She is known for her multifaceted work on-screen. 

And Charlize Theron proved she is not only an acting chameleon but also a fashion chameleon as she wowed in a kooky ensemble in South Korea on Monday, while blazing the promo trail for The Odyssey. 

The actress, 50, who plays Calypso in the epic Christopher Nolan film, combined edgy chic with business style as she wore a pinstripe shirt with a wraparound plastic skirt paired with long leather gloves. 

As she posed alongside director Christopher and her co-star Matt Damon, she looked sensational in the look which was given a raunchy edge as she sported polka dot stockings underneath, flashed a hint of bra and wore a lace underlay. 

Christopher was no doubt in a celebratory mood as the event came as the movie hit a whopping $450million in the box office. 

As she posed alongside director Christopher and her co-star Matt Damon, she looked sensational in the look which was perfected with her mussed bob hairstyle

Advertisement

Her futuristic skirt was a huge contrast to the film in question 

The film is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic the Odyssey, which sees the titular Greek King embark on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War in a bid to reunite with his beloved wife Penelope. 

Matt is starring as the titular hero Odysseus, while Devil Wears Prada icon Anne Hathaway plays his devoted queen, who is forced to fend off potential suitors in her husband’s absence.

While Charlize’s Calypso is the nymph who keeps Odysseus trapped on her island, Ogygia, for seven years after the Trojan War.

Nolan has reached a career high with his epic take on Homer’s The Odyssey, with five star reviews for the star-studded movie flooding in from around the globe soon after it was released.

The Odyssey has achieved a near-perfect score on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes with a current standing of 99 per cent.

That 99 per cent score places Nolan’s 13th feature film at the top of the pile of his past movies with The Dark Knight trailing behind with a 94 per cent critic score.

She nailed the ensemble as she plugged the huge box office hit 

Advertisement

The actress, 50, who plays Calypso in the epic Christopher Nolan film, combined edgy chic with business style as she wore a pinstripe shirt with a wraparound plastic skirt paired with long leather gloves

Charlize and Matt chatted on-stage about the epic 

The reviews for The Odyssey are almost universal in their soaring praise and five star ratings.

The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner declared that ‘Nolan’s film – its star-studded cast led by Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Zendaya – is a glorious cinematic experience, a triumph both of story-telling and movie-making.’

Viner added: ‘I rarely say this of movies nearly three hours long – one viewing simply isn’t enough.’

She looked stunning in the kooky look 

The trio spoke to the admiring crowd at the South Korean event 

Peter Bradshaw for the Guardian in another five star review went one step further, writing that ‘Nolan goes god-tier with a breathtaking epic of men, monsters and moral metamorphosis.’

‘This is a film with thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair. There are some broad-brush moments in the dialogue, yes, but even these are applied with a muscular flourish.’

Any minor criticisms hone in on Nolan’s choice to modernise the dialogue and deviate from his source material.

John Nugent for Empire writes that ‘it is as elegant and economical an adaptation as it’s possible to make of such a lengthy tome, and you don’t need a Classics degree to understand it. Some purists may bristle at the liberties taken with the text, with significant omissions.’

The eye-popping success of the movie has thrilled the all-star cast 

Advertisement

‘The dialogue inevitably loses some of the poetry and lyricism of the original text; no dactylic hexameter here. But what it loses in faithfulness, it gains in visual and structural poetry.’

Writing for The Times though, historian Mary Beard said ‘I liked that Telemachus (Tom Holland) refers to Odysseus as ‘Dad’ (though I suspect some viewers may feel differently). This is an epic, and a myth, in the here and now, not set in a hoary past.’

David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter calls it ‘a meditative action movie both immense and intimate, albeit one whose flow is impeded by the inherently episodic nature of the nonlinear source material and some questionable casting choices.’

Rooney singles out Tom Holland, who plays the son of Matt Damon’s Odysseus, Telemachus, deciding that ‘while he is always an appealing screen presence, he is wrong for the role.’

Matt went for a classic look in a smart blue suit 

She looked sensational in the ensemble 

‘Like [Robert] Pattinson, the Brit actor plays his character with an American accent. But he comes across as, well, Peter Parker in a tunic, sapping the gravitas from Telemachus’ path to maturity.’

Deadline’s Gregory Nussen disagreed though, calling Holland’s performance ‘his strongest one to date.’

‘His performance certainly seems tinged with the courageous naivety of Spider-Man, insisting on trying to influence those much more cunning and physically capable than he,’ he wrote. ‘Holland may be playing a child, but his performance is bursting with a newfound maturity.’

Other critics hailed the female actors.

The South African beauty chatted to British film producer Emma Thomas

She showed off her kooky nail choice by rocking yellow tipped manicure 

Advertisement

Ahead of the review embargo lifting the film had received heaps of attention for all the wrong reasons – sparking backlash over its ‘bizarre’ casting, being accused of fuelling ‘brutal repression’ and sending Elon Musk into meltdown.

Nolan recently defended his decision to cast Kenyan actress Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, after Musk called the casting ‘historically inaccurate.’

