Holly Dyson turned her life around after a stark warning from doctors

A woman who was told she had six months left to live after drinking two litres of gin a day has turned her life around and is now running a half marathon.

Holly Dyson battled alcohol dependency for six years throughout her 20s. The 28-year-old, from Southport, felt unable to leave the house without taking a bottle of wine.

She had to go to hospital several times and was told she had ‘severe’ liver disease. Holly said at one point, she ‘accepted the fact she was going to die’.

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But now, as she approaches three years alcohol-free, Holly helps others with addiction for her job. She is set to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday for the charity Alcohol Change UK after turning her life around.

Just hours before speaking to the PA news agency, Holly was leading a walking group as part of her career as a support worker for Change Grow Live, where she uses her experience to help others. Yet previously, after having a traumatic time at university, Holly did not drink any other liquid apart from alcohol for three years and was no stranger to starting her day with a pint of cider.

Holly said: “I truly, wholeheartedly was going to die. I was told I was going to die. I believed it and I had no hope.

“But here I am, nearly three years later, working in addiction and running a half marathon. These are all things that I could only dream of and now I’m actually doing it.”

Holly’s dependency on alcohol escalated rapidly in her mid-20s and she turned from drinking prosecco with her family in the evenings to experiencing physical withdrawals if she went without a drink. “If I was going out, I’d have to take a bottle of wine and I would put it into three smaller bottles so I could hide them in a bag and I was just living in fear every single day,” she said.

“I went to hospital numerous times, I had severe liver disease and then, in 2023, I went in again and I was really unwell this time. I’d been vomiting blood and all sorts, and they said to me there, you are going to die in six months if you carry on like this.

“But even that didn’t stop me. It upset me but I didn’t care. I’d kind of accepted the fact I was going to die because I can’t stop this.”

Holly said negative stereotypes surrounding alcohol addiction prompted her to speak out. “I’m not your stereotypical alcoholic,” she said.

“I was a young girl when I got trapped in that cycle and I think stereotypes can be a barrier to people seeking and getting help. Equally, I don’t think alcohol addiction is spoken about enough. I think there’s so much stigma and stereotypes attached to it and the stigma’s awful.”

Holly lost her fitness while dependent on alcohol as she would spend large amounts of time lying in bed and drinking and Sunday’s half marathon is a testament to her recovery. “When I was drinking, I did nothing.

“All I’d do is lie in bed and drink. So, when I got sober, getting my fitness back was really important and I’ve always, always loved running,” she said.

Holly said the half marathon was more than a physical challenge and is a way to give back, raise awareness, and show that recovery is possible. To sponsor Holly and the Alcohol Change team, visit: justgiving.com/campaign/alcoholchangeuklandmarkshalf2026.

To lengthen the leg, it’s also a good idea to pair your Capris with some kind of heel or sandal — think flip-flops (which also had a moment last year) or even a heeled shoe. Small London brand Realm does a number of lovely, Nineties-inspired minimalist heeled sandals, as does everybody’s cool-girl staple, Vagabond. Or, if you want to hide your toes, then a nice ballet flat is always a good option. For extra statement points, consider investing in a pair of the Speedcat Sneakerinas, which will round off the entire look nicely.

Great Britain, the 2025 semi-finalists, had been the underdogs heading into the tie, as they were without four players ranked inside the singles top 100 – Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Fran Jones, and Sonay Kartal.

But they overcame the disparity in ranking and experience to reach the finals for the third year in a row.

After being broken in their opening service game and slipping to a 3-1 deficit, Dart and Burrage roared back with a run of five games to take the first set.

All four players struggled with their serves in a topsy-turvy second set, with four consecutive breaks en route to 3-3. Great Britain then made the decisive break in the ninth game before Burrage held her nerve to secure the win.

“They’re two great players. They play a lot of doubles and it was our first time playing together,” said Dart.

“It’s crazy actually because we played pretty well and to be able to make the finals is just kind of surreal.”

Great Britain are the second team to qualify for September’s eight-team finals in Shenzhen, joining hosts China, and have reached the last four at the past two tournaments. Losers Australia will compete in November’s play-offs.

‘Inspiring the Future’ is a six-month pilot scheme run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Education and Employers, an education charity that connects young people with volunteers from the world of work to broaden horizons and inspire future career choices.

