The Tuesday letters page is shocked at how expensive amiibo have got, as one reader laments the recent job losses amongst Battlefield 6 developers.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Yearly celebration So MAR10 Day is here again but this time it feels like Nintendo is building up to something in terms of an annoucement. There was that Mario Kart World rumour but if that happens I don’t see how it’s going to be announced because not even Nintendo shadow drops a Direct. Unless Nintendo is also going to start announcing things through tweets, but let’s hope not.
I have to say, I can’t wait until the Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out because I feel too much attention is being taken up by that and we won’t get any real movement on a new game until that’s over. I couldn’t care less about a Mario film but I’m really impatient to know about the next 3D game. But I think it’s pretty obvious they’re waiting for the movie to come out first.
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Even so, I do have some hope we’ll get at least a tease of the next 3D Mario today. They’ve already announced their sale and the new games on Nintendo Switch Online, so it would be disappointing if we didn’t get at least a little bit of news. Onibee
Premium products I completely believe that Project Helix is going to be around a grand, but I also believe that Xbox are crazy to dot it. Except, it does seem to be the way things are going. If less people are buying and playing consoles then the obvious way to make up the money, for a publisher, is to make a more expensive item, which will make the same amount of money even if less people overall buy it. It’s why Ferrari don’t bother to make a family hatchback, because it’s chicken feed in comparison.
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I don’t think it’s going to work for Xbox, because who’s going to want to buy Xbox after all this, but it definitely seems to be the way that Valve are going with the Steam Machine. Sony are basically there already, given how expensive the PS5 Pro is.
There’s no way I’m paying that much for a console, but it does make me wonder what kind of games are going to playing on it. Are they just going to be the same ones as normal with better performance? Because I can’t imagine anyone making an exclusive game for a format with only a few million customers. Hammeriron
Worst job in the world It’s been said before, but I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to be a games developer. I imagine the pay’s okay (except for all the unpaid overtime) but there’s literally no certainty of keeping your job, no matter how well whatever you’ve made does. And even if you do keep your job you’re only months away from being replaced with AI. And then, if by some miracle, you’re still kept around you get to worry about death threats from rabid fans.
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I don’t see any positives at all. If you’re intelligent enough to be able to make games there’s a hundred other jobs using similar skills that would be far less hassle. I remember when it used to be seem a dream job to me but now it seems more like a nightmare. Commiserations to everyone working on Battlefield 6 that got laid off by EA. Royston
A new problem I can tell you now, if dynamic pricing becomes a thing with video games I’m out. It’s retro and indie games for me and nothing else. Every day publishers seem to come up with new reason not to buy their stuff and it’s doing my head in.
Make a good game and I’ll pay for it. I’ll probably even pay £60+ if it’s really good and I don’t feel that you’re messing me around. But it’s never that simple. Everything’s got to be more expensive than it pretends or have small print that makes it worse.
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I know there’s no going back but I really miss the PlayStation 4 era. All this stuff was starting then but it hadn’t got bad yet, while the games were top notch. This whole generation has been nothing but downhill in every way. Stoney
No story Some interesting info on Marathon’s player counts on the Xbox, with is at number 32 over the last week with the server slam at 37th. Also note that Helldivers 2 is still number 16 on this list.
There’s no supporting narrative, but the PlayStation side of things shows Marathon as 38th with the Server Slam at 26th. Helldivers took 18th place over the week. NatorDom
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GC: We’re not sure what to draw from this other than both games are doing quite well on both formats?
Ignorance is bliss There’s been a lot of talk about what Xbox is doing in terms of hardware but I think a bigger question is what’s going to happen to the games under this new boss. Any decent business person should be able to make fairly sensible decisions about a console but game development is a whole different kettle of fish.
It’s different for every game, it involves lots of factors she won’t have a clue about if you’re not a gamer, and in management terms Microsoft has been terrible at it since forever. On the hand that could actually be good news because maybe someone more objective, that isn’t particularly interested in games, can offer a better perspective on things.
We all know Phil Spencer didn’t work out so he kind of makes a good argument that the people in charge shouldn’t be gamers, because they have a warped perspective.
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But how is this new ‘AI guru’ going to make decisions on what to do with the next Halo or if Gears Of War needs a reboot? The problem I see is that Microsoft already tends to overestimate how good, and how popular, its games are and now we’re going to have people whispering into the ear of this acknowledged non-gamer that everything they do is fantastic.