The likes of Clarisse Loughrey in her five star review for The Independent said the film is ‘brought to life by a cast of seemingly thousands – but it’s the women (among them Anne Hathaway and Samantha Morton) who steal the show.’

RogerEbert.com Editor-at-Large Matt Zoller Seitz meanwhile called Nolan’s casting ‘not just defensible but inspiring.’

Tony Livesey has today left BBC Radio 5 Live after he was named in a Panorama investigation by a glamour model who claims she was forced to have sex with David Sullivan to get work. 

The channel’s controller Heidi Dawson told staff that the 62-year-old – who previously edited the Daily Sport – had ‘decided to leave’ the role after 16 years. 

His departure came after a woman, known only as Florence, claimed David Sullivan ‘took away her innocence’ when he allegedly pressured her into sleeping with him in 1999.

She told Panorama that the billionaire West Ham co-owner forced her to have sex with him at his mansion when she was 20 and Sullivan was 50, allegedly promising her work in return.

Florence alleged the meeting, which she believed would be a professional casting and job interview, only came about after she met Tony Livesey in the Daily Sport newsroom and he personally telephoned Sullivan to arrange it.

She told Panorama: ‘He [Tony Livesey] picked up his phone on this messy desk and called Sullivan. He went: “Have you got your diary there… can you do this date?” I was like: “I can do that date.” He then said: “Write it in – you’re going to see David Sullivan”.’

She added: ‘He [Sullivan] took away my innocence. What he did set me off on a spiral that went for many, many, many, many years.’

Livesey, who said he had ‘no recollection’ of the alleged incident, stepped away from his late-night show following the Panorama’s release on June 8.

BBC Radio 5 Live controller Heidi Dawson today sent staff a glowing note about Livesey’s career at the station, with no mention of the Panorama programme.

‘I wanted to let you know that Tony Livesey has decided to leave his presenting role on 5 Live,’ she said.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has been accused of abusing a number of women and preying on them for sex, but denies all the allegations

Florence, then 20, claims she met Mr Livesey, then editor of the Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers (pictured in Panorama), who then telephoned Sullivan to arrange a date for her to visit the businessman’s house

This is Sullivan’s mansion in Essex, which is where a number of the alleged incidents are said to have happened

‘Tony has worked at 5 Live for 16 years and was the first voice for us on air as we launched from our new home in Salford. Tony built a loyal late-night audience, often with our greatly missed colleague, Rachael Bland, at his side.

‘He went on to be the voice of our iconic Drive show for 10 years where he was at the heart of our coverage of Brexit. He reported from the Falkland Islands and RAF Akrotiri, and was a key part of our presenting team at the London and Paris Olympics, as well as hosting our Wimbledon coverage for six years. 

‘Tony grew Drive’s audience, particularly through Covid alongside Anna Foster, with positive stories of hope that the audience were desperate to hear.

‘Tony has been at the heart of our coverage of every major news and sporting event for a decade and a half. He won prestigious Arias and APA awards for his reporting about how it feels to lose your mum as a child, and an Arias gold award after he was asked by Dame Deborah James to conduct her last ever interview.

‘With his final Lates show at 5 Live, Tony grew audience figures once again.

‘Tony has asked me to pass on his heartfelt thanks to the brilliant colleagues at 5 Live who he has had the pleasure of working with over the years.

‘I know many of you have also really enjoyed working with Tony, and we wish him well for all his future endeavours.’

The naming of Mr Livesey by one of eight alleged victims of David Sullivan in June was a major headache for new BBC Director General, Matt Brittin.

Mr Brittin had just taken over from Tim Davie who battled a series of serious sex scandals involving BBC stars including Huw Edwards, Tim Westwood and most recently Scott Mills.

Florence claims she met Mr Livesey, then editor of the Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers, who then telephoned Sullivan to arrange a date for her to visit the businessman’s house.

Eight days later she went to Sullivan’s mansion in Theydon Bois, Essex. 

He allegedly told her at the meeting in his office that she would be one of his ‘regular girls’ – working as a glamour model in his newspapers and magazines – if they had sex.

She claims he then manoeuvred her into one of his bedrooms, pulled his tracksuit bottoms down and forced himself on her.

‘I’m 99.9 per cent sure I said: “I don’t want to.” It was almost like a transaction… That’s how it felt,’ she told Panorama.

Mr Livesey claimed in his newspaper memoir Babes, Booze, Orgies and Aliens that he and Sullivan came up with the ‘Countdown to 16’ pornographic feature.

The Sunday Sport used revealing images of young girls to tease the publication of topless pictures when they turned 16 – which was at the time the minimum age someone could appear nude. 

It was raised to the age of 18 in 2004.

Mr Livesey told BBC Panorama that he has ‘no recollection’ of the alleged incident Florence described and it was ‘not part’ of his job to do so.

He said he had ‘great sympathy for a woman who may have become a victim’, but rejected any suggestion that he had played ‘any role whatsoever in that scenario’ and said he found the allegation ‘abhorrent’.

He also denied that he was behind the ‘Countdown to 16’ pornographic feature.