The programme will be interactive, practical and engaging, with a strong focus on reaching young people in disadvantaged areas.

It’s an exciting opportunity to highlight the importance of local media, showcase different career paths, and inspire the next generation to explore opportunities in the media sector within their own communities.

The project will bring media professionals into primary and secondary schools as well as colleges, giving pupils the chance to hear first-hand about the wide range of roles available across the industry – and it’s got the full backing of The Bolton News and Newsquest Media Group.

Richard Duggan, Editor of The Bolton News, is backing the programme (Image: Agency)

Richard Duggan, Regional Editor North West and Editor of The Bolton News, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for those of us who work in local media to encourage young people to pursue a career in media.

“In an age of misinformation, we are more important than ever before, and we must do our bit to make sure we engage and inspire youngsters to get involved in a rewarding and vital industry.

“I’m looking forward to volunteering my time to talk to schools about how I got into journalism, why I love it and why children should think about making it their career too.

“I encourage all my colleagues in the industry, from reporting to commercial and everything in between, to get involved.”

If you work in local media in any capacity and want to inspire the next generation, this is an opportunity not to miss.

Guest speakers will inspire students from primary to college (Image: DCMS)

While the project, which is also supported by the National Media Association, is based in the North West, you don’t need to be based here to take part.

By getting involved, you’ll help young people discover different roles, understand the routes into them, and see that people from all backgrounds shape our media. 

You can volunteer as little as one hour and will be connected to schools and supported by colleagues from Inspiring the Future.

And education establishments, from primary to college, are also encouraged to sign up to take part.

For more information about the campaign or to sign up as a volunteer or school, visit www.inspiringthefuture.org/campaigns/inspiring-the-future-of-local-media.

The event takes place across three days at Aintree Racecourse, with Opening Day and Ladies Day taking place so far.

But the main event, the Grand National, will take place on Saturday, April 11.

The race will see 34 horses and jockeys jump 30 fences across the four-mile route with a £1 million prize up for grabs.

Zeus Power! ⚡️

A strong winner of the @oddschecker Sefton Novices’ Hurdle 👏 pic.twitter.com/n1njkNYjxR

— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 10, 2026

So, you do not miss seeing “the world’s greatest steeplechase”, here is all you need to know about the 2026 Grand National, including the start time, runners and where to watch.

How to watch the 2026 Grand National

Coverage for the Grand National will kick off on ITV1 and ITVX from 3.15pm.

The race will start at 4pm on Saturday, April 11.

Saturday’s final race will also be shown online at Racing.tv .

The first (12.45pm) and final (5pm) races on Saturday will not be available to watch on ITV.

Grand National 2026 runners

The horses taking part in the race are:

• I Am Maximus
• Panic Attack
• Jagwar
• Grangeclare West
• Johnnywho
• Monty’s Star
• Iroko
• Oscar’s Brother
• Captain Cody
• Haiti Couleurs
• Gorgeous Tom
• Gerri Colombe
• Final Orders
• Quai De Bourbon
• Stellar Story

Who has the rights to the Grand National?

ITV currently has the rights to broadcast The Grand National in the UK, which it has had since 2017.

The race was first broadcast on the BBC back in 1960, and it stayed that way until 2013 when Channel 4 got the rights, which lasted until 2016.

Along with the Epsom Derby, the Grand National is one of two horse races that must be broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK.

Will you be watching the Grand National? Let us know in the comments below.

Classical concert of the week: York Late Music presents Amabile Clarinet Trio, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

THE Amabile Clarinet Trio – York clarinettist Lesley Schatzberger, cellist Nicola Tait Baxter and pianist Paul Nicholson – presents an innovative programme featuring two premieres plus Thea Musgrave’s Canta Canta!, patron Nicola LeFanu’s Lullaby and Nocturne, American composer Robert Muczynski’s rarely played Fantasy Trio and the first York performance of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Trio in D minor.

The UK premiere of David Lancaster’s Canzone Sospeso and a world premiere from composer David Power will be complemented by a set of Morris newly transcribed by York composer Steve Crowther. Lancaster gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm, to be enjoyed with a complimentary glass of wine or juice. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

Farewell concert of the week: Steve Coates Music Productions present Swing When You Sing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

Lesley Jones and Steve Coates: Teaming up for the last time for Swing When You Sing

BEV Jones Music Company and The Jubilee Celebration Singers producer Lesley Jones bids farewell to the York stage after 20 years of mounting shows with Swing When You Sing, presented with Steve Coates Music Productions.

