The last major video games award event of the season has honoured narrative game Dispatch with three awards, but it didn’t win Best Game.

At this point, the only possible surprise that could have come from the BAFTA 2026 Games Awards is if Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hadn’t dominated the night. But while BAFTA has had some very dubious winners in the past, not even they were contrary enough not to award it Best Game, as well as Debut Game for developer Sandfall Interactive, and Performer in a Leading Role for Jennifer English as Maelle.

Expedition 33 has won Best Game in virtually every award event and top 10 of the year list, including our own, so the win is definitely deserved, even if the recognition is a bit redundant at this point.

The Telltale Games style superhero adventure Dispatch also picked up three awards, for Animation, Audio Achievement, and Performer in a Supporting Role for Jeffrey Wright as Chase.

BAFTA always favours narrative games over other genres, and has a tendency to ignore Japanese games, so while Ghost Of Yōtei did pick up two awards, for Music and Technical Achievement, it was made in the US.

Other winners included Rebellion’s Atomfall for British Game, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach for Artistic Achievement, and Blue Prince for Game Design. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 won Narrative and Arc Raiders won the Multiplayer award.

The most controversial award of the night had already been announced in advance, with the BAFTA Fellowship going to Supercell CEO and co-founder Ilkka Paananen, who is not a creative. Supercell is best known for mobile games like Clash Of Clans (which is currently running a promotion for a foot fetish cosmetic pack).

According to BAFTA, the Fellowship is awarded to those, who ‘have driven innovation, creativity, and positive change in the screen arts over the course of their career.’ Previous winners include Shigeru Miyamoto and Will Wright.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: Football Manager 26 is free all this weekend on PC and cheap on consoles

MORE: PS5 and Switch 2 prices set to rise again as memory chip costs more than double

MORE: White House uses Wii Sports to promote Iran War and Japan is not happy

Sarah Ferguson has reportedly been staying at a £2,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria, where she is said to be keeping a low profile amid ongoing fallout linked to the Epstein scandal

Sarah Ferguson is said to be reluctant to return to the UK after reportedly feeling “abandoned” by the Royal Family, sources have revealed. The former Duchess of York, who lost her title alongside her ex-husband Andrew amid scrutiny over their links to Jeffrey Epstein, has reportedly kept out of the public eye for months following action taken by King Charles last October.

Fergie has not been seen publicly since attending the christening of her one-year-old granddaughter Athena at London’s St James’s Palace on December 12. However, she has now reportedly been spotted staying at a £2,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria, where she is said to have been moving around the alpine village discreetly.

Uncertainty had surrounded her whereabouts after she was repeatedly named in a batch of documents released by US investigators examining the crimes of late financier Epstein.

A source close to the York family claimed Sarah has not been contacted by any member of the Royal Family since being stripped of the title she had used for decades, despite having been divorced from Andrew for 30 years.

One friend said: “Sarah is living in fear right now. She’s not immune to everything that is happening. She realises how serious everything is, and she is not coping with it.

“She is definitely worried about returning home to the UK and is relying on the kindness of friends to help her through the situation. But she knows she can’t keep moving around forever. Sarah feels she has been abandoned by the royal family and has been treated very unfairly. She is at a complete loss over what to do.”

Back in February, Fergie reportedly checked into one of the world’s most exclusive wellness clinic, following details about her close friendship with Epstein were revealed, the Mirror reports.

The luxury Paracelsus Recovery Clinic – where stays can cost around £13,000 a night – is understood to have offered her treatment free of charge, having previously worked with her as an ambassador.

Other reports suggest Sarah has been moving between a number of wellness retreats across Europe, with unconfirmed stays in Switzerland, Ireland and the Middle East. Sources also claim she has been offered the chance to stay with her sister in Australia.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, speculation in publishing world continues to grow that she is planning a comeback with a tell-all memoir, reportedly seeking a fee of more than £1 million. A source said:”One thing is for certain, she is desperately short of cash.”

It comes as the first image of Fergie since the release of the Epstein files have surfaced, showing her appearing stony-faced as she stepped out of a blacked-out people carrier wearing glasses and a baseball cap, covering her trademark red hair.

Sources say she has largely avoided the spotlight since her last public appearance at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral at Westminster Cathedral in September, instead keeping a low profile in the Alps and rarely venturing out.

