That run pales in comparison to Brentford’s bizarre run of results. They have drawn six on the spin, including an FA Cup defeat by West Ham which was settled by a penalty shootout after ending level. That spell has seen the Bees slip to ninth in the table, though a win this evening would send them back up to sixth, ahead of Brighton, Bournemouth and Chelsea.

But just as with Attenborough’s filming in the 1970s, things did not go as expected. Over 250 days of filming, Pablo’s descendants were in the midst of a complex battle for supremacy between three adult males that led to beatings, a killing and mourning. Once again, the gorillas were writing the script just as they had in 1978.

Unforgotten star Nicola Walker teams up with Jemaine Clement in the Disney+ comedy-drama Alice and Steve, coming in June

The premiere date for Nicola Walker‘s eagerly anticipated new series has been confirmed.

The actress, best known for her portrayal of DCI Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Stuart throughout seasons 1-4 of ITV’s acclaimed detective drama Unforgotten, is set to star alongside a stellar cast in Disney+’s Alice and Steve.

The cast and creative team behind the new six-part comedy-drama launched their press tour yesterday (April 26) with a world premiere in competition at CANNESERIES 2026.

The show, which arrives on Disney+ in June, centres on Alice, portrayed by Nicola, whose life is thrown into turmoil when her closest friend Steve (Jemaine Clement) embarks on a romance with her 26-year-old daughter, Izzy (Topol Margalith). Confronted with the prospect of simultaneously losing both her dearest friend and her daughter, Alice resorts to drastic measures in a bid to separate them.

However, Steve is not prepared to back down, and what begins as an intimate friendship rapidly descends into a bitter and turbulent rivalry, reports the Mirror.

Combining comedy with emotional depth, Alice and Steve delves into the complicated dynamics of friendship, family, and romance.

This anti-romantic comedy poses profound questions – how far would you go for love or revenge? And can Steve and Izzy’s relationship withstand the consequences? One certainty is that the lives of these characters will be irrevocably altered.

The synopsis for Alice and Steve reads: “Alice tries everything she can to end the relationship. Unfortunately for her, Steve’s more than ready for the attack, and what begins as a perfect friendship devolves into an all-out feud.”

Upon the show’s initial announcement, Nicola declared in an official statement: “I’m thrilled to be stepping into the fabulous world of friendship, motherhood, marriage, frantic revenge and fierce love that Sophie Goodhart has created, and to be doing it with Jemaine Clement is completely joyful!”

Fellow lead Jemaine was equally enthusiastic about his co-star, commenting: “I really relate to Steve – he’s classy, stylish and an all-round good guy – except for when he isn’t. I’m excited to be working with the wonderful Nicola Walker and seeing how Steve and Alice’s relationship descends into absolute chaos.”

Nicola became a firm favourite amongst audiences in the acclaimed detective drama Unforgotten, though her character’s death in 2021 left viewers heartbroken.

Alongside Nicola in the lead role, the production boasts an impressive creative team, including writer-creator Sophie Goodhart (Sex Education), director Tom Kingsley (Stath Lets Flats), Clerkenwell Films executive producer Andy Baker (Baby Reindeer) and series producer Frances du Pille.

All six episodes of Alice and Steve will be available to stream from Monday, June 8 exclusively on Disney+

Sir Keir received backing from former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said: “Whatever the parliamentary games at Westminster, what the country expects of everyone in Labour is to focus on the priorities of the British people, which is what Keir Starmer is doing and for which he deserves all our support.”

The ambitious plans to build 60,000 new homes across York and North Yorkshire over the next decade have been set out.

The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s proposed housing growth strategy aims to significantly accelerate development across the region, with at least 25,000 of the new homes expected to be classed as affordable.

Leaders say the plan is designed to tackle growing demand for housing while supporting economic growth and ensuring local people are not priced out of their communities.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said the only way to tackle the housing crisis in the region was to “build our way out of it”.

He added: “We’re stepping up to build 60,000 new homes by 2035, with a firm commitment that 25,000 of these will be genuinely affordable.

“Working in close partnership with Homes England and the local councils, we’ll ensure we deliver the right homes in the right places with the right infrastructure.”

The strategy notes that more than 5,400 homes need to be built each year to meet new national targets.

Its aims include increasing housing supply by unlocking strategic sites.

A “plan-led” approach is proposed to ensure the right homes are built in the right places, while public land will be used to accelerate development.

The strategy aims to develop an affordable housing pipeline, with emphasis on social rented homes, rural housing and tackling the implications of holiday lets and second homes, which have been blamed for reducing supply and pushing up prices.

It also highlights the importance of building energy-efficient homes and improving existing housing stock through retrofit programmes, helping to reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty.

Officials say partnership working will be key, with local authorities, developers, Homes England and other organisations expected to play a role in delivering the scale of growth required.

The report states that the strategy sends a clear message that the region is “open for business” and ready to attract investment in housing.

