Bridgerton season four ended with a title card that paid tribute to a crucial member of the show’s team

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Bridgerton season four has now concluded on Netflix with the final four episodes determining the destinies of Sophie Baek (played by Yerin Ha) and Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). As fans were absorbing the major revelations at the end of the season, they were caught off guard by a title card that surfaced at the season’s close.

The title card read: “In loving memory of Tony Cooper” and viewers have been eager to discover more about his involvement in the show. Tony served as a cast driver on Bridgerton, as well as its prequel Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

He has some remarkable credits to his name, having transported the stars around on set for films like Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Atlas and Downton Abbey: A New Era. He also contributed to the sets of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Damsel and The Batman.

Tony collaborated closely with Netflix for many years, with one of his earlier credits being the historical drama, The Crown. Some of his earliest contributions were on the final three Harry Potter films. He fulfilled a vital role in some enormous franchises over the years, from Marvel to Disney.

Tony was not the sole crew member to have been acknowledged in season four of Bridgerton, as the final episode also paid tribute to Nicholas Braimbridge. Nicholas served as a set decorator for the series, as well as its prequel.

A fundraising page was established in his honour, explaining that he was an “expert faux finisher well known for his exquisite marbling and wood grain finishes, the knowledge of which was built up over years working with very top end interior designers and latterly within the film and TV industries”.

He predominantly worked in the fine decorative painting of large residential properties in London and overseas, before transferring his talents to the film and television industry, working across the art department, set decoration and set design. Title cards serve as a poignant means of acknowledging those who have played a vital role in the production of a film or series, yet have not necessarily appeared on screen.

Bridgerton has paid tribute to many of its cherished crew members throughout the years. Bridgerton’s second series was dedicated to Carole Prentice and Marc Pilcher, with Marc having served as a hair and makeup designer on the show. Carole worked as Covid production manager, ensuring regulations were followed so that filming could proceed safely.

Title card tributes are typically on-screen text graphics that honour actors, crew members, or producers at the beginning or end of a film or television episode. They act as an enduring and respectful acknowledgement of an individual’s contribution to the project. The title cards are especially fitting given the themes explored in the latter half of the season.

Title cards can also be employed to honour individuals not directly connected with production, as was illustrated in Bridgerton’s prequel, Queen Charlotte. The opening episode of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was dedicated to the memory of Jacqueline Avant, who was shot and killed in December 2021.

She was the mother-in-law of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who had a keen interest in Queen Charlotte. Her fascination is what inspired Sarandos to initially approach creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes about the Bridgerton prequel.

Bridgerton has been renewed for season five as each of the Bridgerton siblings are set to have their love stories told on-screen. There may well be more title cards to come in upcoming seasons.

Bridgerton season 4 is on Netflix

​North Yorkshire Council is currently considering the future of a ban on parking motorhomes overnight on parts of the coast following an “overwhelming” number of objections.

​An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) was introduced to restrict overnight parking at Sandsend, Royal Albert Drive, and Cayton Bay after NYC said the number of motorhomes had reached an “unacceptable level”.

​However, the council will only be able to use data gathered from two locations – Sandsend and Royal Albert Drive – as signs at Cayton Bay were subjected to vandalism.

​Cayton Bay, with its wide sweeping bay, a year-round dog-friendly beach, clean water, and affordable parking is “a magnet for holidaymakers and is a beautiful place to explore, no matter what time of the year you decide to visit”, North Yorkshire’s tourism website promises.

​According to a council report, not all visitors attracted to the ‘magnet for holidaymakers’ were impressed by the ban on overnight parking.

​“Members will note that the original ETRO included a third site at Cayton Bay south of Scarborough.

​“Unfortunately, due to episodes of vandalism to the signage, we were unable to obtain an appropriate period with the regulation in place to have a meaningful trial of the prohibition here,” a report presented to councillors states.

​The report goes on to state that “as mentioned above, we were unable to commence the ETRO in Cayton Bay due to persistent external factors”.

​Ahead of the order expiring in May, the council has been carrying out consultations to find a way forward.

​Since its introduction, thousands of residents have reportedly also complained about the “displacement effects” of the order and a decision on its future will be made this spring.

​The council’s report stated that “motor caravans are as welcome at seafront parking locations as any other vehicle in the daytime, but extended stays, which usually include overnight parking, restrict the ability of other visitors to find suitable parking when visiting the area for recreation”.