Epstein has also been central to the downfall of her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his titles by King Charles over what were described as “serious lapses of judgement” in relation to his friendship with the late paedophile.

Fergie also lost her courtesy royal divorcee title and reverted to her maiden name. More recently, she was stripped of the freedom of the city of York after councillors unanimously voted to remove the honour due to her links to Epstein.

She and Andrew were originally granted the honour as a wedding gift from the city in 1987 during an official visit.

The Epstein scandal intensified for Fergie last September when it emerged she had written to the convicted sex offender, describing him as a “supreme friend” despite previously distancing herself publicly – a revelation that led to several charities dropping her as a patron.

Further documents released in January appeared to show Fergie writing in an email to Epstein: “I am at your service. Just marry me.” In another email, she made a crude remark about her daughter Princess Eugenie’s love life, while also referring to Epstein as the “brother I have always wished for” and calling him a “legend”.

Another exchange reportedly suggested she had asked the disgraced financier for a job as a house assistant. It also emerged that she appeared to have taken her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to visit him in Florida just days after his release from prison in 2008.

The revelations prompted a US lawmaker to contact the former duchess, urging her to testify before Congress about Epstein. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam requested that she provide evidence as part of a government investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.

Subramanyam’s letter to her read: “The Committee is seeking information from anyone who has knowledge of Mr Epstein’s criminal operations, and reports and released Department of Justice files reveal your close personal and business ties with him.

“As the Committee seeks justice for the survivors of Mr Epstein’s criminal enterprise, and transparency for the American public, I respectfully request your cooperation with the Committee’s investigation.” As a non-US citizen, Ferguson is not compelled to appear before Congress or respond to the request.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Friday sounded out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about the artificial intelligence company’s new Mythos model, which has attracted attention from the federal government for how it could transform national security and the economy.

A White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss the meeting ahead of time, said the administration is engaging with advanced AI labs about their models and the security of software. The official stressed that any new technology that might be used by the federal government would require a technical period for evaluation.

The White House said afterward that the meeting was productive and constructive, as opportunities for collaboration were discussed as well as the goal of balancing innovation and safety.

The meeting came after tensions had run hot between the Trump administration and the safety-conscious Anthropic, which has sought to put guardrails on the development of AI to minimize any potential risks and maximize its economic and national security benefits for the U.S.

President Donald Trump tried to stop all federal agencies from using Anthropic’s chatbot Claude over the company’s contract dispute with the Pentagon, with Trump saying in a February social media post that the administration “will not do business with them again!” When Trump was asked Friday while in Arizona if Anthropic had a meeting at the White House, the president said he had ”no idea.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also sought to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, an unprecedented move against a U.S. company that Anthropic has challenged in two federal courts. The company said it wanted assurance the Pentagon would not use its technology in fully autonomous weapons and the surveillance of Americans. Hegseth said the company must allow for any uses the Pentagon deemed lawful.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a ruling in March that blocked the enforcement of Trump’s social media directive ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic products.

Anthropic declined to speak about the meeting in advance.

The San Francisco-based Anthropic has said the new Mythos model it announced on April 7 is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities.

And while some industry experts have questioned whether Anthropic’s claims of too-powerful AI technology were a marketing ploy, even some of the company’s sharpest critics have suggested that Mythos might represent a further advancement in AI.

One influential Anthropic critic, David Sacks, who was the White House’s AI and crypto czar, said people should “take this seriously.”

“Anytime Anthropic is scaring people, you have to ask, ‘Is this a tactic? Is this part of their Chicken Little routine? Or is it real?’” Sacks said on the “All-In” podcast he co-hosts with other tech investors. “With cyber, I actually would give them credit in this case and say this is more on the real side.”

Sacks said: “It just makes sense that as the coding models become more and more capable, they are more capable at finding bugs. That means they’re more capable at finding vulnerabilities. That means they’re more capable at stringing together multiple vulnerabilities and creating an exploit.”

The model’s potential benefits, as well as its risks, have also attracted attention outside the U.S.

The United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute said it evaluated the new model and found it a “step up” over previous models, which were already rapidly improving.

“Mythos Preview can exploit systems with weak security posture, and it is likely that more models with these capabilities will be developed,” the institute said in a report.

Anthropic has also been in talks with the European Union about its AI models, including advanced models that haven’t yet been released in Europe, European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said Friday.

