Millwall.

There was another setback in midweek as Bolton were beaten 3-2 at home by West Ham United, despite twice taking the lead. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.

Cardiff will be hoping to take advantage as they look to kick-start their campaign, with plenty of interest surrounding the team Barry-Murphy selects and whether any changes are made following the defeat at Portsmouth.

We’ll have all the build-up, team news, live match action, reaction and analysis from the Toughsheet Community Stadium throughout the afternoon.

Kick-off is at 12.30pm, with the game being shown on Sky Sports+.

Bolton XI: Bazunu; Larrazabal, Davies, Toal, Conway; Erhahon, Sheehan; Dong, Rodrigues, Iling-Junior; Dalby.

Subs: Bonham, Famewo, Simons, Ito, Gale, Nelson, McAtee, Hardie, Bair.

Cardiff XI: Trott; Ng, Osho, Bielik, Bagan; Robertson, J. Colwill, Moylan; Tanner, Salech, Willock.

Subs: Tyrer, Turnbull, Scanlon, Tankiewicz, Turner, Moreno, Kpakio, Ashford, Robinson.

Scroll down for live updates…

Finally, Strictly Come Dancing season is officially upon us, and no one was more ready for it than Italian pro dancer, Vito Coppola, 33.

Here, the star – who won the Glitterball with actress Ellie Leach in 2023 after joining the show in 2022 – tells us how the hosting shake-up marks a “new chapter” for the much-loved competition, and opens up about what it’s been like behind-the-scenes as he and the gang prepared for the BBC show’s sparkly return…

Hi Vito. You must be very excited that Strictly is back…

It’s a beautiful period at this time of the year – I’m like an excited puppy! We are busy with all the dancing.

We started to rehearse in July with all the professionals. There are lots of exciting dances this year, and we have the five new pros who are so sweet. I said, “Guys, don’t worry, come under my wing, I’m always going to give you the best advice.” They’re all quite young. Lots of new people coming in, and we’re all very excited.

Did you know any of the new pro dancers previously?

I did know Cristian [Priori], the other Italian guy. We used to dance together in competitions during our teens and early twenties. So it was really nice to see him again because we haven’t seen each other since I came to the UK. All the others, I’ve just met them recently.

Have you spoken to former hosts Tess [Daly] and Claudia [Winkleman] ahead of the new series?

No, no. I haven’t spoken with them since the last series. But of course, I’m going to miss them. They are just amazing. I used to give a little wink to Claudia in between takes and I was like, “Can you pass me a little snack or something?” So now, I need to find my new snack buddy.

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What do you think of the new hosts? How do you think Johannes [Radebe] will do going from pro to presenter?

With these new hosts, we are opening up a new chapter. I told Johannes, who I love so much, “I cannot wait to see you shine as you are and also I cannot wait to see all your beautiful outfits.” And Emma [Willis] is a pure joy, a ray of sunshine.

I loved her before, but now that I’ve met her in person, I know how lovely she really is. She sometimes comes and watches us while we’re rehearsing. She says hello to us and is so interested in it and I love that. I also had a big laugh with Josh [Widdicombe] the other day – I told him the last time I saw him was dressed as a penguin during the Christmas special. We have lots of fun, and that’s the most important thing.

Another change this year was the celebs finding out who their partners were during the launch show. How did you feel about that?

It’s exciting! Yes, when we got paired in previous years, we [found out] literally a few days before the launch show. We now have this beautiful day where we are all together, we meet the pros, we meet the celebrities and we all dance with everyone. You actually don’t know who could be your partner – so we discovered it together!

Dancing is not your only passion, as we saw when you won Celebrity MasterChef in 2024. Are you doing anything with your cooking skills?

Dancing is my passion, but food is and always will be the love of my life. I’m now working with [cake brand] Balconi, which I ate at home in Italy with my brother as a child. It’s really come full-circle. As an Italian, I just love the Italian quality. It’s the best.