There’s so much that can go wrong, but I guess we’ll just have to see. But if there is a turn around we’ll know from now on that the secret of running a good games business is to know nothing about games (at an exec level at least). Gorf
Half price Happy Mario Day to GameCentral, all readers, and Underboxers! I see the Pragmata amiibo is in stock to pre-order on the UK Nintendo Store, it is £24.99 – which is a lot for one small amiibo.
I thought there might be an amiibo of the soldier too but there isn’t. Andrew J.
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GC: That’s madness. The game itself is only £50.
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People change To Scooter and changing tastes in games, my niece, well great niece, at 11 plays all the usual: Minecraft, Fortnight, Roblox, Rocket League… but I suppose that’s for socialising purposes too, but she’s more than willing to try other games.
Couple of years ago I got an arcade emulator, two hardy joysticks and six buttons a piece, you can jostle each other and slap the sticks around, just like you’re in a real arcade, circa ’94! And she loves that, her and her sister discovered the many joys of all the varying versions of Street Fighter 2 at Christmas. The younger one found Chun-Li instantly, girly and cute, and quickly discovered her button mashing 100 foot kick, which she used constantly to defeat her big sister!
So she’s now Chunners forever more, the older one now methodically tries each character until she comes across Eddy Honda and his own 100 hand slap! That’s the end of Chun-Li and all hell breaks loose. There’s screaming, name calling and a strop or two… ah, memories, of the days controllers used to hit the walls, controllers I hadn’t had to buy!
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Also, with Game Share on Xbox, she’s had Street Fighter 6, Hogwarts Legacy, and WWE 2K24. She was keen on Star Wars Outlaws but don’t think she tried that yet and her mam said she couldn’t play the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes, ‘cos they were too scary. What kids play now is probably 50-50 gaming and socialising, which we/I could only do face to face back in the day. big boy bent
Inbox also-rans Interested to see what else Shinji Mikami can come up with at his company, but I’ll be honest, he hasn’t really done anything great since he left Capcom/PlatinumGames. If he’s still got one great game left in though, I’d love to see it. Fester
I didn’t realise Slay The Spire is nearly 10 years old. Crazy how time flies. But I guess that explains why there’s been so many clones over the years, they’ve had plenty of time. Lokishat
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I hadn’t really come across the term ‘matrescence’ before becoming a mother.
Then one day, in the throes of trying to look after a small child – desperately sleep-deprived to the point of hallucinating, trying to fight the intrusive thoughts and anxiety every time they got a sniffle, and hearing the sound of her crying from the shower (when she was, in fact, fast asleep) – my Instagram algorithm pointed me to a post where a parenting influencer described what it was.
And suddenly, I felt seen.
For the uninitiated, matrescence describes the process of becoming a mother – it’s all the physical, psychological and emotional changes you go through after the birth of a child (of which, spoiler, there are a lot.)
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I’m four years in and while there are still glimmers of who I was before having kids, I am fundamentally changed. My body is different. My brain certainly is. My personality is even different (I certainly feel more serious than I used to be).
It is the different that comes from the responsibility of a) keeping someone alive but b) trying not to mess them up. It’s the years of disrupted sleep, navigating relationship and friendship changes, hormone shifts, mental health challenges, physical health changes (hello mastitis and pelvic floor issues), your new work-life-parenting balance.
It is also the different that comes from holding their tiny hands while they sleep and feeling like you could explode with love. Or the pride that makes your eyes water and takes your breath away when they do something even seemingly insignificant (like sing you a song, or draw a picture that actually resembles a person and not a genital).
In February, the brands shared a full-page ad in the New York Times, urging lexicographers, including those at Oxford English and Merriam-Webster, to add the term to their dictionaries. (Big shout out to Cambridge Dictionary which is leading the way.)
Not only that, but they want digital platforms to stop flagging matrescence as a misspelling – yes, that infuriating red wiggly line is repeatedly showing up even as I write this.
Matrescence isn’t in the dictionary.
Matrescence is backed by science
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Research has confirmed that motherhood fundamentally reshapes the brain, body, and identity. I have felt this, deeply – as I’m sure many other mothers will have.
But 67% of British mothers have never even heard the term matrescence, leaving them to navigate one of the most significant transitions of their lives without the language to describe it.
“Your phone treats matrescence like it’s a typo,” said Michelle Kennedy, founder and CEO of Peanut.
“The dictionary knows ‘ghosting’. It knows ‘selfie’. It knows ‘delulu’. But the word for what happens when a woman’s brain physically rewires, when her identity shatters and rebuilds, when she goes through one of the most seismic shifts in human biology? Not there. That’s erasure.”