Axios first reported the scheduled meeting between Wiles and Amodei.

When it announced Mythos, Anthropic said it was also forming an initiative called Project Glasswing, bringing together tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, along with other companies like JPMorgan Chase, in hopes of securing the world’s critical software from “severe” fallout that the new model could pose to public safety, national security and the economy.

“We’re releasing it to a subset of some of the world’s most important companies and organizations so they can use this to find vulnerabilities,” said the Anthropic co-founder and policy chief, Jack Clark, at this week’s Semafor World Economy conference.

Clark added that Mythos, while ahead of the curve, is not a “special model.”

“There will be other systems just like this in a few months from other companies, and in a year to a year-and-a-half later, there will be open-weight models from China that have these capabilities,” he said. So the world is going to have to get ready for more powerful systems that are going to exist within it.” ___

O’Brien reported from Providence, R.I. AP business reporter Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.

Carlo Ancelotti has backed Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League this season.

PSG ran out 4-0 winners on aggregate to eliminate Liverpool at Anfield this week and they will meet Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final after the Bundesliga side edged a thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena earlier this week.

On the other side of the Champions League bracket, Arsenal played out a goalless draw with Sporting CP to secure their place in the semi-final and they will play Atletico Madrid, who beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate.

PSG won the Champions League last season and after a slow start this term, Luis Enrique’s side appear to be hitting top form with impressive wins over Chelsea and Liverpool in the knockout stage.

In an interview with Il Giornale, Ancelotti named PSG as his pick to win the Champions League and added that ‘too many mistakes’ led to the amount of goals in Bayern Munich’s win over Real Madrid.

‘I’ve seen high-goal matches, Atletico Madrid-Barcelona and Bayern-Real Madrid offered thrilling moments for the fans,’ Ancelotti said.

‘But too many goals also means too many mistakes, from goalkeepers and defenders. The so-called high pressure, man-to-man play, involves constant risks, and so the result can change from one moment to the next.

‘Even the build-up play from the back must be perfect, otherwise you immediately pay for the smallest of distractions.

Champions League winner odds

Bayern Munich – 13/8

Advertisement

Arsenal – 15/8

Paris Saint-Germain – 9/4

Atletico Madrid – 7/1

Odds via Betfair

Advertisement

‘The Champions League is an open tournament that leaves great teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Manchester City on the sidelines, but it’s still a tournament where you can grow.’

Ancelotti is currently making his final preparations as Brazil’s head coach for the upcoming World Cup but heading into the tournament, the Italian named France as the best national team.

‘There’s a French school that has brought together the best players, distributed across various European clubs, but who, together, form a national team that is today the best in the world,’ Ancelotti said.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Man Utd and Chelsea warned against signing £82m former Premier League star

MORE: Edwin van der Sar says Manchester United are selling player with ‘tremendous quality’

MORE: Nicky Butt urges Manchester United to sell £55m signing: ‘It’s sad but they have to’

Telly auctioneer Charles Hanson wasn’t feeling ‘flush’ after finding himself locked in the loo on the train from Derby to London – and he caused a stink in the comments!

Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson took to social media to plead for help after getting himself stuck in a train toilet.

He begged someone to come to his rescue after the door jammed in the notoriously stinky facilities on board. Charles was heading to the capital for a charity auction when he got locked in. He uploaded a video of his trauma on X, formerly known as Twitter, and was met with predictably unhelpful replies.

“I’M STUCK IN THE LOO,” he posted. “If anyone is on the Derby train to London.. can you let me out the toilet? the door won’t open & I’m stuck.” He detailed a little more in the clip, and banged on the door asking anyone who was outside to try and get it open.

“If one is on the delayed 17.46 train to London but I’m locked in the loo…. If anyone is on the train and can help, I would be grateful,” he said. “For some reason, when I press these buttons, nothing happens. Hopefully I will be OK – have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing.”

Advertisement

He forgot to tag in the train company, but one of his more helpful followers did. East Midlands Railway noticed, and replied: “I believe I’ve managed to track the train down based off of the video posted – I have contacted the Train Manager on board, and asked that they take a look and set him free (if I have managed to locate the right train!) Thank you for bringing this to our attention!”

Others on X were not as supportive. One posted: “The buttons have a smell sensor. Once the stench of your number 2 has gone, the doors will open. It’s a protection mechanism for other passengers.” Another said: “I bet you were a little flushed, not very convenient.”