Instead he told the BBC that it was ‘categorically’ not his idea and that much of his book was actually fictionalised in order to make it appear that he ‘was at the centre of all stories’, when he wasn’t.

Sullivan vehemently denies claims he is a sexual predator and said, through his lawyers, that the layout of his house makes Florence’s claims ‘implausible’. 

In April, Sullivan’s right-hand woman at West Ham, Karren Brady, quit the club. 

She has not commented on the Panorama investigation and was not mentioned at all on last night’s show.

Baroness Brady remains an aide to Lord Sugar and mentor to candidates on BBC hit The Apprentice. 

Mr Livesey has built himself a career as a successful broadcaster since leaving Sullivan’s newspaper empire – but was not on his regular evening show last night. 

Stand-in host Qasa Alom began the programme with a report about the Panorama investigation. 

Two hours before Livesey was due to go on air Florence claimed on the Panorama documentary that he had put her in touch with Sullivan. 

Mr Livesey was a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live for almost 17 years, having joined the station in June 2009. 

He initially hosted the late-night show, then went on to co-host the Weekend Breakfast and Drive programmes. His last show was the late-night phone-in show from Monday to Thursday.

David Sullivan has been accused of preying on a string of women, some in their teens, during his time as a newspaper chief.

Sources who worked in the industry at the time reportedly said Sullivan’s nickname was ‘B**w Job or No Job’, due to his reputation for expecting sexual favours in exchange for access to the vast opportunities he could offer aspiring models. 

Sullivan resigned from his post at West Ham after learning of the investigation that has collected the allegations, which span decades and date back to the 1980s.

Seven women gave detailed accounts of experiences they claim to have had with Sullivan as young models seeking work on his Sunday Sport and Daily Sport newspapers.

They accused Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including pressuring them for sex or oral sex during business meetings by suggesting it would aid their careers. Sullivan denies the allegations.

The BBC also reports that Sullivan, 77, has separately admitted to paying for sex in the 1990s with a girl who he understood to be 16 or 17 years old. 

He was in his 40s at the time, and it only became illegal to pay for sex with a 16 or 17-year-old in 2003.

Sullivan said he ‘categorically’ denies all the allegations, and vowed to sue any media outlet that repeats them. Sullivan currently retains his 38.8 per cent stake in West Ham.

Sacha Wall is the only alleged victim who wanted to be named, and claims Sullivan tried to have sex with her in exchange for help with her career

Sullivan ran the Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and it was while seeking modelling work at his titles that the women claim they were abused

Sacha Wall is the only alleged victim of Sullivan’s predatory behaviour who wanted to be named.

She claims that, as a 24-year-old aspiring model, Sullivan tried to pressure her into a sexual encounter by suggesting it would advance her career.

Ms Wall said that in 1998, she was invited to Sullivan’s Essex mansion for what she had believed would be a business meeting.

She recalled being surprised to find him dressed very informally, in flip-flops, red shorts and a T-shirt.

Sullivan leafed through her modelling portfolio while repeating ‘very nice, very nice’, in a way that made her uncomfortable, Ms Wall claims.

She says he then instructed her to follow him upstairs and undress down to her underwear – which she did, because she was interested in seeking topless modelling work.

He then allegedly told her to come and sit next to him – at which point she moved away and put her bra back on.

When she told him she would not sleep with him, she claims he looked ‘very shocked’ and replied: ‘What, not even a b**w job?’

Ms Wall said she was ‘really scared’ to find the door locked when she tried to leave, but that Sullivan opened it when she demanded to be let out.

She later appeared in his Sport newspaper, but said she was often given the worst jobs.

A woman, whose name has been changed to Anna by the publishers of the investigation, appeared in the Sport the month after her 17th birthday. 

She entered the Miss Sport competition, which involved sending photos into the newspaper.

She was then invited to an event at an Essex nightclub, which she attended with her mother as a chaperone.

At the venue – where the entertainment included women dancing on tabletops surrounded by large groups of ‘touchy-feely’ men – she claims she was invited to go for a private chat with Sullivan.

He allegedly asked the 17-year-old to give him a ‘b**w job’, promising he would make her a ‘star’ – but she refused.

In another alleged case, Florence, then 20, said she went to his Essex home, dressed smartly and with her boyfriend for support.

It was her who claimed Tony Livesey had helped organise it and she believed it would be a formal job interview. 

Sullivan allegedly took her upstairs and tried to initiate sex – with Florence attempting to resist by saying she was on her period and that her partner was waiting for her in the house.

But Sullivan pressed on anyway, she claims.

She said she would be forever ‘haunted’ by the image of Sullivan lifting his pinky into the air and saying: ‘It’s alright, I’ll only put it in a little bit,’ before penetrating her. 

Florence said she was almost certain she was telling him she did not want to have intercourse, but could not say how loudly. 

She claims that he promised she would be one of his ‘regular girls’ in his Sport newspapers if she had sex with him – and that she was indeed subsequently offered work.

His publishing career began in the early 1970s, when he ran a mail-order business supplying pornographic photos

She said she believes Sullivan’s alleged predatory behaviour went unchallenged for so long because was ‘untouchable’, adding: ‘He might not look it on paper, but my God, is that man powerful.’