If approved by members of the Combined Authority when they meet on Friday, the plan will guide housing development across York and North Yorkshire for the next ten years.

There has been a months long dispute between the council and BT over the road damage in Leigh

Action has been promised on long-standing potholes which have been at the centre of a dispute over who’s responsible for fixing it.

The road surface around a metal utility cover on Twist Lane, close to Parsonage Way in Leigh has been deteriorating for months.

Councillors said ‘what began as a minor defect has now escalated into significant potholes’.

After more than four months of pressing by Wigan council BT, have now agreed to fix the surface. The damaged section of road has been jolting hundreds of vehicles every day since last year.

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Responding to local councillor Dane Anderton’s update on the matter, motorist Philip Yardley said: “During normal traffic it can’t be avoided.

“It’s one of those where you hit it and you grit your teeth after shouting ‘Jeeeze’.”

Earlier this month, after becoming exasperated at the lack of progress, Coun Anderton, on behalf of himself and other Leigh West councillors, wrote to the chief executive of BT.

The letter said: “The defect is positioned on a primary route serving both the town centre and a high-traffic retail park. Because of its location, motorists find it impossible to avoid.

“What began as a minor defect has now escalated into significant potholes surrounding the frame.

“By failing to act in December, BT has allowed the damage to spread to the surrounding road surface, which will now result in a far more costly and extensive reinstatement.

“Wigan Council is proud to have some of the highest-rated roads in the country, with maintenance standards consistently recognized by the government. “BT’s failure to maintain its assets is now causing a direct negative impact on the safety and quality of our local infrastructure.

“We urge you to override the current ‘non-urgent’ classification and prioritize a full repair of the cover and the surrounding highway damage your asset has caused.”

In the past few days Wigan council have updated councillors on the issue saying ‘BT has now accepted responsibility for the utility box and are planning the necessary repairs’.

The message added: “As soon as a date is confirmed, we will update you.”

An application to refurbish the building on the corner of Kings Square and St Andrewgate and turn them into four flats have been lodged with City of York Council.

Helmsley Securities’ plans stated the conversion would enhance a vacant building and the area around it through the creation of contemporary living spaces in a well-connected location.

The flats would be above the Café Nero on the corner of Kings Square and St Andrewgate.

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Plans for the flats, dubbed Bedern Lofts, include creating a new dedicated entrance to them at street level in St Andrewgate.

The refurbished upper floors are set to feature a new staircase, window openings and heating upgrades.

One one-bedroom, one two-bedroom and two three-bedroom apartments are set to be built as part of the conversion.

Extensions of the original lift shaft are also planned to provide views of the Minster.

St Andrewgate was first recorded in 1200, likely taking its name from the nearby St Andrew’s Church.

An impression showing how the entrance to flats in St Andrewgate, in York, could look (Image: Helmsley Securities/City of York Council planning portal)

The current St Andrew’s Evangelical Church building dates to the 14th Century.

The street was also historically home to a religious hospital, metalworks and workshops between the 1300s and 1500s and York’s first police station built in the 1820s.

A drill house for the York Rifle Volunteers was built in 1872.

A number of its 17th and 18th Century buildings were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the redevelopment of the area.

Homes have since been built around the street’s surviving historic buildings, according to planning documents.

Plans stated: “The ultimate aim of the project is to secure St Andrewgate for the future by re-using and enhancing the vacant building through the creation of contemporary living spaces in a sustainable, well-connected location.”

Structurally, Romeo and Juliet is almost a Shakespearean comedy. The Bard’s comic plays tend to turn the world upside down and then neatly restore the social order, usually by means of marriage.

The world of Romeo and Juliet is turned upside down when two adolescents from warring families fall in love, and the world is set right when the families are united in marriage. But then there are three more acts and the plot veers towards tragedy, tallying six deaths by its end.

Robert Icke’s new production of Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre thoughtfully interrogates the play’s structure by introducing moments of might-have-been throughout. Starring Noah Jupe (Hamnet) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) in the respective titular roles, Icke offers glimpses of how the story might have unfolded differently, in a kind of Sliding Doors version of the play.

Early in the production, Lord Capulet (Clark Gregg) gives the invitation list for his party to the Nurse (Clare Perkins). Then time freezes, we move backwards, and Capulet hands the note instead to an illiterate servant, who bumps into Romeo on the street and asks for his help reading it. Romeo learns of the party and decides to attend in order to see his current crush, Rosaline. Had the Nurse been given the task, she would never have needed help reading the list and Romeo would never have met Juliet.

In this way, the production is riddled with tiny moments that could have altered the plot’s trajectory away from tragedy. In doing so, we get to see alternate universes that make up a multiverse. The multiverse has been a regular device in recent popular storytelling, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the adult cartoon Rick and Morty.

