Strictly Come Dancing favourite Janette Manrara has posted a moving message on Instagram

Strictly Come Dancing’s Janette Manrara has shared a heartfelt goodbye following the conclusion of her tour.

The former BBC ballroom professional, who currently presents the Strictly spin-off programme It Takes Two, has been performing alongside her husband Aljaz Skorjanec.

Describing it as the “end of an era”, Janette admitted she was feeling “so many emotions” while thanking supporters for their loyalty, reports the Mirror.

In her farewell post on Instagram, Janette wrote: “Last day of the tour and feeling so many emotions. I have loved every moment on stage with our cast and band, and sharing the love of dance and entertainment I have w/ everyone that came along to watch.

“Aljaz Skorjanec and I have been doing this together for a long while, but we don’t know when we’ll be on stage like this together again, so tonight will be a VERY special end of an era.”

She concluded with a touching message: “THANK YOU for coming, for supporting us all these years, and for being the best audiences we could have ever dreamed of. It’s never ‘goodbye’, but instead ‘until the next time’. In the mean time, ‘there is always time for one… more… DANCE!’”

Strictly has undergone significant changes, with five professional dancers departing after main presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly stood down.

Aljaz shared his own statement before the upcoming series after confirmation he had kept his position on the show.

He posted a throwback image of himself and his wife from a professional dance photoshoot in 2013, captioning it: “@jmanrara and I look a couple months younger there. Little did I know then how being a part of @bbcstrictly would change my life for the better FOREVER. Back for my 12th season! Bring it on!!”

He concluded with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “My mission is to look exactly like I did in this photo by the time you see me on your screens in autumn.”

While Aljaz gears up to return to the series, Gorka Marquez has decided to step away from Strictly.

Professional dancers Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas are also leaving the programme.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One.

Jeremy Howick, Professor of Empathic Healthcare and Director of the Stoneygate Centre at the University of Leicester, has been named this year’s winner of the Professor Sir Paul Curran Award for Excellence in Academic Journalism.

The prize is awarded annually to an academic who has shown exceptional skill, dedication and engagement in communicating their knowledge to readers through their contributions to The Conversation.

Jeremy has written 26 articles that have garnered 775,000 pageviews since his first publication in 2016 – including translations into French and Portuguese. His articles have looked at placebos, the effects of empathy and empathic treatment by clinicians, and medical safety, among others.

Presented this year by Lady Helen Curran in Sir Paul’s absence, we were delighted to welcome around 80 authors who had written for The Conversation in 2025 at Bayes Business School, City St George’s, University of London. Over drinks, they met Conversation editors and colleagues from across the sector.

Jeremy said: “It is a great honour to win this prestigious award. Thank you to The Conversation for the wonderful work they do, to my editor Clint Witchalls and to Stephen Khan for your help over the years.

“I have written for The Conversation for 10 years, and it has been an important part of my life’s work. I have always viewed public communication as a duty. My research as an academic has been funded by the MRC, NIHR, and other public bodies, meaning that the taxpayer has often paid my bills. The Conversation gives me a forum through which I can explain my research to the public.

“But also I’ve always been motivated to change practice. You can do that by becoming a politician or policymaker, but I’m not patient enough for that. The other way is to inform the public to create a groundswell for change. At the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare in Leicester, and before that at the Oxford Empathy Programme, I’ve attempted to do just that by working to ensure that all healthcare consultations include a dose of empathy. The evidence is starting to show that we are succeeding at making a real difference, and The Conversation has contributed to that real-life impact. So thank you once again for this amazing award. I’m humbled and honoured.”

Senior Health Editor Clint Witchalls said: “I remember Jeremy’s first piece: Why doing good can do you good, about how doing good things for others doesn’t just feel nice but can actually make you healthier. Studies showed that volunteers have lower stress levels, healthier hearts, and even a brain that rewards them with feel-good chemicals for being kind. At the time Jeremy was at the University of Oxford and focused on researching the placebo and nocebo effects, which he has also written about for us. I can highly recommend Jeremy’s book: The Power of Placebos.”