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For many mothers, however, this word can help explain a lot. It can also help them feel seen. Dr Sarah McKay, neuroscientist and author, explained: “This one word would have changed my world when my boys were babies. The grace I’d have given myself if I’d known that becoming a mother was a process.
“For what it’s worth, I still consider myself deep in matrescence 18 years later – learning to mother my firstborn while he’s away at uni.”
Experts are concerned that when an experience has no name, it gets minimised. Mothers have their struggles dismissed as baby blues, hormones, or simply just ‘part of the job’.
“Most women go through the biggest transformation of their lives thinking something is wrong with them,” said Michelle Battersby, president of Peanut.
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“Getting this word into the dictionary is the first step toward the research, funding, and support that mothers have been denied for generations.”
I’ve contacted Merriam-Webster and Oxford English to see if they’ll consider adding matrescence to their dictionaries and will update the article when I hear back.
If teens get ‘adolescence’ to describe the period when they’re developing into adults, surely we can make room for an equivalent that describes the seismic shift for mothers? I don’t think a word is too much to ask.
Cars are banned from this picturesque village which is surrounded by miles of stunning countryside
A village in Cumbria has been crowned the UK’s ‘most fairytale-like destination’, according to a new study. Hawkshead in the Lake District beat locations from across the country, including the South Coast and the Inner Hebrides to bag the top spot.
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The list was published by Betway Casino which analysed towns and villages across the UK based on a range of key ‘fairytale’ indicators. Each metric was chosen to reflect the elements that make a destination feel enchanting, from historic character to picturesque scenery.
It’s easy to see why Hawkshead ranked in first place. Located a stone’s throw away from Windermere, this quaint village features whitewashed cottages and narrow cobbled lanes. The fact it has 69 listed buildings ensures that its historic character is preserved.
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To add to the magic the village is traffic-free so you won’t see queues of cars snaking through its streets – afterall you don’t get traffic jams in fairytales. There’s miles upon miles of gorgeous scenery on its doorstep too and the impressive Wray Castle is just a short drive away (although it is temporarily closed at the moment).
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The village isn’t the only Cumbrian location to make the list. The town of Keswick came in third place. Surrounded by mountains, including England’s fourth-highest Skiddaw, Keswick has breathtaking scenery which could give any fairytale setting a run for its money.
Meanwhile another location within easy reach of Greater Manchester ranked in second place: Beddgelert in Gwynedd. Nestled in the heart of Snowdonia National Park, the village is just over a mile away sits Dinas Emrys, a fortress ruin woven into legend as the site where the red dragon triumphed, giving Beddgelert an extra sense of mysticism.
Welsh health and education services are underperforming and worse than services across the border, a damning report from the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies warns. Both are “substantially poorer than before the Covid-19 pandemiic and poorer than in England”, the independent IFS says in a stark analysis published on Tuesday, March 10.
“Five years on from the height of the Covid pandemic, waiting lists for pre-planned NHS treatment are finally falling in Wales but remain far higher than pre-pandemic and have taken longer to start falling than in England,” the IFS report reads. “Meanwhile, A&E waiting times are, if anything, still rising.
“School absences remain 50% higher than in 2019, Welsh school pupils have seen their performance fall in internationally comparable tests, and the share of young people staying in education post-16 is lower now than 10 years ago.
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“Overall, performance in both the health and education systems is substantially poorer than before the Covid-19 pandemic – and poorer than in England.” This “poor performance” is despite significant increases in spending, the IFS says in its 55-page report on Wales.
The IFS, a highly regarded and influential independent research institute, which is non-profit and non-political, calculates that health spending in Wales has risen by 17% per person in real terms since 2019–20, while spending per school pupil has increased by 14% in real terms.
“These increases are similar to or higher than those seen in England over the same period. And combined spending per person on health and schools, together, is higher than all English regions bar Greater London. A lack of funding therefore does not appear to be the key driver of current under-performance relative to England,” the IFS said.
The think tank predicted the next Welsh Government will struggle to maintain, let alone improve, services. This is due to what the IFS called a slowdown in funding growth and the impact of recent budgeting decisions “including unrealistic health spending plans for 2026–27”.
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If it were not for top-ups to funding from the UK government in the 2026 Spring Statement, the next Welsh Government would highly likely have had to make in-year cuts to some services in an emergency post-election budget in order to boost health and social care spending, the report warns.
These are among the key findings of the second Welsh election briefing from the IFS, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The briefing considers how spending on public services in Wales has evolved over time and compares with England. It looks at what it says are key performance metrics for health and education and at the outlook for public service spending – which will affect public service performance in the years to come.