​Fire safety concerns have also been a key consideration, according to the council, which noted that the Fire Authority “has received a number of complaints and attended incidents on the Marine Drive and Royal Albert Drive, and has concerns with regard to fire spread”.

​Members of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee are set to discuss the issue at a meeting in Whitby on Monday, March 2.

Chippies across York and North Yorkshire were celebrated at the 38th Annual Fish and Chip Awards, a ceremony held last night (February 25) which aims to celebrate fish friers across the nation.

The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), the body which organises the awards, hosts 14 different awards with eateries around North Yorkshire taking the crown in a number of the most prestigious categories.

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In the highly competitive Takeaway of the Year award, The Scrap Box in Dunnington was deemed the best chippy in the country – taking the number one spot from a shortlist of ten exceptional chippies, including two other North Yorkshire chippies: Mister C’s in Selby and The Fish Bank in Sherburn-in-Elmet.

They also received an award for their marketing initiative.

Elsewhere in the county, Trenchers in Whitby was voted Restaurant of the Year – beating out competition from Bristol, Rotherham, and Devon to be crowned the best in the nation.

In York itself, Haxby Fish and Chips were recognised by the judges in two categories with Abigail Baker named as the runner up for Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year and owner David Miller given an award for Outstanding Contributions to the industry.

At the time that the shortlists were revealed in November, Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers which organises the awards, said: “The 38th instalment of the National Fish & Chip Awards is one of the most amazing competitions we’ve had the pleasure of running.

“Fish and chips is a national treasure, and the skill, passion, resilience and desire to serve communities with the best food shown by the takeaways we’ve announced today is a great representation of what makes our industry so special. We can’t wait to reveal the winner in a few months’ time.”

The Clintons have previously accused the panel’s Republican leader, James Comer, of “partisan politics” in his handling of the investigation. They described the legal summonses as “nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed”.

North Korea’s leader has warned his country could “initiate arbitrary action” and “completely destroy” South Korea if its security was threatened.

Kim Jong-un added that South Korea’s “complete collapse cannot be ruled out”.

The remarks appear to be Mr Kim’s most direct warnings against Seoul and were reported by state media KCNA on Thursday.

Mr Kim revealed plans to expand the country’s nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles arsenal, ruling out discussions with South Korea and labelling them as the “most hostile enemy”.

He added that the country would focus on expanding its nuclear arsenal, and prospects for bettering relations with the US rested entirely on Washington’s attitude.

The comments highlight the increasingly different approaches pursued by Seoul and Pyongyang towards each other.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung responded to Mr Kim’s comments on Thursday by saying the value his country needs to espouse is peace.

“A long-established sense of hostility and confrontation cannot be eliminated in an instant. We ‌must build trust through continuous efforts,” Mr Lee said.

However, speaking at the country’s week-long Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, Mr Kim vowed to develop stronger intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The country also wants to develop attack systems that use artificial intelligence, unmanned drones, and weapons that can hit enemy satellites, KCNA said.

The Congress is reported to have wrapped up with a military parade in the capital on Wednesday.

The presence ‌of Mr Kim’s daughter, known as Ju Ae, will fuel further speculation over whether she is being groomed as his successor.

North Korea has assembled around 50 warheads and possesses enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated last year.

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The thinktank also believes that Pyongyang is accelerating the production of further fissile material.

The North’s leader has so far not accepted overtures by US President Donald Trump, whom he met with three times during the 79-year-old’s first term, but he has left the door open for discussions with the US.

“If the US withdraws its policy of confrontation with North ‌Korea by respecting our country’s current status… There is no reason why we cannot get along well with the US,” he said, according to KCNA.

Mr Trump plans to travel to China from 31 March to 2 April.

South Korea’s spy agency has speculated that the two leaders could meet around that time.

Small kitchen appliance brand Sage has topped several of our recent kitchen tests. And no, it hasn’t paid to be there. Categories are often tested by different experts, yet the brand has still been named as the purveyor of our best toastie maker, best sparkling water maker and, of course, our highest rated coffee machine.