Commendations

Highly Commended for his work was archaeology researcher Stephan Blum, from the University of Tübingen in Germany. Perhaps understandably he was not able to attend on the day, but his certificate is winging its way eastward.

Senior Arts Editor Anna Walker said: “Not only is Stephan a delight to work with, but he instinctively understands what The Conversation needs. His ability to connect the ancient world to contemporary concerns is a defining strength of his writing. Whether exploring environmental pressures behind the fall of Troy or reassessing long-held assumptions about early trade and wine production, he shows how the distant past can illuminate present-day issues, presenting history not as something static or remote but as a dynamic field that continues to shape how we understand the world today.”

Responding to the award, Stephan wrote: “Writing for The Conversation has been a tremendously rewarding experience, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to contribute. It means a great deal to see the work recognised in this way.”

Commended for their work on the thorny topic of climate finance were Meilan Yan of Loughborough University and Narmin Nahidi of the University of Exeter (who was also not able to attend).

Senior environment editor Anna Turns said: “I first worked with Meilan in May 2025 when compiling a user-friendly guide to climate finance – a notoriously complex and abstract topic. Climate risk is one of Meilan’s biggest worries and this is very much something that gets overlooked among a chaotic landscape of geopolitical unrest. Her pieces bridge the gap between climate science and financial risk in tangible and relatable ways.

“Narmin Nahidi, who we also discovered through working on the glossary of climate finance, explained many terms for us and has since tuned in to pitching timely and topical stories, is always been keen to collaborate on edits and a pleasure to work with.

Editor-in-Chief Stephen Khan thanked Lady Curran: “Professor Sir Paul’s ongoing commitment to The Conversation is greatly appreciated and we were delighted Lady Curran was able to meet the authors shortlisted this year and make the presentations.

“We’ve had thousands of fantastic articles and podcast contributions from across the academy over the past 12 months, taking expert knowledge to millions of people from all walks of life around the world.

“These authors authors showed a particular ability to make complex research accessible, engaging and genuinely useful. Jeremy Howick’s writing exemplifies the very best of The Conversation’s mission: rigorous evidence communicated with clarity, warmth and public purpose.”

A huge thank you to Jeremy, Stephan, Meilan and Narmin for their work with The Conversation over the years, and to all our authors – without whose efforts there would be no Conversation.

The UUP leader added: “any police officer who is involved in or who uses misogynistic language, there’s no place for them within the police service.”

The UUP leader and former Head of Internal Discipline in the PSNI has claimed that he never heard misogynistic language in the police service.

His comments come after a review into the investigation of the murder of showjumper Katie Simpson finding that “institutional misogyny” contributed to “clear warning signs” being missed in the initial police investigation.

Jon Burrows served as Head of Internal Discipline in the PSNI at the time of Katie Simpson’s murder until his retirement on medical grounds a year later, in 2021.

He was speaking to Belfast Live just days after an independent review into the Katie Simpson investigation made 16 recommendations, concluding there were systemic failings in how the case was handled.

“The murder was an evil act by a serial abuser of women, and it was committed against an entirely innocent woman, and it’s vital that lessons are learned about this,” he said.

“I think at the outset, it is imperative that every sudden death or suspected suicide is treated with an open mind , and if you don’t have an open mind at the outset, what tends to happen is you interpret all pieces of information as confirming what your initial presumption is, in this case, that it was a suicide, not a murder.

“I think there’s a degree of training around making sure that officers retain an open mind. There are serious questions about supervision at all levels, from the sergeant right up to the highest levels in the local district and the murder investigation teams, because clearly there was a conflict here. There were some officers who had concerns, there were members of the public who had concerns, and yet they weren’t properly listened to. I think what should have happened here is there should have been an intervention by a senior officer to sit and weigh up all the information.”

Mr Burrows said that he warned “for years” that sergeants and inspectors are “pulled towards the computer”, rather than frontline policing, due to levels of bureaucracy within the police service and said that there was a “catastrophic failure of leadership” in this case.

