The Xbox has a serious identity crisis (Microsoft)
As Game Pass undergoes a major overhaul and Project Helix edges closer to release, GameCentral asks whether the glory days of the Xbox 360 will ever come again.
When Phil Spencer was still in charge of Xbox, he used to balk at the idea that the Xbox 360 was the golden age of the brand, arguing that there are more people playing Xbox today (by which he meant the console, PC, and streaming) than there ever was in the late 2000s. But that was missing the point. The Xbox 360 maintains its reputation as the best Xbox console for many reasons but the most important is that it was the only time Microsoft was leading the conversation in the industry.
The Xbox 360 sold less than both the PlayStation 3 and Wii and yet still most people refer to that generation as the Xbox 360 era. That’s not because anyone cares how many it sold but because it set the pace for the generation, in terms of introducing new ideas – from indie downloads to Achievements – and had better first party support than Sony, while being the lead format for almost all third party games.
It’s a common argument that competition benefits everyone and the Xbox 360 is clear proof of that. Without Xbox keeping Sony on their toes, the introduction of online features to PlayStation formats would have been much slower. The PlayStation 4, in particular, was a pointed response to the lessons learned from Xbox and the console’s outstanding first party line-up would likely have never existed without its stimulus.
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Despite all Microsoft’s money they never again had that sort of influence over the games industry, with the Xbox One selling less than the Xbox 360 and the Xbox Series X/S less than both. Something had to change and inevitably that meant replacing Spencer, with new boss Asha Sharma – who has no experience in the games industry and barely seems to have played any games before.
That should not count against her though, as many execs have little or no experience in game development (reportedly, legendary Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi could barely use a controller) and Spencer being a self-avowed gamer did not seem to help anything.
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Sharma’s first few months on the job have mostly consisted of mood talk, as she insists that she won’t ‘chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop’, despite that being precisely what everyone expects from Microsoft at the moment.
Everyone loves the Xbox 360 (Microsoft)
It’s easy to assume that the next gen Project Helix hardware was designed with AI in mind, given Microsoft’s attachment to the technology and the threat of not just Gaming Copilot but generating whole games with AI. In addition, Sharma’s background is with generative AI, so backing away from it completely seems very unlikely.
The first part of her statement is just as important, as one problem with Xbox since the very beginning has been short-termism. Perhaps blinded by its own wealth, Microsoft is always looking for a short cut and time and again has proven itself happy to rip up the roots of the business just to chase the latest trend.
Its support for the original Xbox was cut short as soon as they realised it wasn’t an instant hit, the Xbox 360’s time in the sun lasted only a scant few years before the introduction of Kinect (an attempt to copy the Wii) and the deterioration of its first party studios, the Xbox One started its life trying to be anything but a games console, and the Xbox Series X/S bet everything on Game Pass… and lost.
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Game Pass has not worked out how Microsoft expected (Microsoft)
The big annoucement this week was that Game Pass prices are being cut, following a previous increase, and that Call Of Duty will no longer be part of it from day one. That’s a sensible U-turn, but there’s still no sign that Microsoft has accepted the fact that most people have no need for a video game subscription service and don’t want to pay for games that way.
With rumours of another massive round of lay-offs coming up, it’s unclear what other changes Sharma will make. The return of Halo and Gears Of War will be important steps forward, but they were initiated before she started. There’s been talk of her bringing back console exclusives but that seem very unlikely given how small the Xbox Series X/S userbase is and how unlikely it is Project Helix will do better (not least because, according to Microsoft, it will be very expensive).
For a long time now, it’s seemed as if Microsoft is just treading water, aware that they are unable to break Sony’s stranglehold on the games market. It often feels like they’re just biding their time until video game streaming becomes practical for everyone – at which point they will have an instant and potentially unassailable advantage over their rivals. And yet playing the waiting game doesn’t seem to be Microsoft’s style.
The company’s impatience is most obvious in its constantly changing marketing focus, which ping pongs from one feature to another with the attention span of a bored toddler. Sharma was praised for killing the ridiculous ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign, almost as soon as she took over, but at the same time that means yet another switch in brand messaging.
Another failed marketing campaign (Microsoft)
There are some things that never change at Microsoft, including the way current and previous execs always seem to talk as if Xbox is a market leader, despite the fact that it’s very clearly not. Sharma immediately fell into this trap and while it wouldn’t matter so much if it was just an act, most execs seem to end up believing their own hype, which then goes on to adversely influence their decision making.