Sullivan, who once described himself as a ‘collector of women, like some people collect stamps’, was a titanic figure for anyone hoping to crack the glamour modelling industry in the 1990s.

He began selling photographs of topless women in the 1970s through a mail-order business from an east London warehouse.

This soon progressed into selling pornographic magazines and, in 1973, Sullivan pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to publish and post obscene materials.

But Sullivan was undeterred, and his porn empire rapidly expanded, until by the end of the decade he was selling more than a million porn magazines each month.

He went on to launch Sunday Sport in 1986 – which featured topless models on many of the pages, among sensational tabloid stories – and later Daily Sport after enjoying enormous success.

A notorious feature of his newspapers was the ‘Countdown to 16’, which chronicled the number of days until a schoolgirl’s 16th birthday, and then pictured her topless when the day arrived. 

In his resignation statement, Sullivan said: ‘I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.

‘The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.

‘I categorically deny these claims.

‘I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.

‘I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication. I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality.

‘I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libelous allegations.’

Some of Britain’s most exclusive golf courses have been left looking more like bunkers than greens after one of the driest July months ever recorded.

As temperatures were set to hit 35C in some areas today, the country’s golf courses, usually covered in healthy grass, were left parched by low rainfall and hosepipe bans.

One course in Ascot, Surrey, saw its greens marooned in a sea of brown as heat health alerts were issued for much of England today.

Amber alerts came into effect from 9am this morning and last until the same time on Wednesday, covering London, the South East, the East of England and the East Midlands.

Issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the alerts warn of significant impacts to health and social care services because of high temperatures.

There may also be a rise in deaths, particularly amongst vulnerable people, while the heat continues.

Less severe yellow heat alerts have also been issued for the same period for the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands and the South West.

These alerts warn minor impacts are likely across health and social care services.

The North East is the only English region without a UKHSA heat health alert in place today.

Kendleshire golf club in South Gloucestershire saw its greenery fade into brown, mirroring the neighbouring dry fields

Advertisement

Batchwood golf and sports centre in St Albans, Hertfordshire, was left parched by low rainfall and high temperatures

Royal Mid-Surrey golf club was previously filled with lush green grass but it was reduced to a patchy brown as high temperatures took their toll

It is expected the week’s hottest weather will come today as hot air moving north from France combines with a low-pressure system moving in from the Atlantic.

As the country braced for another week of high temperatures the Government faced warnings that Britain could face food shortages after farmers struggled to cope with the prolonged warm and dry spell. 

The latest hot weather is another blow to British farming, already affected this year by winter flooding which made planting difficult.

Now farmers in drought-affected areas are having their water access restricted as around 23million people in England and Wales have been hit by hosepipe bans.

Tom Bradshaw, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, said low rainfall and record-breaking heatwaves which have dried soil could lead to food shortages.

He told BBC Radio 4 that Prime Minister Andy Burnham should give farmers tax breaks for water storage systems on their land to prepare for future hot weather.

Mr Bradshaw said: ‘Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well.

‘It does feel like there is going to be shortages of [food] products.’

Amid the country’s third drought in five years, wheat farmers have said their crop is half its normal height.

And England is experiencing its earliest-ever harvest as farmers bid to salvage their lacklustre yield. 

Grass at Weybrook Park golf club in Basingstoke, Hampshire, looked identical to the harvested fields next door as the sun beat down today

Aerial images showed a similar picture in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, where grass also appeared parched

A football pitch looked scorched this afternoon as heat health alerts came into force

Advertisement

Today southern and eastern areas of England are expected to see temperatures around the low- to mid-30sC with some spots around London to hit 34C.

Other areas including the Midlands, East Anglia and southern England will see temperatures around 30C while eastern parts of Wales could see similar heat levels.

But Scotland and Northern Ireland could see outbreaks of rain caused by low pressure moving across Ireland, causing cloudier skies.

Similar conditions could also impact western England.

The country faces another week under the threat of drought as much of the country remained starved of rainfall.

All of Wales and much of south-western, central and eastern England were experiencing drought at the end of last week while wildfires broke out across the country.

One burned near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station – Sizewell B – and the construction site for the new Sizewell C last week.

Welsh fire crews battled a blaze on the hills above Ferndale in the Rhondda Valley today

Advertisement

Smoke rose from a wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station last week which covered an area the size of 140 football pitches in Suffolk 

Some 116 properties were affected by power cuts as fire crews were sent from London and helicopter crews dropped water on the blaze.

The UK remained on course for the highest number of deaths caused by heatwaves in a year since records began.

Millions of Britons are also under hosepipe bans as water companies look to protect reserves.

A Daily Mail investigation today told how one Kent road has been divided by water freedoms, with one half forbidden to use their hosepipes as the other remained free to do so.

The Met Office said more than half of England was in drought and several counties had seen less than 1mm of rainfall across the whole of July.

Last week it said provisional statistics showed England and Wales were on track to record their driest July in almost 200 years.

Meanwhile the country as a whole was set for its third driest July on record, seeing just 35 per cent of the rainfall it would usually experience.