“Jonathan Creswell had an offending history for coercive control and domestic violence. Concerns were repeatedly raised with the police by members of the public, and those were missed.

“Somewhere in the mix of this, those in senior leadership positions in that district should have been intervening and should have been making sure this was properly investigated.

“Lessons should have been learned, both in terms of culture, in terms of process and in terms of investigative mindsets.”

Jon Burrows said that he was the first retired officer to “call out” what he said were “catastrophic errors” in the case back in August 2024.

Reflecting on his own experience in the PSNI, Mr Burrows said that all sudden deaths are supposed to be reviewed the next morning, and if you are in doubt as to whether a death is suspicious or not, it should be treated as suspicious, as there is a critical timeframe to get evidence from a postmortem and forensics.

“I want to put on record, I also am deeply concerned about a culture in our entire justice system that seems to put the interests of the perpetrator in front of the interests of the victim,” he continued.

“I’ve been talking about this for a long time. So, for example, in this case, Creswell is someone who has a conviction for coercive control and abuse, despite being charged in court for murder, where there’s a major incentive to jump bail, despite the case involving one where there was interference of witnesses and perverting the course of justice, inexplicably, Creswell was granted bail by the judge.

“What on earth was Creswell doing on bail during a trial for murder in which there were outstanding witnesses, in which he was also charged with interfering with those witnesses and perverting the course of justice, and that allowed him to commit suicide, and evade justice.

“I think this, this case calls for a wider review of the culture of the entire justice system, and it’s no surprise to me that we have the highest femicide rates in the UK, because you consistently prioritise the rights of the perpetrator over the rights of victims.”

All the PSNI officers investigated over the handling of the case have since retired. Jon Burrows said that while he was in the PSNI’s Professional Standards team, he recommended that misconduct regulations be amended so that cases could be taken against officers if they leave the PSNI or retire, as happens in England and Wales, but his recommendations were never progressed.

Despite Dr Jan Melia’s report finding that “institutional misogyny” contributed to “clear warning signs” being missed, Mr Burrows defended the culture he oversaw: “I’ve never heard misogynistic language in the police service, not for a long time, and if I did, it was challenged.

“Policing, since the inception of the peace process, and I was in the Met Police, initially, and then I came to the PSNI in the early 2000’s, what happened was the police were heavily trained in human rights compliance.

“I think the training overemphasised what the police couldn’t do in terms of arrest and refusing bail and all of those things in terms of suspect rights, but I don’t think it emphasised enough the positive obligation that the police service has to protect life, to investigate crime, and to take positive action to bring offenders to justice. That’s one of the cultures I saw develop.

“In terms of misogynistic language, let me make this clear: any police officer who is involved in or who uses misogynistic language, there’s no place for them within the police service. Any officer involved in domestic violence, there’s no place for them in the police service.

“I am pleased that there’s been some prosecutions recently for two police officers who were involved in paying for sex. I’ve always supported honest and hardworking officers, but anyone, and I mean anyone, who is misogynistic, who engages in degrading treatment towards women has no place in the police service, and they should be rooted out.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The decade that brought us the internet, The Spice Girls and Pokémon is also the era that travellers look back at most fondly.

Gen X (aged 45-54) is mourning the ‘90s holiday the most, with over one in three Brits (35%) saying it delivered standout holidays compared to what’s on offer in 2026.

In second spot was the 2000s, which reigned supreme for nearly 2 in 10 Brits.

Comparatively, the 2010s and 2020s were only favoured by a measly 6% and 8% respectively.

Though 34% of trip-goers said holidays haven’t really changed at all.

The research by Marella Cruises to celebrate its 30th birthday sailing the seas, released today (8 April), also unlocked what makes for a perfect trip abroad.

Travellers are increasingly seeking trips that feel more meaningful and memorable.

The nineties is seen as a better time for holidays because experiences felt more immersive (14%), while others said travellers were more present in the moment (11%).