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While you love food, you’ve spoken very bravely about your struggles with food and body image when you were younger…

We have moments where we are down, and after we’re up again. I was in a certain environment, and I thought that maybe I didn’t tick the box of a certain criteria, and then I had to question myself. At that time, especially growing up in Salerno, in the south of Italy, there’s a mentality of “men and boys need to be strong”, so you’re not allowed to show a certain kind of weakness.

My mum knew everything and helped me through it. There is no light without dark, so I’m grateful for these moments because I appreciate my life today more, as well as my relationship with food.

And what are your hopes and dreams for the future?

Honestly? I think my goal in life is just to make people around me feel loved and happy. On Sundays after church, I go shopping at the supermarket and divide it into bags to give to a few people who don’t have a home to go to. I want to help people. I’d also love to take my younger brother Jonathan on a trip.

We always spoke about wanting to go on a safari since we were kids. But I’m happy with simple things like taking my grandparents to the beach. I’m grateful for the life I have. I’m a happy person, so I don’t need anything more. Everything else that comes is a big plus.

Vito Coppola has teamed up with the irresistibly Italian Balconi cake brand, available in all major retailers now (RRP from £1.75). For more, see www.balconiuk.com or @balconi_uk on Instagram.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

It remains to be seen how bad the crash damage is, but at the very least missing a large chunk of practice time on a new track is likely to compromise Hamilton’s performance in qualifying, which takes place at 4pm local time (3pm UK time) today.

Hamilton dropped 76 points behind Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli following his sixth-place finish at Monza last weekend, where he collided with team-mate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap.

After lengthy repairs to the barriers, the session finally got back underway only for Haas’ Bearman to lose control at Turn 10 and career backwards into the wall, sustaining major damage to the car. Fortunately, Bearman was unhurt. The incident brought an early end to proceedings.

The Madring has been described as a “car killer”. At the recent Formula 3 test, there were 19 red flags, three broken chassis, and various broken suspensions.

“It’s a crazy circuit,” said Mercedes driver George Russell. “I would [call] it, arguably, the most risky circuit of the whole calendar, because you have real high-speed corners, sort of Jeddah-esque, the walls are very close, so there’s no margin for error… but then you have other corners that are quite like Baku, where you’re coming from a high speed into a slow braking zone. You’re braking and turning at the same time. So locking the tyres is going to be easy. And if you lock up, you’re straight into the wall.”

On Friday there was a spectacular crash in F2 practice, Thai driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak losing control at the right-hander at Turn 19, and spinning backwards into the barriers, his car bursting into flames.

Anti-migrant protesters are marching in Portsmouth today, as police warned attendees not to cover their faces and vowed to make more arrests. 

The demonstration follows several protests by Right-wing groups since last weekend, after several hundred men dressed in black and wearing balaclavas blocked access to the port of Dover.

The organiser of that protest, Danny Thomas, took to social media on Friday to admit he will not be at today’s event – but said ‘as many people as possible’ should turn out in the coastal town.

Hampshire Police have warned those attending today of powers in place that make it illegal to wear a face covering to conceal identity while attending protest activity.

It means officers can arrest anyone in a designated area for hiding their face during the demonstration using powers under the Crime and Policing Act.

Hundreds of people gathered in the city centre at All Saints Church in Commercial Road at 12.30pm, before setting out to Guildhall Square.

A man with a megaphone addressing the anti-migration protest began chants including ‘stop the boats’. He said the protest was against ‘illegal men invading the shores’ and said it was not about giving ‘f*** the police’.

Earlier on Saturday, Hampshire Police said: ‘We will support those who want to express their views peacefully and lawfully, but we will not tolerate those whose only aim is to create fear and incite violence.’ 

They must follow a designated route, and organisers Portsmouth Patriots and other aligned groups have been allocated a specific location to gather near All Saints Church.