Max Warner, a senior research economist at the IFS and a co-author of the report, said: “The last year has seen some welcome improvement in waiting times for planned hospital treatments, with the median waiting time falling from 23.5 weeks at the start of 2025 to 19 weeks by December. But this is still almost twice as long as pre-pandemic and 40% longer than comparable waiting times in England.
“A big surge in outpatient appointments – up 25% since 2019 – doesn’t seem to have delivered the improvements in waiting times one would hope. Working out why, and more generally boosting hospital productivity, will be key to delivering a more significant recovery in NHS performance.”
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Darcey Snape, a research economist at the IFS and another co-author of the report, said: “On a range of metrics – school absence, results in international PISA tests and post-16 participation rates – the Welsh education system is under-performing.
“The fall in the share of young Welsh people remaining in full-time education post-16 is stark. If this reflects young people moving into training and employment with high long-term returns, this trend may not necessarily be a bad thing. However, at face value this trend is a cause for concern and needs to be better understood.”
David Phillips, head of devolved and local government finance at the IFS and another co-author of the report, said the causes of the poor performance of Welsh public services are not fully clear. “Funding levels seem unlikely to be a major factor given spending in Wales is higher than comparable areas of England and has, if anything, grown slightly faster since before the pandemic,” he said.
“High levels of deprivation can likely only explain part of it too – educational performance, for instance, is lower across the income distribution. Instead, policies and the way services are delivered are likely to play a role.
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“Average hospital stays are 40% longer in Wales than England, reducing the number of patients that can be admitted and treated. For schools, accountability for poor performance may be weaker – with less data available to both teachers and parents.”
He said that more work is needed to “diagnose the various reasons for and potential solutions to Wales’ poor public service performance” and that doing this could be one of the defining successes – or failures – of the next Welsh Government.
Responding to the report a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with health boards and local authorities to improve frontline public services at a time when costs are rising. The NHS waiting list has fallen and the longest waits are coming down. We have set clear expectations for all health boards to reduce emergency department long stays and complete ambulance handovers within 45 minutes.
“Our education system is moving in the right direction thanks to the additional support we are providing to schools and the hard work of school staff. Our latest GCSE and A level results show improvements in attainment since 2024. For younger learners we are seeing progress within reading and numeracy in personalised assessments.”
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Laura Doel, national secretary at the National Association of Headteachers Cymru, said: “School leaders in Wales are working hard to deliver for their pupils amid all manner of challenges – from funding shortfalls and supporting children with additional learning needs (ALN), to issues outside school which can affect attendance and attainment.”
She also questioned the use of PISA data of attainment by 15-year-olds to judge the whole system. “While the PISA analysis can be useful, we should not over-interpret these results and rely on simplistic comparisons which may not capture the richness of children’s learning or the different stages of education policy development in different countries.
“School leaders will be particularly interested to understand where the increased spending on education identified by the IFS has gone – because it has not reached the frontline. More investment is desperately needed to support severely stretched school budgets, as well as in vital health and social care services which can be so important in supporting families and helping ensure children attend school and thrive.”
The Welsh Conservatives said the IFS analysis confirmed what the party had been saying for years. “Despite Wales receiving higher levels of funding per person than England, health and education outcomes in Wales continue to lag behind the rest of the UK. The report suggests that the issue is not simply funding levels, but policy decisions and the way services are delivered by the Welsh Government.
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“During the cooperation agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru, spending was prioritised on a range of non-essential initiatives instead of focusing on improving core public services.”
What the IFS says on Welsh health and NHS performance
Median waiting time for elective treatment – non-urgent medical procedures – in Wales was 19 weeks in December 2025, almost double its pre-pandemic level of 10.7 weeks. This is also much higher than the current level in England of 13.4 weeks in December 2025.
Waiting times in major A&E departments have long been worse in Wales than in England or Scotland. A&E waiting times in Wales have, if anything, worsened over the last two years, with only 53% of patients waiting less than four hours in December 2025 (compared to a target of 95%).
The Welsh NHS had 24% more full-time equivalent staff in April to September 2025 compared with the same period in 2019. It delivered 24% more outpatient appointments over the same period, but these are not obviously improving elective waiting times relative to England and Scotland.
The Welsh NHS has only just returned inpatient admissions to pre-pandemic levels, which given large staffing increases suggests there has been a fall in hospital labour productivity since the start of the pandemic, similar to that observed in England and Scotland.