He confirmed he had been released earlier this evening after even Edwina Currie saw his SOS. He told her: “All safely out, thank you Edwina… and back on track to the charity auction!”

The star recently offered followers a glimpse into his personal life as he stumbled upon an unexpected discovery at his home. In a clip posted to his TikTok account, he explained exactly what had happened. Alongside the footage, Charles wrote: “Ripped my carpet up and you won’t believe what I found. Yes, I know, wrong tool, but I was excited.”

He went on to say: “I’ve had a very late night tonight. I’ve been busy with my screwdriver, and look at this. Old carpet. Underneath I’ve been revealing some of the original tiles which graced my house probably 140 years ago, but just look at what I’m revealing.” He went on: “It’s wonderful. Just look at this – at what I’ve done so far. It’s a revelation.” He then swings the camera around to show the state of the floor, and it’s safe to say the results are pretty spectacular, reports the Express.

In March, a thug who broke into his auction house to steal more than £21,000 in valuables was sentenced. He spoke after Shane O’Malley was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Derby Crown Court.

He said: “The emotional and financial impact of burglaries on homes and businesses is significant. I am pleased the police were able to bring this person to justice. I would say that while justice has been done, I would like to see harsher sentences imposed for crimes of this nature.”

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

The Towie legend was on the verge of walking out of I’m A Celebrity… South Africa camp.

Gemma Collins was just moments from quitting I’m A Celebrity… South Africa, after breaking down in tears.

The Towie legend, 45, has had a few breakdowns in the jungle, as she returned to take on more of Ant and Dec’s bushtucker trials after her memorable three-day stint in 2014.

Despite lasting much longer than the first time, Gemma was close to walking out in tonight’s episode, as she declared, ‘I’m done’.

The GC has joined the likes of Scarlett Moffatt, Adam Thomas, Harry Redknapp, Ashley Roberts, Beverley Callard, and Sir Mo Farah, with David Haye, Sinitta, Craig Charles, and Jimmy Bullard completing the line-up, and Seann Walsh, who was the first celebrity to be evicted.

Advertisement

READ MORE: Alex Jones shares ‘sad news’ on The One Show after BBC colleague’s deathREAD MORE: David Haye hits out at ‘unwell’ I’m A Celebrity co-star in tense row

Gemma was about to become the second star to leave this series when she burst into tears at the thought of doing another trial.

Thinking they were all about to be put through their paces once again in a trial called ‘Prison of Hell’ and facing crawlies and critters, including rats and snakes, Gemma called out: “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”

“I’m done,” she said. “I can’t do any more. I can’t go through any more.”

As her co-stars rallied behind her to offer their support, she tearfully went on: “I’ve done so much, I’ve been through so much, I can’t go in a prison. I just can’t do any more, guys.”

However, Gemma didn’t have to follow through with her threat, as Harry revealed he had been pranking the camp.

As they reeled from his joke, she said: “For me, that’s claustrophobic, I would just have to say them fateful words!”

Viewers were left concerned, with one sharing on X: “I was so worried Gemma was gonna leave for a sec, she can’t leave yet.”

“I hope they don’t use Gemma as a cop out vote off decision, she’s got so much value in there and deserves to get further,” another said, as another laughed: “HARRY, THAT’S NOT FUNNY I THOUGHT WE WERE ABOUT TO LOSE AR GEMMA.”

This comes after Gemma wept over washing up in last night’s programme, while she spoke to Adam as they completed their chore.

The pair had been talking about burnt food and carcinogenic risks, as Gemma began: “You shouldn’t eat burnt food, honestly, it’s making me feel so ill, even the smell of that.”

Breaking down into tears, she then said: “It’s been a difficult day, I don’t know why, and obviously I’ve got close with Adam, I just had to break down and let it all out.”

She added that she did feel good in herself “mentally”, but needed to let it all out.

“It’s just I can’t wash properly, I can’t have anything nice, I’ve got to wash up every five f**king minutes… I’m not used to this, I’m so not used to this, it’s not f**king me.”

When Adam tried to tell her it was all part of “character building,” she replied: “How’s washing up building my character? I just feel like a downtrodden person right now.”

Things only got worse for Gemma, as she was later forced to endure a nighttime trial with Scarlett, and despite facing critters, crocs, and coal, she came back defeated.