Many of the brand’s appliances are well-finished in stainless steel, bringing a quality to your kitchen that can’t be found at lower prices. Still, when food writer and kettle and toaster tester, Imogen Hope named Sage’s £119 Soft Top Luxe Kettle her best kettle, we decided it was worth further investigation.

Here, Imogen sets out exactly why she thinks it’s worth spending this on a kettle, while I, Recommended’s home and garden editor, explain why I would reach for her value buy, instead.

What you need to know about Sage’s The Soft Top Luxe Kettle

Before we dive into the pros and cons, here’s what £120 of kettle will buy you.

Hope tested the stainless steel iteration (colours from pink to burgundy are also available) and was impressed with the build quality, free of any flimsy plastic. Surprisingly, though, it’s a simple kettle. You will find no variable temperature settings, touchscreen or keep-warm function here. But you won’t need to read a manual to decipher its two buttons either (one for the lid and one to boil), and thoughtful details like a transparent side panel and lid make it easy to see how much water is inside and if it is close to boiling.

The ergonomic handle is comfortable, and there are clear markers from between two and seven cups to show how much water it contains. Its most notable feature is a soft-close lid (hence the name), which slowly and smoothly opens to give plenty of access for filling, and prevents any risk of hot water splashing should you need to open the lid right after boiling.

“But this circle will close with me teaching him a lesson.

“He’s not fighting some weight-drained super middleweight. I am in shape and will bring home this victory.”

Fury is signed to Frank Warren’s Queensberry, but TKO president Mark Shapiro said on Wednesday that Zuffa Boxing will promote the fight, which will be shown on Netflix.

Prograis, 37, is a former world champion at light-welterweight, but has two losses in his past three outings, including to Jack Catterall and Devin Haney.

Benn’s most recent outing was in November when he defeated Chris Eubank Jr in a rematch.

Both bouts against Eubank were at middleweight, but Benn intends to campaign at welterweight as he seeks to earn a world title shot.

“My last fight there showed the world exactly who I am and what I’m about,” he said.

“Fighting on the biggest stages, in the biggest shows, I fear no-one.”

Fury, who has not fought since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, will fight Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov.

The fact that Keir Starmer’s government have promised to put women and girls “at the heart of everything we do” in our international work is right and proper, recognising the growing threats of violence and of essential rights undermined everywhere.

However with dramatic cuts to our international development budget already underway there will be competition for what shrunken resources remain. We need to ensure that one of the key building blocks to fulfilling that ambition to empower women and girls – access to clean water and sanitation does not suffer.

WASH services – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – are incredibly important if we are to reduce the almost 400,000 deaths of young children every year from diseases including cholera and diarrhoea. One in four people globally still lack safe drinking water.

But that is only part of the story. The United Nations has drawn a direct line between a lack of safe water and sanitation and much wider problems including food and supply chain shortages that can spark conflicts.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on WASH I chair, backed by the wisdom of charity Water Aid, has previously highlighted in a landmark report how previous cuts to UK aid spending on WASH “put our national health security at risk” – because they raised the risks of infectious diseases and antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” spreading across the world.

It’s something that the great British public “gets” too. Significantly, 54 per cent of the British public put clean water and toilets in their top priorities for spending development aid. MPs and government should take heed.

A failure to provide clean water and sanitation makes it impossible to achieve the aim of giving women and girls more control over their lives – because it is they who disproportionately carry the burden of collecting water. That means dragging them away from school and from work and putting them in greater danger from gender-based violence.

In addition, as Evelyn Mere, the country director in Nigeria WaterAid, put it so powerfully when describing the impact of WASH cuts to MPs recently: “The number one thing is that girls are unable to stay in school because they have no decent toilets and no place to manage their menstruation in dignity and privacy. Once menstruation starts, they stay away from school. That negatively impacts their educational performance in school and begins the journey of disadvantaging them in life.”

For all these reasons, it is alarming that WASH services are likely to be targeted in the aid cuts that will strip £6.5 billion from our aid budget by 2028 – some 40 per cent of the money available.

Ministers have admitted the UK will be “moving away from the direct delivery of WASH services”, arguing developing countries can step in with our help to “strengthen” their capabilities. Closer partnerships are welcome, of course – but not if that is a cover for cuts. Alarm bells are ringing.

This government must not repeat the mistakes of previous Conservative administration who slashed WASH spending by 78 per cent at the turn of this decade – making a mockery our commitment to the UN goal of universal WASH access for all by 2030.