The Met Office added the dry conditions had come alongside ‘exceptional warmth’ across the country, with England set for its joint-warmest July for average temperature and Wales on course for its hottest-ever.

Northern Ireland was heading for its third-warmest July ever but Scotland had not seen average temperatures last month break into its top ten most warm.

Large swathes of England and Wales have barely seen a drop of rain across the whole of July, figures show

Met Office scientist Dr Emily Carlisle said: ‘The headline story for July is undoubtedly the rainfall. 

‘Across parts of England and Wales we’ve seen extraordinarily low totals, with some locations recording little or no meaningful rainfall for much of the month.

‘Provisional figures suggest this could be one of the driest Julys in nearly two centuries of records, which is particularly notable when coupled with the exceptional heat experienced so far this summer.’

The Met Office said persistent areas of high pressure have dominated the month’s weather, bringing long spells of sunshine, high temperatures and very little rainfall.

Low rainfall has contributed to rapidly declining river flows, parched soils and falling reservoir levels.

The Environment Agency warned last month that reservoir storage has fallen to around 75 per cent nationally, well below the seasonal average.

River flows are also exceptionally low in many catchments, with wildlife and fish populations coming under increasing pressure.

Farmers have also been hit hard with crops suffering in the dry ground and some harvests being brought forward because of the lack of moisture.

Ava Gillies, 26, was involved in a two-vehicle road traffic collision on the A170 near Wrelton at 1.30am on Wednesday, July 29, which saw a black Audi A4 collide with her white Volkswagen Polo.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Ava was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

RECOMMENDED READING:

In a heartfelt tribute, her family, who are from the Wrelton area. said Ava was a” beautiful daughter, sister and granddaughter”.

“Ava, we will always, always miss you, your wit, your charm, your beauty, your feisty confidence, your many talents and your excellence in your field: hair & makeup for film and TV.

“In almost 27 years with us, you packed in so much, study, travel, and work. It was a privilege to have raised you and loved you. Our beautiful daughter, sister and granddaughter, your loss is immeasurable.

“We are so proud of your hard work and success, your BAFTA Connect membership and the opportunities that brought your career path from talented artist to new designer.”

They continued, saying: “what’s becoming clearer with every passing day is you were loved by so many people outside the family, your friends and the community in which you were raised.

“We take great comfort from the comments, cards and messages from people within the film industry and their expressions of love and respect for your talent.

“It was a privilege to have raised you and loved you.”

“Our family will be forever grateful for the help, love and support we have received from our village, family and friends at this time.

“We would like to thank the emergency services and the Police family liaison officers. We would ask that members of the media refrain from contacting us directly.

“Plans for Ava’s funeral and a celebration of her life will be announced in due course.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Our thoughts remain with Ava’s family, friends, and all who knew her during this incredibly sad time.”

The London-based Delamar Academy of Make-up & Hair, where Ava trained posted on social media: “We are broken hearted to announce that our wonderful and talented graduate Ava Gillies has tragically died in a car accident.

” Ava was an exceptionally gifted artist, and has been successfully building her career since training at Delamar in 2018. Ava was a kind, creative, hardworking and lovely person who will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our hearts go out to her parents and brother, and all her family and friends.”

By AIDAN RADNEDGE, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 14:07 BST, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 14:21 BST, 3 August 2026

Journalist and broadcaster Rod Liddle has died at the age of 66 after a short illness, it has been announced.

The Sunday Times and Sun columnist previously served as editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and has more recently been presenting shows on Times Radio.

The news of his passing was announced this afternoon by his employers News UK.

He also had a weekly column in The Spectator, where he met his wife Alicia Monckton while in his role there as an associate editor. They wed in 2008, with Liddle previously having been married to fellow journalist Rachel Royce.

Advertisement

His children today paid tribute to their father who they say was their guide ‘on how to live an extraordinary life’.

Liddle died at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough on Sunday evening.

In a statement, his children Wilder, Tyler and Emmy said: ‘We’re all very saddened and shocked at the sudden passing of our wonderful father. He raised us much as you might imagine, to be inquisitive, brave and always humorous.

‘Even in hospital in the last few weeks, he consistently held the room and never let the awful situation show.

Advertisement

‘He has left a legacy that we are all incredibly proud of, he will always be our guide on how to live an extraordinary life.’

Rod Liddle has died at the age of 66 after a short illness, his employers News UK announced

Rod Liddle is pictured at a The Spectator party with Alicia Monckton – the pair wed in 2008

Advertisement

Rebekah Brooks, CEO of News UK, said: ‘Everyone at News UK is deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death of Rod Liddle.

‘Rod was an inimitable journalistic force – brilliant, provocative and immensely talented – whose sharp wit and uncompromising voice graced our pages and airwaves for decades.

‘Whether writing for The Sunday Times and The Sun or broadcasting on Times Radio, he challenged conventional thinking and left an indelible mark on British journalism.

‘Rod will be greatly missed by all his friends and colleagues at News, as well as by his many readers, listeners and viewers.

Advertisement

‘Our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with his family and loved ones.’