The core reason people go on holiday hasn’t changed – the top motivations remain quality time with loved ones (32%) and taking time out for a mental reset (32%) – but phones are seen as the biggest barrier to connection.

Of those surveyed, 38% of Brits said constant screen time gets in the way of socialising.

Cruises could hold the key to recreating that nostalgic holiday spirit.

Brits (14%) said they associate cruises with a steady availability of off-screen entertainment – from live gigs to family games and everything in-between creating natural opportunities to spend time together.

Additionally, around one in 10 UK adults (12%) feel heading out to sea would help them properly switch off and escape everyday stress – especially because it’s less hassle than a traditional holiday (16%).

Holidays are when Brits feel most open to connecting with others, with a quarter saying they felt more relaxed and confident while away from home.

Of those surveyed, a lucky 7% met the love of their life on holiday.

Meanwhile, 15% met someone on holiday that they still keep in touch with to this day and 14% formed life-long friendships.

Others say they are more sociable simply because they are free from everyday responsibilities.

This appetite for connection is reflected in what travellers want from holidays today with 24% prioritising a social atmosphere that feels natural and not reliant on apps or technology.

Live entertainment (18%) and adults-only options (18%) are also high on the wish list, alongside longer, slower trips and wellness-focused breaks.

The findings come as Marella Cruises celebrates its 30th anniversary with a nostalgic, 90s-inspired entertainment line-up tapping into the growing appetite for throwback experiences.

The brand’s all-inclusive approach, covering everything from flights and transfers to food, drinks and entertainment, aims to recreate the ease and sociable atmosphere many associate with holidays of the past.

Chris Hackney, CEO at Marella Cruises, said, “With Marella Cruises marking 30 years in the UK, we’re excited to celebrate at sea with acts from all three decades to attract both new and returning cruise customers.

“Our customers value our all-inclusive offering and seamless end-to-end service, and this celebration will take them on a nostalgic journey back to 1996 with music, quizzes and onboard entertainment inspired by the era.

“We can’t wait to welcome guests aboard our ships to celebrate this milestone birthday with us.”

Ultimately, the perfect holiday hasn’t changed all that much.

The top “ideal moment” for Brits is still watching the sunset over the sea with a drink (22%), followed by seeing loved ones happy and relaxed (18%), and simply doing nothing together (10%).

The commentary of Peter Withe’s winning goal against Bayern Munich in Rotterdam hangs above the Doug Ellis Stand.

In two weeks, Villa may need another banner if they win in Turkey, which would also earn a Champions League return regardless of whether they finish in the Premier League’s top five.

John McGinn’s late double put the gloss on a dominant performance that was too much for Forest to match, or even cope with.

Boss Vitor Pereira was able to include Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo on the bench but none were fit and only defender Murillo made it on to the pitch and that just for two minutes with the game lost.

But even with that trio fully available, the visitors might have struggled to contain a rampant Villa, who only increased the tempo throughout the match.

Ollie Watkins’ opener and Emi Buendia’s penalty put Villa ahead on the night and then in the tie. After that there was never any doubt in a performance that even gained Royal approval from a fan – Prince William visiting the dressing room post match to offer congratulations

“They [the players] were so focused, they were aware about the momentum,” said Emery. “We planned before emotionally and how we were playing the match. It was the only match we played with this circumstances.

“The possibility to get to a final was the only moment we’ve had here. We were confident about how the supporters were here and creating this atmosphere.”

It will be Emery’s sixth Europa League final with four wins – a record – and one defeat, which came against Chelsea while Arsenal manager in 2019.

“Europe is very important,” he said. “In my first press conference here I was speaking about Europe, I was speaking about trophies as well, but it’s very difficult. It’s difficult to get trophies.

“In Europe, it’s difficult to be consistent like we are. It’s through our hard work and the players must set the standards we want to achieve.

“Today the players [gave] their best, collectively and individually.”