Consider also how, just 15 months ago, the UK and Nigeria signed a pioneering strategic partnership, naming economic growth, jobs and reducing aid dependency among its aims. All of this is undermined by failing to fund WASH services, because people must take sick days and spend money to treat diseases caused by unsafe water and lack of sanitation. That is a drag anchor on the Nigerian economy.

WaterAid has highlighted evidence that Nigeria could benefit from a $26 billion (£19bn) “sanitation economy” by 2030, where small businesses sell toilets, people find jobs building them, and young women train as plumbers – just as India provided 100 million toilets in less than a decade – if the UK invests in WASH services. It would help to deliver the very economic boost the partnership seeks.

I was proud when Labour’s former interim leader Harriet Harman was appointed as the UK’s special envoy for women and girls, to in her words “play a key role in standing up for the rights of all women and girls at a critical time”.

However, that noble promise cannot be met if the UK shrinks back from playing its part in ensuring the most basic rights of all, to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Rupa Huq is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton

This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project

Indonesia has freed and deported an American man after he spent 11 years in jail for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend’s mother, in a case known as the Bali “suitcase murder”.

Tommy Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, during a holiday on the island.

The battered body of the Chicago socialite was found in a suitcase in the boot of a taxi at a luxury resort.

The couple were trying to gain access to a $1.5m (£1.1m) trust fund, prosecutors have said.

Mack, who was a few weeks pregnant at the time of the attack, told the court in 2015 her mother objected to her relationship with Schaefer.

She covered her 62-year-old mother’s mouth while Schaefer used a fruit bowl for the assault.

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Police in Bali arrested Mack, nearly 19 at the time, and the then-21-year-old Schaefer a day later.

Schaefer was deported back to the US from Bali International Airport on Tuesday after serving his sentence and receiving a number of remissions for good behaviour, said Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Bali Regional Office of the directorate general of immigration.

He was in custody and arrived in Illinois on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the US Marshals Service, which transports federal prisoners, confirmed.

Schaefer was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Chicago on Thursday morning on federal charges of conspiracy to kill someone in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with a victim.

Mack served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Bali for helping with the murder and was deported in October 2021.

She was also sentenced to 26 years in prison in Chicago in January 2024, after she pleaded guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase.

A radical new structure for English rugby is expected to be rubber-stamped at a Rugby Football Union council meeting on Friday.

The Prem would separate from the rest of the pyramid, with traditional promotion and relegation immediately scrapped.

Instead the Prem will look to expand from 10 teams to 12 teams by 2030, with further expansion possible if ambitious clubs meet criteria on and off the field.

This could mean clubs like Wasps, Worcester and London Irish – who all went bust in the 2022-23 season – return to the top flight in the future.

As it stands, there is a mechanism for promotion and relegation to and from the Prem via a play-off with the top-placed side in the Champ.

However Ealing Trailfinders, consistently the best team in the second tier, have failed to meet the existing standards – especially around stadium size.

There has been no relegation from the Prem since Saracens went down in 2020 after a heavy points deduction for salary cap breaches. Sarries were also the last team to gain promotion after winning the Championship in 2021.

Under the new plans, ambitious clubs would still be able to apply for a place in the Prem, but would need to meet a variety of revamped criteria – potentially financial and commercial as well as on-pitch performance and potential.

English rugby insiders expect the new structure to collectively raise standards across the clubs and make the game more attractive to investors.

“We are lifting the bar on what we want clubs to do across various areas,” said one leading executive.

According to sources, any club would be able to apply for a place in an expanded Prem.

They could be ambitious Champ sides such as Coventry, dormant former powerhouses like Wasps – who plan to relaunch in Kent in the coming seasons – or brand-new entities.

The Champ clubs had previously rejected plans for a franchise-type model, but leading figures in the club game insist their board has been consulted throughout the process and have endorsed the recommendation.

“It could be transformational for aspirational Champ clubs,” a senior source told the BBC.

“We are looking at a range of different options to make the Premiership thriving, exciting and a really interesting place to invest in,” RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney told BBC Sport last year.

“Part of that will be a model whereby you qualify for an expansion league in the Premiership, but based on criteria around financial sustainability, fanbase and stadium, not just performance on the field of play.”