Life expectancy in Wales has long been higher than in Scotland but lower than in England. Differences in life expectancy between Wales and England are largely explained by differences in average incomes. In areas with similar average incomes life expectancies are similar in Wales and England. As in the rest of the UK, increases in life expectancy have stalled since 2010 and healthy life expectancy has slightly fallen.
What the IFS says about education performance in Wales
Overall and persistent absences from school remain far higher than pre-pandemic. In the 2024–25 academic year around 9% of pupils in Wales were absent on any given day, up from less than 6% in 2019 – a larger rise than in England. The share of pupils persistently absent (that is absent more than 10% of the time) more than doubled from 15% of pupils to 34% between 2019 and 2025.
Performance in the internationally comparable PISA tests for 15-year-olds fell by more in Wales than England post-pandemic, further widening performance gaps. On average pupils in the middle of the income distribution in Wales do no better than the poorest fifth of pupils in England.
The share of Welsh school pupils staying on post-16 and progressing to higher education has fallen. The share of 16- and 17-year-olds in full-time education in Wales has fallen from 78% in 2014 to 64% in 2024. And the share of 18-year-olds progressing to higher education fell to 29% in 2025, compared to 37% in England.
What the IFS says about Welsh public service spending
Health spending per person was 9% higher and education spending 7% higher per person in Wales than England in 2024–25. Overall spending was 15% higher, with the biggest differences being for smaller service areas such as recreation, culture and leisure (+67%), housing and community amenities (+63%) and adult social care services (+36%).
Looking ahead, the Welsh Government has only set spending plans for the coming year, 2026–27, rather than three years as in England and Scotland, the IFS said.
After big in-year top ups in the current financial year, health and social care resource spending is set to fall by more than 2% in real terms in 2026–27. The next Welsh Government will almost certainly feel the need to top up the health and social care budget. Following an increase to its overall funding by the UK government in the 2026 Spring Statement, it may be able to do this without making in-year cuts to other services in 2026–27. Without this increase, it would highly likely have had to do so.
The think tank calculated that if the next Welsh Government wanted to match increases in planned health spending in England in the following two years (2027–28 and 2028–29) and protect funding for councils in real terms, other services would face cuts averaging 5% a year given current funding forecasts.
The report added: “Changes in UK government funding or devolved tax rates could materially affect the funding outlook. An additional £500 million increase in funding in 2028–29 – equivalent to 1.25 percentage points on all rates of devolved income tax – would instead enable increases in funding for councils and other services of 1% a year on average.
“In contrast, a £500 million reduction in funding – equivalent to 1.25 percentage points off all rates of devolved income tax – would see 11% a year cuts to other services, if funding for health were increased and council funding protected.”
Australia has given visas to five members of the Iranian women’s football team amid fears for their safety after they were criticised for not singing the national anthem.
They were in Australia for the Asian Cup when the Iran war began just over a week ago.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said officials had been preparing “for some time” and the home affairs minister travelled to Queensland to arrange the move.
“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They are safe here and they should feel at home here,” he said.
“Once it was made clear these women wanted assistance, the Australian federal police moved them to a safe location where they remain,” Mr Albanese added.
President Trump said he had spoken to Mr Albanese and that five of the team had “been taken care of” – but indicated the others were returning home.
Image: The players before Sunday’s match with the Philippines. Pic: Reuters
The Australian government had been under pressure to protect the women after they were knocked out the tournament.
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The players were reportedly criticised on Iranian TV, with a commentator saying they had committed the “pinnacle of dishonour” for staying silent during the anthem before their match on 2 March – two days after the US and Israel began attacking Iran.
“Traitors during wartime must be dealt with more severely,” presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi said, according to Reuters news agency.
Day 10 Iran war: Videos from on the ground
Some believed the team’s silence was an act of resistance, while others saw it as a show of mourning following the initial US-Israel attacks on their country.
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The team has not made any specific comment on their stance.
They sang and saluted ahead of defeats to Australia on Thursday and the Philippines on Sunday, but there were concerns they had been ordered to do so.
Image: Supporters ran up to the bus as it left the stadium. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
The team failed to get past the group stage and players’ union FIFPRO said it was “really concerned” about their welfare and had been unable to contact them.
Dozens of people chanted “let them go” and “save our girls” as the team’s bus left the stadium on the Gold Coast after Sunday’s match.
Supporters said they could see at least three players making the international hand signal for help, according to CNN.
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Image: Sara Didar of Iran during the match with South Korea on 2 March. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump said on Monday he had spoken to Prime Minister Albanese about the matter.
“He’s on it!” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.
“Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
Iran war briefing: Day 10 with Sean Bell
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‘Ongoing threat’
Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the US, said he had been told that Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi were now in a “safe location”.