Xbox’s other big problem has been its inability to appeal to anyone outside of North America and the UK. Occasionally, it half-heartedly acknowledges the importance of Japan but it has never had the exclusive games or publisher relationships necessary to succeed there. Continental Europe has been much the same, with Xbox’s marketing attempts amounting to nothing more than the occasional FIFA bundle (‘They like soccer there, right?’) while they give the job of translating the Xbox dashboard and documentation to AI, with predictably incoherent results.
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By this point, these failings seem baked in at Microsoft but the biggest issue for Sharma is the simple question of what is the purpose of Xbox? What is its trying to do or be? As a console format it’s never been less popular and its ecosystem offers little tangible appeal to anyone else. People can be drawn into it via the right kind of exclusives but, as mentioned, that prospect seems unlikely.
This year’s Forza Horizon 6 will be a huge hit on PlayStation 5, and there’s a chance the Fable reboot will be too, but that doesn’t make Xbox any different from a third party publisher like EA or Ubisoft. Which is fine, as long as you’re making money, but Microsoft’s aspirations have always been greater than that.
They got into the games industry to prevent Sony from taking over the living room with PlayStation, a concern that smartphones rendered irrelevant. So what is the goal now? Xbox Game Studios is already the biggest games publisher in the West, simply by virtue of owning Activision Blizzard, but so what?
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Despite that, Xbox’s influence on the games industry has never been more insubstantial. Neither friend nor foe seems to care what they do and, unlike in the Xbox 360 days, they have no big ideas that everyone’s trying to catch up with and implement themselves.
That is what Is needed though and the worst case scenario is that they’ve convinced themselves it’s AI. One can only hope that the response to DLSS 5 has disabused them of that, but if they have seen sense they still need something else. Not just a selling point but a sign that they understand the games industry and its future better than anyone else.
If you’re a PlayStation owner you should hope they come up with something, so that they can in turn light a fire under an increasingly complacent Sony. Competition is good for the industry, but Xbox has not provided any for a worryingly long time.
Months on from his tragic passing and Ricky is set to be celebrated at a star-studded ‘Las Vegas-style’ event
Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney was given an emotional reminder about the loss of her ex-partner Ricky Hatton ahead of a big tribute night in Manchester.
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The actress, who plays Cassie Plummer in the ITV soap, was among those to share her devastation at the boxer’s passing, after he was found dead at his home in Hyde, at the age of 46, on September 14. At the time, he had been planning a return to the ring after a 13-year hiatus with a fight scheduled for December.
Claire, who enjoyed an eight-month romance with Ricky in 2024 after they worked together on Dancing On Ice, said days after the tragic news was announced: “I’ve needed a few days to process the devastating news about my dear friend Ricky.
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“My thoughts are with his family, especially his children Campbell, Millie Fearne and Lyla, his granddaughter. To them, Speaky and to all his friends who loved him so deeply and for so many years I send you my deepest sympathy.” She added: “Ricky, you were the people’s champ. We adored and cherished you. Love you always.”
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It was then in October that Claire joined many fellow mourners for Ricky’s final send-off, which took place at Manchester Cathedral following a two-hour journey from Tameside to Manchester city centre, passing many important local spots throughout Ricky’s life and career.
Months on from his tragic passing and Ricky is set to be celebrated at a star-studded ‘Las Vegas-style’ event, which will take place at the AO Arena on June 7. Organisers have said that the Evening4Ricky show will feature a reimagined boxing stage as a line-up of artists and performers take part in a series of entertainment ‘rounds’.
Tony Bellew, Steph Houghton, Natasha Jonas and Johnny Nelson are some of the names confirmed to be involved in the upcoming event so far, with funds raised going towards supporting the Ricky Hatton Foundation and other national and local mental health charity partners, all of which carry out vital work in mental health support and wellbeing.
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While out in Manchester, Claire came across a poster for the upcoming celebrations, which she took a picture of and shared to her Instagram Story. Alongside the post, shared on Tuesday (April 21), the soap star said: “Saw this in Manchester yesterday @speak3536 @rickyhattonfoundation.”