Only Giovanni Trapattoni, with seven, has reached more major finals in European competition than Emery.

“There’s no better manager than this to get us prepared for this game and take us into the final. His track record speaks for itself,” Watkins told TNT.

“We need to go and win it now.”

Watkins himself admitted changes in the squad are expected this summer and so this current run represents the last chance to achieve something together.

Emery has wrung everything out of his players. Several like Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers came to Villa from the Championship, and there is an internal recognition the squad needs to be revamped.

Skipper McGinn also recognises the players have a final chance to be compared to past heroes like European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer and Paul McGrath who lifted the 1994 and 1996 League Cups.

He told TNT: “We’ve had low moments, definitely. It’s a demanding club to play for, but when it’s like this, Villa Park is electric. What we’ve done in the last few years is exceptional.

“I felt it this morning, but now it is about embracing it and trying to be legends. You see the guys from 1982, you see the cup winners in the 90’s.

“It’s a historic club and it’s been a long time without success. There’s been massive lows, like relegation and it has built itself back up. It’s such a proud football club, it deserves success and hopefully we can be the group to do it.”

Crystal Palace desperately did not want to be in the Conference League – now they are one game from winning it and creating more club history.

On one of the greatest nights the club has known at a passionate and raucous Selhurst Park, the Eagles beat Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to seal a 5-2 aggregate success in the semi-finals.

Having won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025 at Wembley, their remarkable European journey started in a Swiss courtroom, unsuccessfully appealing against demotion into the Conference League from the second-tier Europa League.

But since then, Palace have not looked back.

They have travelled to Norway, Poland, France, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy and back to Poland, with one last stop to come – the final in Germany.

And should Palace lift the trophy on Wednesday, 27 May, in Leipzig against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, who defeated Gary O’Neil’s Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, it would complete an unprecedented phase of success for the club.

Boss Oliver Glasner, who will leave in the summer having only been appointed in February 2024, is on the verge of a third trophy in a remarkable period.

Even the 51-year-old could not believe what has been achieved.

“I spoke to the chairman before the match, he always comes into my office,” said Glasner afterwards.

“I said, ‘do you ever think we would be playing in the semi-final of a European competition?’ He said ‘no’.

“I said, ‘when we talked for the first time three years ago, I didn’t think about it’. This is what you achieve if you work hard and stick together in tough moments – and we have had a few. When you stick together in difficult moments, you get the reward.”

He was speeding while rushing home to take his “unwell cat to the vet” at the time of the offence.

Hollywood was officially clocked driving at 96mph, but he is thought to have reached speeds of up to 105mph.

The Great British Bake Off judge was a “bully” to other motorists on the M25 by tailgating them at high speeds on January 9, Worthing Magistrates’ Court has heard.

Peter Csemiczky, a partner at Hickman and Rose Solicitors, said: “Mr Hollywood accepts he was driving too fast.

“He was rushing home to get his unwell cat to the vet.

“[Hollywood] understands this is no excuse and apologises for his actions.

“He understands and accepts that he will be punished.”

PC Alexander McAlpine of Surrey Police, who was behind Paul’s vehicle in an unmarked police car at the time of the offence, said Hollywood would “repeatedly ‘bully’ other vehicles out of its way, through use of unsafe tailgating”.

Most successful contestants on The Great British Bake Off

He said: “Whenever there was a vehicle ahead, the driver would close up to a follow distance of less than five metres which was wholly inappropriate for the conditions and speed.

“Once a vehicle moved out of the way having been tailgated until they did so, the driver would then heavily accelerate and travel well in excess of the limit until they reached the next vehicle ahead on the road, at which point they would repeat the process, to try and ‘push’ any traffic that was in front of them out of the lane, even if they were legitimately overtaking traffic travelling slower in lane three.”

PC McAlpine said he clocked Hollywood’s speed at a “peak” of around 105mph after he had moved onto the M26.

He also said the baker’s “general road speed remained above 90mph for an extended period of time.”

The officer said: “The driver stated that the reason for their urgency and driving behaviour was transporting an unwell cat.”