The protesters in Portsmouth are expected to march from All Saints Church in Commercial Road at 12.30pm to Guildhall Square 

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Riot police were deployed to the scene, in Portsmouth on Sunday night after hundreds of protesters gathered

A counter demonstration planned by Stand Up To Racism must gather in a specified area adjacent to the protest.

Failure to comply with conditions could lead to arrest, the force said.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood met police on Thursday for reassurance they are ready to move quickly in dealing with ‘far-right groups’ seeking to intimidate communities after the events in Dover and Portsmouth last weekend.

Overnight last Sunday, several hundred people gathered at Eastney Marina after a dinghy’s arrival across the English Channel in a bid to prevent the 120 migrants leaving the area on coaches.

Official vehicles were damaged and a small number of police officers were injured, Hampshire Police said.

About 200 people were dispersed early on Monday.

In Dover, crowds of masked men blocked road access to the port last Saturday, in scenes which were condemned by politicians of all parties.

Yesterday the force announced that a man has been charged with violent disorder and assaulting a police constable in the execution of their duty in relation to Sunday’s protest in Portsmouth.

Attendees at today’s protest in Hampshire who have been warned not to wear face masks 

A counter demonstration planned by Stand Up To Racism have gathered in a specified area adjacent to the protest

At least 200 anti-migrant activists amassed at the Eastney Marina on Sunday night in a bid to prevent coachloads of some 120 migrants leaving the area

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They said the arrest of Del Leon Somerville, 42, of Paulsgrove, Portsmouth, was the first of what they anticipated to be ‘a number of’ detentions regarding the ‘violent public disorder’ and hit back at claims online that the event was a peaceful protest.

Somerville appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court, sitting at the crown court, this morning.

He did not enter any pleas at the short hearing to charges of violent disorder between September 5 and 8 in Portsmouth, and assaulting a constable on September 11 in Waterlooville.

Prosecutor Lucy Paddick told the court he was accused of throwing a bottle towards a police line and was allegedly heard telling officers to ‘f*** off’ as the bottle was thrown.

Somerville is also alleged to have kicked out at Pc Peskett, making contact with the officer’s right thigh, when he was arrested, the court heard.

He was remanded into custody at the hearing, supported by members of his family in the courtroom, ahead of his next appearance at Portsmouth Crown Court on September 16.

Ms Mahmood said: ‘These scenes have caused disruption for people and, given that people are dressed in black wearing balaclavas, there is a fear factor and obvious malign intent being communicated to our residents.

‘This makes it different from other protests, so we need to make sure we are learning lessons.’

The Gulf Co-operation Council – made up of representatives from Saudi Arabaia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait – also issued a missive condemning the attack.

“This attack represents a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its territorial integrity, and its vital installations, as well as a flagrant violation of the principles of international law,” secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.

This week, a lightning advance in Yemen has also seen Houthi militants seize control of much of the country’s coastline, sources say.

The group claims it has control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, though it says maritime navigation is “safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels”.

The developments have squeezed both sides of the Arabian Peninsula, pushing crude oil prices to over $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

Fears over inflation have risen with the spike in energy prices, further pushing up government borrowing costs.

On a rainy September afternoon, I found one practically on my doorstep.

I had gone to Turton Tower expecting a coffee, a slice of cake and a wander around one of the area’s most historic buildings.

I left feeling like I had discovered somewhere genuinely special.

My afternoon started at the Woodland Café, tucked within the grounds of the tower, where Rachel and Katie were behind the counter, greeting everyone who came through the door with a smile.

Rachel at the Woodland Cafe

It immediately felt warm and welcoming – the sort of little café where you don’t feel hurried to order and disappear, but somewhere you actually want to stay for a while.

And even the café comes with its own piece of history.

It sits in what was once the kitchen of Turton Tower – a kitchen which remained in the same location for more than 500 years.

Then came the important decision – what to have.

Anyone who knows me knows that I take a sweet treat very seriously, and the counter certainly gave me plenty to think about.