He earlier said the team faced an “ongoing threat” after their “brave act” not to sing the anthem.
“As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran,” he posted on social media.
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The Australian Iranian Council had also urged the government to protect the players.
It launched an online petition asking authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain”.
The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head in Coronation Street when vile bully Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) catches Todd Grimshaw (James Pierce) growing close to another man and unleashes his jealous rage…
It’s hard to imagine Todd’s toxic relationship with his abuser becoming any more of a prison than it already was, but that’s exactly what happened after the tragic death of his ex-boyfriend and close confidante, Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank).
Unbeknownst to Todd, Theo left Billy to die in the burning wreckage of the Corriedale crash. Grief-stricken, Todd has sunk into deep depression which has made Theo even more insecure and paranoid about the prospect of losing him than usual.
For months, Theo has kept a terrified Todd in line with a mixture of emotional and physical abuse. Now the controlling narcissist has added financial abuse to his repertoire, as he forced his long-suffering fiancée to cut up his credit cards and agree to be given daily allowances.
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With Theo’s hands on the purse strings, poor Todd is forced to come crawling to his poisonous partner every time he needs money to buy anything. He’s living on a pittance with barely enough to get by, and his friends like Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) and George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) are starting to notice.
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Everything comes to a head on Theo’s birthday. When Todd’s present-on-a-budget fails to impress his bullying boyfriend, it triggers a furious argument between the pair which might just be their most serious yet. In the aftermath, Todd’s left with a broken heart as Theo skulks in the shadows.
Are things over between them? Is Todd finally free of Theo’s clutches?
Todd has been mentally and physically abused by Theo for months (Picture: ITV)
No such luck. Upcoming episodes will see Todd try to find comfort in someone else, prompting a seething Theo to lash out with deadly consequences.
In a bid to lift Todd’s spirits, Sarah takes him out for a spot of lunch. But Todd’s face falls when he spots Theo at a nearby table with a good-looking bloke. Is this just an unfortunate coincidence… or another one of Theo’s messed up head-games?
After Theo’s lunchtime date stunt, Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger) urges Todd to beat the bully at own game and find a hunky bloke of his own to take to lunch.
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James tries to take a drunk Todd home (Picture: ITV)
In the Rovers Theo makes a point of chatting up Sean Tully (Anthony Cotton) right under Todd’s nose. Fighting back, Todd reveals that Glenda’s fixed him up with a date. How will Theo react?
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Later, Todd meets up with his blind date, whilst Theo joins Gary Windass (Mikey North) for his birthday celebrations, trying to mask his fury. Theo makes a point of laughing loudly at Gary’s jokes, determined to give Todd a bad case of FOMO.
But when Theo finds James Bailey (Jason Callender) giving Todd a pre-marathon pep talk, Theo waits until he’s distracted by a phone call…before slipping some drugs into Todd’s drink.
The Lidl store is expected to create up to 40 jobs, while the warehouses are expected to create up to 153 jobs. However, those living nearby are not happy about the development.
Elisha Aurangzaib thinks the development will “bring a bit more to the community”, but has found the construction disruptive. She said: “Initially I thought I wasn’t too keen when they were building it.
“All I could hear was thumping. [My house was] rattling. I had frames and kitchen cabinets moving.”
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, has found the construction to be “inconvenient”. He said: “It has been irritating.
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“It wasn’t much to start, but it has gradually gotten worse.” The man said it will be “nice to have a shop nearby”, but the development is “bigger than expected”.
He added: “It will bring more jobs but the other worry is traffic will build up in the area. It’s hard enough to get out of here as it is.”
Amanda Smith described the Boulevard as a “massive eyesore”. She said: “It’s been a big green space for so long. It feels out of the blue that they are doing it. It’s good to get a Lidl right in front, so I won’t even have to use my car for shopping.
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“But then on the other hand, there is Aldi and Tesco basically next to it. And the warehouses, they are big eyesores. It feels like such a waste of a big space that could have been made into something prettier and more useful for the community. Hampton is becoming so overbuilt, and now they want ugly warehouses built in it.”
Nik, who asked to use his first name only, said it is a “bad thing”. He added: “There’s lots of traffic now and in time, once the customers start using the shop, it’s going to be chaotic. This place used to be quiet, but now it’s busy and always has people about.“
Another lady, who asked to not be named, said the construction has caused a “right racket”. She added: “Things in my house have moved about and rattled so much, it’s ridiculous. I don’t know if they even thought about the effect the building would have on people nearby.