Alan Owens’s 16-piece big band will be joined on stage by singers Ruth McNeil, Annabel van Griethuysen, Hayley Bamford, Johanna Hartley, Adele Barlow, Larry Gibson, Terry Ford, Stephen Wilson, David Hartley and Geoff Walker to perform Rat Pack, Minnie The Moocher, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Under The Sea, Cheek To Cheek, Sway (Latin), Fever, Mr Bojangles, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Sing, Sing, Sing (with Bob Fosse-style dancing). “Varied? Yes! Upbeat? Yes! Emotional? Yes!” says Lesley. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Start-up of the week: Bishy Road Community Choir, Stables Yoga Centre, Nunmill Street, York, from April 13

The poster for the launch of Bishy Road Community Choir

THE Stables Yoga Centre and Rachel Davies are setting up the Bishy Road Community Choir to run on Mondays from 5pm to 5.50pm at £5 a session from April 13. This welcoming, musically accessible group will use song to promote happiness, wellbeing and community. No experience or musical skills are needed; only enthusiasm to try feel-good singing. To book a place, visit stablesyoga.co.uk/timetable.

Family politics of the week: York Actors Collective in Till The Stars Come Down, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April14 to 18, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Friday; 2pm and 6pm, Saturday

PREMIERED at the National Theatre in 2024 and now receiving its York premiere, Beth Steel’s contemporary British family drama is set on the wedding day of Sylvia and Marek in a South Yorkshire mining town.

Directed by Angie Millard, Till The Stars Come Down explores the tumultuous dynamics of a working-class family in a changing world of economic decline and political shifts as long-held secrets, passions, and tensions surrounding class, immigration, and social change spill over into chaos and tragedy. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Titanic anniversary event of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in Hamlet, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to 18, 7pm plus 1.30pm, April 16 and 2pm, April 18

LET director Rupert Goold introduces the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, starring Ralph Davis, as the tour sets sail for York on the 114th anniversary of the Titanic’s descent to the depths. “Our production is set aboard a ship but one that is soon to founder, going down with all hands,” he says.

“Its inspiration comes from the most famous sinking in history, and just as that icy tragedy came to pass in a little over two and a half hours, our play takes place in real time and for about as long, as much catastrophic thriller as poetic meditation. This production asks what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Poetry at the double: Edge Street Live presents Henry Normal and Jan Brierton, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 16, 7.30pm

WRITER, poet, television & film producer and Manchester Poetry Festival founder Henry Normal is joined by Dubliner Jan Brierton for an evening of poetry and humour. Normal, whose credits include co-writing The Mrs Merton Show and the first series of The Royle Family, will be reading from his new book A Quiet Promise.

Brierton riffs on modern life, love and friendships, wellness and ageing, rage and domestic exasperation in her poetic reflections on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver, plus plenty of stuff about tea, lipstick and biscuits. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Not just cricket: Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell in An Audience With Aggers & Tuffers, York Barbican, April 16, 7.30pm

Aggers & Tuffers: The chatter of cricket amid the clatter of wickets at York Barbican (Image: Supplied)

TEST Match Special commentator-and-pundit duo Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell take to the road for more cricket chat from beyond the boundary. Former Leicestershire and England fast bowler and three-decade BBC cricket correspondent Aggers teams up anew with record-breaking former England spin bowler and crowd favourite Tuffers, who gives his spin on his maverick playing days and second wind as a media personality on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Strictly Come Dancing and A Question Of Sport. Box office update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Slam champ of the week: Say Owt presents Maureen Onwunali, The Crescent, York, April 17, 7.30pm

YORK spoken-word collective Sat Owt’s guest poet for April’s gathering will be Dublin-born Nigerian poet and two-time national slam champion Maureen Onwunali.

Rich with political observations and carefully crafted verse, her work has been featured by musicians, radio shows and organisations, such as the British Film Institute, Penguin, BBC, Roundhouse, Apples and Snakes, Obsidian Foundation and the Poetry Society. Box office: seetickets.com/event/say-owt-slam-featuring-maureen-onwunali/the-crescent/3588134.