Sunday Times editor Ben Taylor said: ‘Rod Liddle had a wonderful way with words and used his unique talent to speak for the readers, highlighting the cant and absurdity that bedevils modern life.

‘He was also supremely entertaining and for years his column was the first that many turned to every Sunday. We will miss him desperately.’

Victoria Newton, editor-in-chief of the Sun, said: ‘Rod was a brilliant, fearless columnist who was much loved by all at the Sun.

Advertisement

‘A champion of press freedom, no topic was off-limits, and his writing – as funny as it was excoriating – was simply exceptional.

‘A terrific observer of the frailties of our political class, he will be remembered for his razor sharp wit and for his huge intellect.

‘But on the Sun floor he will also be remembered for his warmth and humour and for the belly laughs we had at his wildly entertaining lunches and dinners where he would hold court.

‘He will be hugely missed by the Sun’s staff and by his many, many loyal readers.’

Advertisement

Tim Levell, programme director of Times Radio, said: ‘Rod burst out of the speakers when he started his show on Times Radio. Listeners already knew about his wit and his proudly anti-conventional views.

‘But his wide learning, dedication and comedic timing were a delight and surprise to many. His show brightened Saturday mornings enormously and he will be greatly missed.’

In a statement, Royal Museums Greenwich said: “RMG has been in constructive negotiations with Prospect including a formal ACAS conciliation meeting in July. Those negotiations have already produced a two-year pay settlement covering 2026/27 and 2027/28, which has been agreed by Prospect and implemented.

Craft traditions are often imagined as practices rooted in the past: carefully preserved techniques passed from one generation to the next. But Unbound Forms at The Hepworth Wakefield reveals a more dynamic story. Bringing together the work of five pioneering women artists from India and Bangladesh, the exhibition shows how materials such as textiles, metal, ceramic, wood and paint can be transformed into works that honour inherited skills while pushing them into new territory.

The artists in the exhibition lived through a period of enormous change. Four were alive when India gained independence in 1947, while Mrinalini Mukherjee was born just two years later, in 1949. Their work emerged from the newly formed nations of India and Bangladesh, where traditions of making, craft and cultural identity were being reasserted. Across the galleries, familiar processes including wood carving, metal casting, weaving and knotting, are reimagined as tools for experimentation and personal expression.

One of the themes that recurs throughout the exhibition is that of sculptures as deities. Ritu Raja, meaning “ruler of seasons”, by Mrinalini is made from two shades of natural hemp, folded to imply both male and female genitalia. The cylinder at the base of the sculpture recalls a lingam – a phallus representing the god Shiva in Hinduism. The male structure is enveloped or held by a series of folds, recalling female anatomy or botanical forms. In Nag Devta II, also by Mrinalini, the lingam surfaces as a snake deity.

Leela Mukherjee is the mother of Mrinalini. Her carved wooden sculptures, Bull and Buffalo, depict important cultural animals in South Asia with additional associations as the vehicles for Hindu gods.

Novera Ahmed’s sculptures also imply the presence of divinities. Her works Shurjo (sun) and Chand (moon) are abstracted personifications of celestial forms, from stars to planets, with folkloric connotations. In Ahmed’s La Dame Lune “Chondraboti”, a highly textured steel sculpture with discernible facial features, Greek mythology is combined with a reference to a Bengali female poet, projecting female power and agency.

Snakes are also referenced throughout the exhibition, present in both Ahmed and Mrinalini’s work. These serpents or nagas – divine or semi-divine creatures that take both snake and human form – embody the borderline between animals and the anthropomorphic categories of beings (men, gods and demons).

In Hinduism the snake is both a sacred and sinister presence, often appearing in cobra-like form. In L’envoûtement (The Spell) and Un Serpent Nommé Désir (A Snake Called Desire), Ahmed alludes to an image of Buddha framed by the hood of a cobra.

Crafting with inbetween materials

Across the artworks on display, the way in which the materials are used – rather like the mythologies and deities – are open in their connotations, transmitting a sense of in-betweenness.

Mrinalini’s knotted hemp sculptures turn textiles into solid objects that are both dynamic and robust. Hemp was historically used in South Asia for garments, ropes and sails. These works combine decoration created through knots and folds with a material associated with the practicality of ropes and carrying heavy loads.

In Mrinalini’s work, ceramic and metal fold to mimic fabric or botanical and fabric becomes dense. Metal has a basket-like appearance in Meera Mukherjee’s (no relation) two works, Untitled and Boatmen, as if it has been woven not cast. In contrast, in her sculptures Atomic Couple and Time Past, Pilloo Pochkhanawala uses leftover industrial metal scraps combined with stones to create jagged sculptures like ruins or remnants in a post-industrial landscape.

Ahmed’s Bangladesh, a bronze sculpture featuring seemingly cut out shapes could arguably sit in relation to these two works, yet here possibly sinister figures with cut out eyes emerge from the landscape. Having spent time in Nepal learning traditional wood carving, Leela’s wooden sculptures are bulbous chiselled forms, in which the bulges can be seen as a series of heavy but overinflated folds.