Mr Hollywood pleaded guilty to speeding and was given five penalty points, a £293 fine, £120 in costs, and a £117 victim surcharge.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Following legal intervention, the allegation was withdrawn.

Recommended reading:

Paul once claimed his former fellow Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry hit him with her handbag because he was driving too fast.

Speaking on Bake Off spin-off show Extra Slice, he said: “I probably drive a little bit too quick.

“It scares a few people.

“I took Mary in a car once and she was hitting me with her handbag.”

Once touted as a future successor to Salford city mayor Paul Dennett, Jack Youd is now without a job in elected politics

Salford’s Labour deputy mayor has lost his council seat in a spectacular win for Reform UK in the local elections this evening (May 8). Jack Youd came a distant second to Reform UK’s Miles Henderson in the Walkden North race, with 953 votes to Henderson’s 1,209.

The result means Youd, once touted as a future successor to Salford city mayor Paul Dennett, is now without a job in elected politics.

Mr Youd was at the centre of a Salford council investigation last November, when officials launched a probe into claims a misconduct complaint against deputy mayor Jack Youd was removed from the email inboxes of councillors without their knowledge.

Click here for the latest on Greater Manchester’s politics in our newsletter

Town hall chiefs said the sender’s anonymous email address and the wording of the email ‘raised immediate concerns’ over IT security when it arrived, with the term ‘anonymous’ being associated with an ‘active hacking group’, prompting its removal.

But the move sparked claims of a ‘cover up’ at the town hall to protect the deputy mayor from scrutiny.

Salford Lib Dems said in October: “It’s deeply concerning that the Labour-run Salford council appears to have removed complaint emails from councillors’ inboxes and failed to carry out any investigation despite a clear complaint being made.”

The Manchester Evening News revealed last year the original complaint alleged Mr Youd had a relationship with a woman who works at the council. Mr Youd is married to another woman who is an elected councillor in Salford.

He said in October: “Last year I had a relationship, the personal repercussions of which I regret. People I care for were hurt and I am sorry for the pain caused.”

Council bosses said they reviewed the allegations but did not believe disciplinary action needed to be taken. A spokesperson said at the time: “The council is aware of this matter and has brought it to the attention of the council’s monitoring officer, who having taken external advice, has concluded that the matter does not meet the legal threshold (as required under the Localism Act 2011) to engage the Members’ Code of Conduct.

“It is not appropriate for the council to comment on individual staffing cases, and so we will not be making any further statement on this matter.”

The Fortnite servers are currently down, leaving thousands of players unable to play Battle Royale online

Fortnite servers have seemingly crashed, leaving countless players unable to access Battle Royale online.

The server status presents a bleak picture for enthusiasts, who’ve voiced frustrations about being locked out of Battle Royale.

Independent monitoring site Down Detector has logged thousands of complaints that Fortnite has stopped functioning.

The outage tracker monitors social media chatter surrounding specific topics to identify when services fail worldwide.

Down Detector’s outage map reveals that the Fortnite problems are impacting users across the UK and Europe, though the overwhelming majority of complaints are originating from the US.

Fortnite creator Epic Games has recognised the problem, confirming that it’s working towards a solution.

“We’re aware that players may not be able to log into or matchmake in Fortnite,” reads an Epic Games tweet, reports the Express.

“We’ll provide an update when we have one.”

The server troubles emerged mere moments following the most recent Item Shop refresh, which brought Mortal Kombat skins back into circulation.

On a related note, Fortnite enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the launch of the major Mother’s Day bundle, which introduces fresh crossover skins.

Lois Griffin, Peggy Hill and Linda Belcher are scheduled for an 8 May release date in Fortnite.

Available separately or within a bundle, the fresh skins can be snapped up when the Item Shop refreshes at 5pm PT / 8pm ET on 8 May. Due to the time difference, UK supporters can get their hands on the bundle at 1am BST on 9 May. For those based in Europe, that’s 2am CET.