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm

ARTISTS and makers involved in York Open Studios are putting the final touches to their workplaces and studios within York and a ten-mile radius of the city, in readiness to welcome visitors across two weekends.

This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular participant or the 27 newcomers, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.

Two teenagers were declared dead at the scene after a car left a bridge and collided with a minibus

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Two teenagers have lost their lives following a serious collision on a busy UK motorway.

Officers were called to the incident shortly before junction 20 of the M1 in Leicestershire at 1.33pm on Friday afternoon, April 10.

According to police, a blue car travelling along Gilmorton Lane towards Lutterworth had left the road bridge spanning the carriageway and struck a minibus heading southbound on the M1.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and East Midlands Ambulance Service were also deployed to the scene.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire Police said: “Four people in the minibus – a white Fiat Ducato – were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver, a man, has been discharged and three women remain in hospital.”

“The two people in the blue car, both teenagers, were declared dead at the scene.”

The carriageway was shut for several hours while forensic examinations took place at the scene.

Officers are appealing for anyone who was travelling on Gilmorton Lane or the M1 near junction 20 – in either direction – at approximately 1.30pm on Friday afternoon to come forward.

Anyone with dashcam footage or who witnessed either vehicle prior to the collision is urged to contact police.

You can contact us on 101, quoting incident number 308 of 10th April or visit Making a road traffic incident report | Leicestershire Police

Sky broadband customers can bag 500Mbps for the price of 300Mbps and get up to £200 to switch.

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Sky has massively undercut BT by dishing out upgrades with one of its super-fast broadband deals. The TV and broadband provider is also dishing out a major upgrade at no extra cost with its 500Mbps Full Fibre Broadband.

It’s currently on offer at £28 per month or roughly 90p per day, the same price as Sky’s slower 300Mbps plan. These speeds are ideal for 4K streaming or online gaming, with Sky estimating a HD TV programme will take around 25 seconds to download.

What’s more, Sky is paying new customers up to £200 in bill credit if they switch to cover and fees from their old provider. Sky’s Full Fibre 500 deal beats the equivalent plan at BT, where the same speeds cost £40.99 per month after a three-month free promotional period.

BT has also confirmed its monthly prices will rise by £4 each April. Sky says its rates ‘may change’ during the 24-month term too, but its customers are given the opportunity to cancel their contract if a price change is announced.

It’s worth noting that, as Sky says its full fibre is available to 60% of UK homes, not everyone will be able to get 500Mbps speeds. New customers can use Sky’s postcode checker to check their eligibility.

Sky’s 500Mbps Full Fibre Broadband

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Sky is offering 500Mbps for the price of 300Mbps with its Full Fibre 500 broadband deal.

Sky’s Full Fibre 500 deal also rivals a similar plan at Virgin Media, where the M500 Fibre Broadband – delivering speeds up to a slightly faster 516Mbps – comes in at £29.99. However, there’s a free upgrade here too, as the deal comes with a free subscription to Netflix.

For those opting for Sky’s 500Mbps Full Fibre Broadband, customers have left thousands of positive reviews of the brand on Trustpilot. Of these, some have praised the ‘reliable’ and ‘buffering-free’ internet and ‘excellent’ service.

One glowing review says: “I ditched my old broadband because the company insisted I have a phone line, which I wasn’t even using. Enter Sky Broadband: no phone, just pure internet bliss. I’m honestly amazed – it hasn’t dropped once. Cheers to buffering-free surfing.”

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Another says: “Went to transfer my broadband from BT to Sky. The service was excellent, I got a great deal and I know exactly what will happen on my installation day and going forward.”

Despite being happy with Sky’s fibre broadband, this customer deducted a star for their customer service, saying: “Had no problems with the broadband. It worked well, reliable, speed was decent. Bills are easy to access online. The only problem is when you need to contact them.”

Meanwhile, another five-star review says: “Great help on saving money on broadband and helping with how to do everything step by step.”

Tyson Fury has come out of retirement to face Russian boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov in a heavyweight clash in London on April 11. The fight will stream live on Netflix, which fans can get for free with Sky’s £15 Essential TV bundle or £24 Ultimate TV bundle, the latter of which also includes HBO Max and Disney+.