Folds also feature in Meera’s work in bronze, Bou, which depicts a Bengali woman perhaps wearing a hijab. The patterning framing her face recalls the folds of the head covering and textile patterns of a sari. Created in the 1980s, this work was made in aftermath of the religious violence of partition and in the decade after the Bangladesh liberation war. The relationship between garments and folds is underlined by photographs of Mrinalini in her studio, working in a sari.

Advertisement

The versatility of sari folding perhaps bears some resemblance to the folds in Mrinalini’s work, with the female form implied in many instances. She has described sculpture as “a kind of organic unfolding”. The fold as the cusp of unfurling or unfolding, of providing a revelation.

The work of these five artists form connections between themselves and craft practices stretching back in these locations for hundreds of years and the contemporary worlds of post-independence India and Bangladesh. The works represent the fluidity of female voices as shape-shifters that navigate the material cultures and traditions around them in diverse and individual ways, allowing their voices to create a powerful throng.

Unbound Forms is on show at The Hepworth Wakefield until 1 November.

Farming leaders call on government to step in as extreme weather forces many to complete harvest weeks early – with reports of unprecedented numbers throwing in the towel and selling up

The government has been urged to take action amid warnings that shoppers face higher food prices and possible shortages because of the prolonged drought.

Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, called on ministers to help support the building of reservoirs on farms as part of wider measures. “Water security is food security and food security is part of our national security,” Mr Bradshaw said.

It came as heat health alerts were issued for most of England as temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-30s centigrade. That followed what has been the driest July on record for England and Wales.

Parched conditions have caused havoc for farmers. Many arable farmers have been forced to bring forward their wheat harvest by several weeks – in some cases the earliest for at least 20 years – because of the extreme weather, with an impact on yields – the amount produced.

Mr Bradshaw also explained that livestock farmers are using their winter feed rations because they cannot grow grass. He said: “It does feel like there is going to be some shortages of (food) products.”

Potato production is another crop heavily impacted as about half of what is produced needs irrigation. “The reservoirs are almost empty,” Mr Bradshaw added.

He went on: “We need to think about the resilience of our food system as a national priority. We need to adapt, we want to adapt, but we also need the government to recognise that this needs to happen urgently and we need their support.

Advertisement

Mr Bradshaw argued tor farmers to be given tax breaks to build water storage systems on their land.

“Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well,” he said.

Anthony Hopkins, director of cereals and oilseeds at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said: “Across much of the UK, combine (harvesters) have been rolling earlier than usual this year, with many farmers working through the night to avoid the most extreme daytime temperatures.”

Some farmers, already reeling from soaring fertiliser and other costs, have decided to throw in the towel, with reports from agents of unprecedented numbers of farms being put up for sale.

There are warnings that food prices in shops could rise, adding to the cost of living squeeze on millions of families. New PM Andy Burnham has made tackling living costs a key priority for his new government.

Dr Anna Murgatroyd, a lecturer in hydrology at Newcastle University, said: “One thing I imagine we will start to see is food prices increasing, and we are probably likely to see fewer food products from Britain on our shelves – we might even start to see shortages depending on what happens over the next couple of weeks and months.”

Farmer Andrew Ward, in Lincolnshire, said the last rain it had was on June 11, with 4mm. “You cannot grow crops and produce food without water, it’s as simple as that,” he said, adding that it had finished its wheat harvest a month early and with a lower yield because of the weather. “Across the country we are going to be short of wheat, there is no doubt about it,” he warned.

The boyfriend of an Israeli woman murdered by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 massacre has taken his own life beside his late girlfriend’s grave.

The tragic incident occurred last Saturday, when 30-year-old Bar Asraf, shot himself by Liron Barda’s grave. Barda had been killed while attending the Nova Music Festival.

Asraf was found by his sister with a gunshot to the chest at the cemetery in Elkana in the West Bank. Despite the rapid intervention of emergency services, the man was pronounced dead.

Speaking to Israeli outlet Walla, his sister Lehi described the heartbreaking moment she found her brother’s body.

‘We were at my [other] brother’s wedding, and he apparently started to feel lonely…he left. I thought he went to be alone and think like he usually does. 

‘An hour, two hours passed, my older sister said, ‘Come on, let’s go look for him. First in the most logical places, and then we said at Liron’s grave. He liked to talk there and be with her.’

‘Suddenly I see him lying next to Liron’s grave. I told him, “Get up, what are you doing again”, Then I realized he was covered in blood. I stepped on a gun next to him. I screamed. I couldn’t function…. I knew it was the end.

‘He died in the place he wanted to be most, with the woman he wanted to be most.’

Barda had been working as a bar manager at the Nova festival 

Asraf and his girlfriend Barda, who was killed at the Nova Music Festival almost three years ago

Advertisement

Barda tending to the injured at the Nova festival before she was murdered

Barda had been working as a bar manager at the  Nova festival. Although her friends and family begged her to flee during the terror attack, she stayed behind to tend to the injured.

Speaking previously to Israel Hayom, her father Avi said: ‘I spoke to her that morning, I asked her to leave the area – she refused, she said there were wounded people and she was staying.’