She later sobbed: “I feel like you’re trying to kill me, you’re going to kill me, it’s not even funny.

“I feel like you’re definitely trying to kill me.”

I’m A Celebrity airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

The Sky Blues’ lowest ebb came when they dropped into League Two in 2017 but they have fought their way back and, after losing to Luton in the play-off final in 2023, have stormed the Championship under Lampard this season to secure their Premier League return with three matches to spare.

It comes in the wake of a report highlighting the number of vulnerable women who were the alleged victims of police officers abusing their positions for sexual purposes

The Police Ombudsman has revealed the number of open investigations into cases involving members of the PSNI abusing their positions for sexual purposes.

The watchdog revealed the 34 investigations in a meeting with the Policing Board’s Performance Committee where it discussed a report that was released earlier this year that highlighted 36 vulnerable women who were the alleged victims of police officers abusing their postions from 2018 to 2024.

The current investigations involve some of those cases along with others that have been reported to the Ombudsman since January 1, 2025.

At the meeting Chief Executive Hugh Hume and other Police Ombudsman staff presented the findings of the report, answered questions and discussed the potential next steps to “support a system-wide response”.

Following the release of the Ombudsman report in March, Police Ombudsman Chief Executive Hugh Hume said police predatory behaviour is one of the most serious forms of corruption in policing. Mr Hume confirmed that the Police Ombudsman is currently investigating allegations of police predatory behaviour which involve a total of 39 victims and 20 serving and two former police officers.

“We are seeing a rise in these cases and the majority of those are coming from the PSNI itself. This is welcome and shows a very clear willingness at the most senior level to identify and eradicate this kind of behaviour.

“I hope this analysis will support the PSNI further in recognising and addressing predatory police behaviour, as well as strengthening their systems so the opportunity for this type of corruption is reduced.

“I also believe our work to date is a tangible demonstration that the Police Ombudsman is supporting the Northern Ireland Executive’s strategy to end violence against women and girls. We will continue to contribute to that aim as we test these emerging findings against the outcomes of more investigations as they conclude.

“Although this is a small number of officers relative to the size of the PSNI, the abuse of their position for their own sexual gain inflicts significant and long-lasting damage on their victims.“Such is the power imbalance that many women do not report the offending directly for fear of reprisal and others can be so vulnerable that they do not recognise that the officer is abusing them and instead see him as a ‘knight in shining armour’ figure. Others do not see themselves as victims at all.“We hope one of the outcomes of publishing this report will be that any woman who has had a similar experience with a police officer will feel reassured that we take this kind of offending seriously and know that if this has happened to them, we will listen and we will investigate.”

Want to see more of the stories you love from Belfast Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Belfast Live as a preferred source, simply click here.

The trading update says this was in line with previous guidance “in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Annual revenue is expected to be around £360million.

The firm said it has maintained operational and financial discipline and continues to progress its strategic priorities.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Harrogate-headquarted Vp expects £386.1m revenues in 2025/26

Despite tough market conditions, the Group says it continues to see long-term drivers of demand across its core sectors.

Within the Infrastructure sector, Electricity transmission continues to see growth and strong demand in both the UK and Europe.

Rail activity is steady but subdued, with good visibility on future project pipelines, the update continued.

It reported positive leads in water, with higher revenues expected.

The Specialist Construction market remains supportive, particularly in London and Eire.

Housebuilding remains subdued, but with stronger prospects as Homes England’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026-2036 commences.

The immediate impact of the Middle East conflict has been limited to higher fuel costs, largely mitigated through customer pricing.

Since her appointment in February, the company said Chief Executive Alice Woodwark has focused on enhancing operational discipline and accelerating strategic execution.

This includes boosting cross-divisional efficiency with more multi-division projects.

A sharper focus on specialist infrastructure-led markets.

And using more digital tools to improve pricing, customer service and cross-divisional working.

While market conditions remain mixed, Vp said its diversified model, financial strength and infrastructure exposure provide a solid foundation, and the Board remains confident in the Group’s positioning and future performance.

The Group’s balance sheet remains strong, supporting continued disciplined investment and value creation, with leverage remaining within stated targets.

Vp CEO Alice Woodwark said: “Vp has continued to deliver a disciplined performance and good strategic progress. Our focus on infrastructure-led markets, operational efficiency and digital delivery positions us well to navigate the near-term environment and build long term sustainable value for stakeholders.”