Despite knowing each other for years, it wasn’t until after taking part in the now-cancelled ITV competition show Dancing On Ice that Claire and Ricky got people talking about a relationship after being spotted on a series of pub dates, including in Stockport. They then stepped out on the red carpet together for the first time in May 2024 at the first opening night of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
But it was in December that year when it was reported Ricky and Claire had split. The breakup came before Christmas and asked about the split during a red carpet appearance, Claire told MailOnline: “I’m great – we’re still friends, we were friends, we dated and now we’re friends again. It’s all good!”
The security services are investigating whether a shadowy group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, may be carrying out the “dirty work” of the Tehran regime, Mr Hall added, by recruiting people in London and other parts of the UK to commit crimes.
Jimmy Bullard has explained why he quit I’m a Celebrity: South Africa despite knowing it would also send home his campmate Adam Thomas – which led to a furious showdown between the pair.
Former footballer Bullard was partnered with actor Thomas for a pivotal trial in which the losing duo would be sent home from the ITV reality show. Despite Thomas throwing himself into the challenge, Bullard almost immediately abstained from taking part, telling hosts Ant and Dec: “I just don’t have it in me.”
Thomas angrily confronted Bullard, shouting: “You’re taking the p***!” before telling him he should have left the show after the trial instead of prematurely ending his time on the show also. Almost eight months after the series was filmed, they are reportedly not on speaking terms.
Adam Thomas rows with Jimmy Bullard on ‘I’m a Celebrity: South Africa’ (ITV)
Speaking to the cameras after exiting the show, Bullard addressed the “kerfuffle”, stating: “Letting Adam down’s a killer. He’s my boy, you know? From day dot, we had the craic. He wants to do well, and I get it.”
Bullard, who said he “struggled” with how hard he found the show, said his decision to use the opportunity to leave stemmed in part from wanting to be with his parents.
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“I thought we were going in for stars for the camp to eat, but then they leave the door open where you could say ‘I’m a celebrity… get me out of here’ and go home – I got my mum and dad at home, the dad ain’t too well, so that comes in.”
He added that, despite people thinking he’s outgoing and a wind-up, that “doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready for them trials and stuff”.
“I lost David Haye, Gemma [Collins], they were my big bounces, I’d say. You could bounce off of them. Unfortunately, my time was up in the game.”
Jimmy Bullard infuriated Adam Thomas after quitting ‘I’m a Celebrity: South Africa’ (ITV)
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After realising Bullard was quitting the show on their behalf, Thomas said: “You’re joking me bro. Jim, come on, man. Don’t do this bro! Is that how we’re going out, yeah?”
However, despite Ant and Dec encouraging Bullard to continue for Thomas’s sake, he remained adamant, stating: “I’ve had enough. Sorry, boys and girls.”
Thomas stormed up to Bullard, asking: “What’s up with you, bro? If you wanted to go, go – don’t take me with you. Go home in camp, don’t do it on my f**ing watch.” Bullard told him: “I choose when I come and when I go.”
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Because Bullard did not complete any of the trial, Ant and Dec intervened, allowing campmates to vote for whether they would let Thomas remain on the show. They unanimously voted in his favour.
According to The Sun, Bullard is threatening not to attend the show’s final, which will be filmed live on Friday in London. Unlike with every celebrity who’s left so far, Bullard did not complete a post-exit interview with ITV. The Independent has reached out to the channel and Bullard for comment.
The spin-off show proved to be a tough experience for former Emmerdale actor Thomas, who also struggled with campmate David Haye while in the jungle.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Thomas admitted that Haye “broke” him while filming the show. It came after Haye turned on Thomas for asking not to do a Bushtucker Trial as he was feeling unwell.
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“Who gives a s*** if he doesn’t feel well,” Haye said. “He’s a grown-ass man. I don’t like guys who are a bit useless. I hate them useless guys.”
Writing on Instagram, Thomas said: “He broke me in there, he pushed me to my limits, and I’ve told David this and he’s apologised and that’s that! I’ve moved on now, am not one to hold a grudge.”
“I just always worry that we get ourselves into a situation where we get into conflict with local businesses”
A Co Down councillor has raised concerns that street cafe culture is causing a “daily obstacle course” for blind people.
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Disability issues came to light as Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s economy, regeneration and tourism committee this week approved its new cafe pavement policy.
The chamber also heard a “worry” that a potential “conflict” between the council and local business could happen when enforcing policy rules.