‘This was Liron – I would have been surprised if she agreed to flee.’ 

Asraf had been struggling for nearly three years with the death of his girlfriend, people close to him revealed. 

Asraf’s mother told Walla that her son was never the same after Barda’s death. She described Barda as his ‘soulmate’ and noted that his grief had completely consumed him. 

‘There were three days when we didn’t know what happened to her in Nova, a nerve-wracking experience,’ his mother Bracha said. 

‘He slept at my house and didn’t move from me from morning until night. He sat with her entire family. He’s stayed in touch with them ever since, brought his mother bouquets of flowers, got a tattoo in her honour.’

A short while before taking his own life, Bracha says her son expressed that he was very sad and that it was hard for him without Barda. 

‘I miss her. There’s no one to replace her, to encourage me,’ he told his mother.

Asraf’s funeral took place on Sunday where he was buried at the new Nahal Rabbah Cemetery.

Shiran Maor, chairman of the Safe Heart organisation, which provides psychological assistance to Nova survivours and their families, said, ‘Our hearts are broken by this terrible tragedy. 

‘We share the family’s deep sorrow and embrace everyone who knew and loved him.’ 

In April 2024, it was reported that 50 Nova survivours had taken their own lives in the six months following the massacre.

There have been other cases since, such as that of Roei Shalev, a 28-year-old who set himself on fire in October of last year.

Shalev was found dead in a burning vehicle on a highway exit near Netanya, two years after he witnessed his girlfriend’s murder.

Shalev’s girlfriend, Mapal Adam, and his best friend, Hili Solomon, were murdered before his very eyes at the hands of Hamas militants at the Nova festival.

Roei Shalev, 28, set himself on fire in October of last year (Pictured with his girlfriend who was murdered by Hamas)

Shalev had to pretend he was dead for hours after being shot in the back during the devastating assault

In October 2025, Yelena Giler (R), mother of Slava Giler (L), who was murdered at the Nova music festival in Israel, took her own life

Advertisement

He had to pretend he was dead for hours after being shot in the back during the devastating assault. 

He had been trying to hide under cars with Adam and Solomon before they were killed. 

Shalev’s devastating final message read: ‘I’m truly sorry. I can’t bear this pain any longer.’

Also in October 2025, Yelena Giler, 56, mother of Slava Giler, who was murdered at the Nova music festival in Israel, took her own life.

Since the attack, Yelena had been hospitalised every two-to-three months due to psychological damage.

‘That day broke her,’ wrote Slava’s brother, Alex ‘Sasha’ Giler, in a social media post following the tragic death.

‘Until October 7, her condition was stable,’ Sasha said. ‘She was taking her medication and living a normal routine. But October 7 completely broke her.

‘Since Slava’s murder, she couldn’t bear the pain anymore. She reached a point where I didn’t recognise her. She really lost touch with reality.’

Yelena was buried beside her son at the Karmiel Cemetery.

For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org 

Iran has denied Donald Trump’s claim that new talks on ending the conflict would begin on Monday, after the US president called off what he said would have been “massive” strikes on the country.

Speaking on board Air Force One on Sunday, he said Iran “knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming”, adding: “We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”

In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said he had been asked by Iran and US allies in the Middle East to “hold off” as the “perimeters” of a deal had been agreed.

But on Monday Iran’s foreign ministry denied they were negotiating with the US, or that there were any plans to do so.

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei added that Tehran was negotiating with Oman to reach “an understanding over a path to ensure the security of shipping passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.

Earlier talks between the US and Iran have been facilitated through mediators.

Trump has repeatedly vowed that a negotiated end to the war is near, only for tit-for-tat strikes to resume.

In his remarks on Air Force One, Trump declined to outline a deadline for a deal to be struck with Tehran, adding: “We’ll just see how it is. We’re ready to go anytime we want… I’m not looking to kill people.”

The US president did not specify where the talks on Monday would be held or who would attend.

Trump added that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – as well as US partners such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – had urged him against conducting strikes over the weekend.

“We were all set to go,” Trump said. “The reason they asked is [that] they think there’s a deal,” he said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and there will be a deal on the nuclear.”

Global oil prices fell on Monday morning in Asia trading after Trump’s announcement. Brent Crude oil was down by 4.5% at $83.98 (£62.26), while US-traded oil was 4.6% lower at $80.74 (£59.85).

Energy prices have fluctuated since the conflict started on 28 February as traders reacted to disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Around 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually flows through the strait.

Vessel-tracking data from trade intelligence company Kpler suggests commercial shipping through the strait has slowed.

According to the data, 51 vessel crossings occurred through the strait between 30 July and 2 August. This is a drop of around 28% compared to the previous 4 days, in which 71 crossings were recorded through the strait.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency denied that Tehran had asked the US to hold off on further military action, saying Trump’s claims were “nothing but a new lie”.

During his remarks on Air Force One, Trump said that the planned strikes would have been “the biggest attack since World War Two”, and could have derailed prospects of a negotiated end to the months-long war.

Trump declined to answer if he had been planning to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, which international law experts have said could constitute a war crime.