The café sources its cakes from a number of different bakers and there was a tempting selection staring back at me.

Eventually, I settled on a slice of Victoria sponge and an Italian hot chocolate.

And what a combination.

The hot chocolate was rich, creamy and indulgent without being too sickly, while the Victoria sponge was exactly the kind of comforting cake that seems made for a rainy day.

But instead of staying inside, I carried them out to the kitchen garden,

That was when I really fell in love with the place.

September had arrived, the skies were grey and there was rain in the air, but somehow it didn’t matter.

I sat surrounded by flowers, herbs and plants, many lovingly grown and looked after by volunteers, with Turton Tower just beyond them.

And it was beautiful.

Not in a grand or showy way.

It was the kind of beautiful that makes you notice the little things.

The plants moving in the breeze, the quiet of the garden, the warmth of a hot chocolate between your hands and the fact that, for once, there was absolutely no need to rush.

I sat, ate my cake and just looked around.

No agenda.

No next stop.

No feeling that I should be doing something else.

I was simply there.

It sounds like such a small thing, but life doesn’t always leave much room for moments like that.

We are constantly moving on to whatever comes next, and sometimes it takes sitting in a centuries-old garden with a slice of Victoria sponge to realise how nice it is to stop.

Perhaps that sense of stepping away from modern life feels particularly fitting at Turton Tower.

Because everywhere you look, there is a reminder that this place was here long before any of us.

Turton Tower has been evolving for around 600 years, beginning as a medieval stone tower house in the 1400s before generations of owners added to it and made it their own.

The Orrell family called it home for generations, and later industrialist James Kay bought the tower in 1835 and set about transforming the ageing building.

I am a complete history nerd, so naturally I found all of this fascinating.

There is something almost surreal about wandering around a building with six centuries of stories behind its walls and then remembering that you haven’t travelled miles to find it.

It is right here.

Visitors can pay to explore inside the tower, and I think that is where its history becomes most captivating.

Rather than dates and names written on a page, you can stand inside the rooms, look at the architecture and imagine all the ordinary lives that have unfolded there before yours.

People ate here, slept here, laughed here and looked out of the same windows that visitors do today.

As you wander through, there are little reminders of just how many different lives the tower has lived.

The dining room is lined with historic wooden panelling brought from Middleton Hall in Manchester when it was being demolished, while an elaborate Elizabethan plasterwork ceiling survives in the drawing room.

You don’t need to know every date or every name to appreciate it.

For me, the joy was simply being curious – peering into rooms, noticing details and wondering about the people who had stood there centuries before.

Then you step back outside and the tower becomes something completely different again.

People are walking their dogs through the grounds, friends are chatting over coffee and Rachel and Katie are welcoming the next person into the café.

You could easily come just for that.

The café is hoping to introduce more paninis, sandwiches and savoury choices alongside its cakes and drinks, making it somewhere you could stop for lunch as well as coffee and a sweet treat.

Or you could do exactly what I did and make an afternoon of it.

By the time I left, the rain hadn’t really stopped.

But I didn’t mind.

What I thought would be a simple afternoon of coffee, cake and local history had turned into a few hours somewhere I genuinely didn’t want to leave.

And for somewhere that had been sitting practically on my doorstep all along, that felt pretty special.

The incident occurred on June 26 at around 5:26pm, when a brick was thrown at a car in what is thought to be a targeted attack.

Police have now released images of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers are appealing for information as they investigate a report of criminal damage in the Tyldesley area.

“At around 5.20pm on 26 June, a car was damaged by a brick in a suspected targeted attack.

“Officers have now released an image of a man they would like to speak to, as it is believed he could help with their enquiries.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 or our Live Chat at https://orlo.uk/41e8Y, quoting CRI/06LL/0015794/26.

“Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”

Police seek information after a car was damaged by a brick in a suspected targeted attack in Tyldesley.

The incident occurred on June 26, at about 5.20pm.