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“I’m all for bringing jobs in, but it feels like they could have tried to think of something else to build instead of warehouses. Maybe something else for younger people because you get more hanging about these days in Hampton with nothing to do.”
Sladen Estates, overseeing the development, has been approached for comment.
Apple’s iPad Air M4 comes in 11″ and 13″ sizes and one retailer is dishing it our for pennies before pre-orders close.
Jake Hackney Senior Consumer Writer
05:01, 10 Mar 2026
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Apple has had a busy month so far as the tech giant has unveiled not one, or two, but five new devices. Alongside an iPhone and MacBooks, there’s another addition to Apple’s ultra-thin tablet series with the iPad Air M4.
The latest model is touted as providing ‘blazing performance, more memory, enhanced connectivity and game-changing iPadOS 26 features’. It’s powered by Apple’s M4 chip, which is said to offer ‘incredible performance’ that’s three times quicker than its predecessor.
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Ahead of its launch on Wednesday (March 11), Sky Mobile is accepting last-minute pre-orders with a deal that costs shoppers 53p when spreading the cost. In Sky’s monthly offers, the 11″ iPad Air M4 can be pre-ordered for £16.50, equivalent to roughly 53p per day over a 31-day month.
Similarly, the 13″ iPad Air M4 is priced at £21, or approximately 67p per day. Both deals are for the 128GB storage version, with customers only needing to pay a £12 upfront fee for each.
Key points to bear in mind here are that Sky’s tablet deals run on 48-month contracts, with the option to upgrade to a new device after 36 months at no additional charge. They also come with a standard 100MB data allowance, which may not be sufficient for some users, reports Birmingham Live.
Sky Mobile customers can get Apple’s new iPad Air M4 from £16.50 per month or 53p per day when spreading the cost.
For those intending to use the iPad Air whilst connected to WiFi, 100MB may be adequate, but anyone planning on using it on-the-go should consider opting for a larger bundle. In addition to a selection of storage options, the iPad Air M4 is available in four colours: blue, purple, starlight and space grey.
Despite the contract commitment, Sky’s iPad deals offer far more budget-friendly options compared to purchasing outright, with prices starting at £599 at retailers such as Amazon and Argos. At EE, costs start at a steeper £45 per month but this includes a 5GB data allowance and a shorter 24-month term.
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The iPad Air M4 features cutting-edge Apple Intelligence functionality, a 12MP Center Stage camera and the sophisticated Liquid Glass display found on the iPhone 17. It comes pre-loaded with iPadOS 26 straight from the box and is also compatible with accessories such as Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.
Launching the new model, Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said: “iPad Air gives users more ways than ever to be creative and productive, offering powerful performance and incredible versatility to help them turn their ideas into reality. With its blazing performance thanks to M4, incredible AI capabilities, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, there’s never been a better time to choose or upgrade to iPad Air.”
Henry Burrell, Deputy Technology Editor at the Daily Express, highlighted several aspects of the iPad Air M4 that could entice Apple enthusiasts to upgrade. He said: “The iPad Air has more memory than the previous generation, with Apple confirming 12GB RAM in these new models.
“It’s rare for Apple to divulge how much RAM its iPhones and iPads have, but in the age of demanding apps and Apple Intelligence, Apple AI tools, our gadgets need all the RAM they can get. Apple says the M4 iPad Air is up to 30 per cent faster than the M3 version, and up to 2.3 times faster than the M1 version.
“In practical use, you may not notice these gains depending on your usage, but it’s certainly good to see Apple offer a year-over-year chip upgrade without raising prices.”
No more getting away with it. No more close calls. The vile crimes of child predator Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) are finally exposed on Coronation Street. However, for her victims, the nightmare is far from over…
For months, the insidious Megan has been grooming and gaslighting underage schoolboy Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) into believing that they are in a loving relationship.
The plucky young bookworm suspected something was a little off about Megan’s dynamic with Will when he discovered that his schoolfriend owned an incriminating tracksuit which Megan had sworn was Daniel’s.
Ever since, he’s been like a dog with a bone determined to expose the predatory Miss Walsh’s true colours.
Megan, of course, has fought back, abusing her power as a teacher to sabotage Sam’s grades, his academic performance and reputation at school. This caused poor Sam to spiral and abuse unprescribed Ritalin in a desperate attempt to do better. When he tried to plant cameras in Megan’s flat to catch her illicit affair with Will on camera, she discovered his plan and threatened to make the poor lad look like a pervert.
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The whole Megan ordeal has caused him serious psychological distress, as Corrie viewers up and down the land have been rooting for him to bring Megan down.