Plays like Nick Payne’s Constellations, which had a West End revival in 2021, stage a multiverse by showing how the same scene between two characters might have happened in several different ways, across an infinite number of timelines.

I have written about theatrical multiverses, demonstrating that they offer the audience space to reflect upon how things might have gone differently in their own worlds. In 2021, just after the third UK Covid lockdown, the audience of Constellations was likely attuned to contemplating a world in which they did not expect to find themselves.

With the tumultuous state of the world, it can sometimes feel like we are living in the wrong timeline. The popularity of multiverse stories may seen as ways of reconciling living in our own world, that often feels as if it has been turned upside down.

Romeo and Juliet’s multiverse

As Daniel Swift’s programme note attests, Romeo and Juliet is very much about time. The plot is compressed into five days and it includes more references to days of the week, hours and minutes than any of Shakespeare’s other works. This preoccupation with time is emphasised by Hildegard Bechtler’s set design, which includes two moving panels with illuminated clocks, presenting the precise time and date in fair Verona.

Along with helping the audience understand when we see alternate timelines, the constant reminder of time allows us to reflect on just how quickly things escalate for Romeo and Juliet.

The lovers marry within hours of meeting each other and Romeo is already banished in Mantua before they’ve been wedded for a full day. In this way, the clock points to the youthful haste which creates so much waste. This theme is developed in the emphasis on how quickly Lady Capulet (Eden Epstein) was was made a wife and mother (younger than Juliet, and based on the text she could be as young as 26). This comes through in her subtle portrayal of depression at the thought of lost youth and cowardice in the face of her much older husband.

Jupe’s performance is standout. He is able to capture a contemporary take on the lines without losing any of their rhythm and poetry. This is in contrast to Sink, whose staccato delivery and frequent line breaks (perhaps emphasised by the American accent) jar against the poetry.

Kasper Hilton-Hille’s Mercutio – Romeo’s closest confidant – is a convincingly arrogant scamp. Throughout the production he is an active agent of chaos, always looking for trouble, mooning the Nurse and shaking his crotch at the fiery Tybalt (Aruna Jalloh). In fact he has been so relentlessly seeking out trouble across every timeline explored, that it is curious when in his death throes he calls down a plague on both the houses of Montague and Capulet. Surely he himself is to blame for his own demise?

My one criticism of the use of the multiverse in this production relates to the parts of the plot in which it is deployed. Often, Icke’s alternate timelines relate to chance, rather than the decisions made by the characters. For example, a drink is accidentally spilled, preventing Tybalt from attacking Romeo before he meets Juliet at the party. Or a messenger evades quarantine and delivers a letter informing Romeo that Juliet is actually still alive.

But what if it was the decisions of the characters that played out instead? For example, it would have been interesting to see Romeo not take revenge on Tybalt because he values his duty to Juliet over Mercutio. This would elevate the importance of the actions we take over the randomness of external factors. By emphasising happenstance over agency, Icke’s multiverses situate humans as flotsam on the waves of fate.

A more powerful call to action in our turbulent times would be to emphasise that it is the choices we make that can shape whether our story is a comedy or a tragedy.

Romeo and Juliet is at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London until June 20.

Matthew Mellow claimed his neighbour’s children were playing too close to his caravan before he made the threats

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A vile man said ‘I’ll cut your head off’ and ‘this is my country, not yours’ to a neighbour in a racially aggravated attack.

Matthew Mellow, 36, made the threats in front of the victim’s children and even held up a circular saw.

Mellow was reportedly angry that his neighbour’s children were playing near his caravan. CornwallLive reports Mellow, of Minorca Lane in Bugle, Cornwall received a suspended sentence after appearing at Truro Crown Court on Friday (April 24).

He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and one of racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence. The court heard how, during the altercation, the defendant had shouted at the victim’s children when they got close to his vehicle.

The victim then asked Mellow what his problem was, to which he picked up a circular saw, started it running, and shouted for the complainant to ‘go back to Bulgaria’, adding, ‘this is my country, not yours.’ He also said that if the man did not stop talking, “I’ll cut your head off”.

The dad and his children then retreated back to their caravan. The victim explained that he remained courteous throughout the transaction, but following the incident, they were unable to sleep and were stressed about the situation.

“We did not want anything to happen to us. We just want to live in peace and be safe,” he said in an impact statement. “Not to be afraid in our own home because of potential repercussions.”

As part of his defence, it was heard that Mellow “deeply regrets” how he acted this day and that it was a result of him feeling a need to protect his wife and that he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Judge Simon Carr said that while being presented with a circular saw would be terrifying, he would not impose a custodial sentence.

“Confronted by somebody who was doing no more than keeping an eye on their children, you produced a circular saw, threatened to cut his head off and made a racially unpleasant comment which would have been extremely frightening for the person involved,” he told Mellow.

He sentenced Mellow to six months suspended for two years. He will need to complete a mental health order and ten rehabilitation activity days.

A restraining order was also made.

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