Megan has tortured Sam since he discovered her secret (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV/Shutterstock)
Finally, finally, they are about to get their wish. Sam is about to expose Megan as a paedophile to the entire street.
While Coronation Street fans will be delighted to see the villain finally getting her just desserts, it’s sure to be far more complicated for Will. A victim of grooming, he is completely in Megan’s thrall. Actor Lucas Hodgson-Wale explains his character’s headspace.
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‘In Will’s mind, he’s not a victim. He thinks a victim is someone who has suffered intense hardship, and since he thinks he’s enjoying this, he doesn’t see the harm. He even tells people I’m not a victim, he’s naïve to the fact that Megan is scheming and taking charge of everything. He’s just tagging along, not realising how much of a toll it’s taking on his mental health or his family.’
That toll is about to get a lot worse in upcoming episodes of Coronation Street, when the truth finally comes out. This is sure to have colossal consequences for Will and his family, as well as Sam and his mother Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson). Lucas teases the epic fallout facing Will.
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Will’s family will reel (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV)
‘It’s getting dangerous. Leanne is essentially family, so he has to be on the ball, but Will isn’t always the most cautious – he’s taken risks with PDA and kissing in cars. He doesn’t comprehend the full gravity of the situation.’
‘When it eventually blows up, I think he’ll be deeply ashamed – not necessarily for the relationship itself, but for the web of lies he’s told his family and Ollie’
What about Megan? Her exposure may not necessarily be the end of the story.
The damage she has done to Will psychologically will surely ensure his loyalty. Jude gives us a sneak preview of Will’s reaction when the cat is out of the bag.
Will doesn’t initially see himself as a victim, Lucas explains (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV)
‘At first, he’ll definitely jump to (Megan’s) defence. It will take him a long time to accept the idea that it wasn’t a mutual thing and that he was actually being manipulated.’
Coronation Street has worked on Will and Megan’s grooming storyline with support from Barnardo’s. Jude reflects on what he would like viewers to take away from this dark and emotional story.
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‘Awareness. This kind of inappropriate, underage relationship – especially the dynamic of an older woman and a younger guy – isn’t talked about as often as it should be. These issues are happening in the real world. We want to show that no matter the gender or the dynamic, it is never acceptable. Bringing light to that is the most important part of this job.’
Michael Carrrick is in charge of Manchester United on an iterim basis as the club search for a new permanent manager
Michael Carrick is set to oversee a pivotal match in Manchester United’s season next weekend. The interim boss is preparing to face Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday, where a win could significantly boost the club’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
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United have been out of action for an extended spell and will be looking to bounce back from last week’s disappointing defeat to Newcastle. The result marked the first loss under Carrick, who has won six of his first eight games in charge.
The team’s change in form under the ex-midfielder has fuelled debates over whether the 44-year-old should be given the job permanently. However, several other managers have been linked with the vacancy.
Meanwhile, a United legend has named the coach he believes would be a perfect fit for the club. Here, Mirror Football looks at some of the latest headlines around Old Trafford.
Roberto De Zerbi has been linked with both the United and Tottenham Hotspur jobs as he plots his next managerial move. The 46-year-old earned plaudits during his two years at Brighton, where he deployed an attacking style.
He joined Marseille in June 2024 and led the club to second place in Ligue 1 last season before parting ways in February. The Telegraph reports that De Zerbi is ‘of interest’ to United and is included on the club’s shortlist of candidates.
The former Sassuolo boss is said to be ‘keen’ on the United job, which could damage Carrick’s hopes of staying on beyond this season. The report adds that De Zerbi’s “stock remains high” with the United hierarchy, despite leaving Marseille.
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Spurs are also weighing up options for their next permanent manager. However, as Tottenham are currently battling relegation, United would likely be a more attractive option for De Zerbi.
‘Dream coach’ named
United legend Patrice Evra believes Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique would be the perfect appointment for United. The 55-year-old led PSG to Champions League glory last term and is reportedly in talks to extend his contract but Evra is confident the Spanish coach would be a success at United if the club were able to tempt him to Old Trafford.
“I’m not talking to the Man United board or Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but in my honest opinion, with no disrespect to PSG or Nasser Al-Khelaifi, but Luis Enrique would be a dream coach for Man United,” the former defender told Stake. “I love the man, I love his philosophy, what he went through in his personal life and overcame it shows his personality.
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“The job he’s done at PSG by bringing them a Champions League without Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe or Neymar, it’s a fantastic job. Players would have to work really hard to play for Man United, they’ll have to run a lot and I think Enrique would bring that.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