Slieve Croob Alliance councillor Helena Young said: “I have recently been contacted by constituents on these matters, with one person being a member of RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), so we are acutely aware of issues around accessibility.
“You have tables and chairs and all sorts out and these kind of obstruct pedestrians from being able to move along the pavement.
“Sometimes there can be a collision hazard for people who cannot see them. Some businesses are not following the council guidelines. Instead of our streets becoming more accessible they are like a daily obstacle course for some people who are blind or partially sighted.
“Can the council confidently state that in light of the equality act requirements that it has a comprehensive understanding on how the policy of granting pavement licenses doesn’t detrimentally affect blind and partially sighted people?”
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The council policy provides guidelines to businesses applying for pavement licences and regulations on safeguarding pedestrians.
Crotlieve Sinn Fein councillor Mickey Ruane added: “Obviously, post-Covid, we have seen a lot more of these in our towns.
“I just always worry that we get ourselves into a situation where we get into conflict with local businesses. It’s one of those things that is fine in one street and just round the corner it doesn’t work.
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“I think we need to work with businesses as I can just see us as a council getting into conflict with local businesses.
“It’s a difficult one as most of our towns were never built with large footpaths and we need a common sense approach.
“Is it up to us to enforce the policy? Do we go out walking the streets and check where tables and chairs have been placed with a hard and fast approach as I think that will lead to conflict.”
A council officer responded: “There are guidelines to try and strike a balance for the needs of all.
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“The policy has been reviewed and has taken on lessons learned to date. The policy has been equality screened and there is guidance in how businesses will be monitored and the necessary visits required for checks.”
When Sir Olly took over at the helm of the Foreign Office in January last year, Lord Mandelson had already gone through the Cabinet Office’s “due diligence” process, the King and the US had given him approval, and he was already being granted access to “highly classified briefings” on a case-by-case basis – without his security clearance being confirmed, he said.
Paul Quinn, now 52, escaped justice at the time for the horrendous rape of a loan woman off a motorway embankment between Little Hulton and Farnworth in 2003.
In what has since become a notorious miscarriage of justice innocent security guard Andrew Malkinson, now 60, went to prison for 17 years for Quinn’s crime.
Asked to describe Quinn, Detective Chief Superintendent Rebecca McKendrick, of Greater Manchester Police said: “Disturbing, dangerous, and maybe lacking the full range of human emotions, because I don’t know how you can possess the full range of human emotions if you are firstly able to commit this attack with no regard for the victim, clearly none whatsoever.
“And then watch someone completely innocent sit in prison for 17 years while you go about living your life.”
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Andrew Malkinson was finally freed in 2020 (Image: PA)
DCS McKendrick said it was a “distinct possibility” that Quinn has committed other crimes.
Quinn, who worked as a fencer while in Little Hulton, was not arrested until 2022 by which time new DNA and other evidence had connected him to the rape.
What the jury in the most recent trial that convicted Quinn last week could not be told, but is now free to be reported, is that Quinn had already been a convicted sex offender since age 12.
Quinn had been cautioned back in 1986, when he was 12, for two counts of indecent assault on a female.
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He was convicted of burglary in 1988 when he was 14 and two counts of assault in October 1992.
A photo of Paul Quinn believed to have taken in 2000 (Image: PA)
In 1992, at the age of 16, Quinn was then convicted of unlawful sex with a 12-year-old girl, an offence that police officers say would now be considered as rape.
He was sent to a young offender’s institute in December 1993 for arson with intent to endanger life after setting fire to a wheelie bin outside a former partner and her children’s house.
Despite this, and despite living in the estate opposite where the notorious rape happened off Cleggs Lane in 2003, he never featured as a person of interest in the original investigation.
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Instead, he remained silent while the innocent Mr Malkinson was arrested, tried and convicted for the crime.
Quinn continued to live in Little Hulton years afterwards and in January 2013 he was further convicted of production of cannabis.
In 2017 he moved to Exeter in Devon, a move police believe was brought about because of a drugs related dispute, where he worked as a delivery driver.
But his previous crimes would come back to haunt him, it was his 1992 sex offence that saw Quinn added to a data base of offenders when his DNA was rearrested in 2012.
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This, along with his internet searches, would help convict Quinn of the rape that he had allowed Andrew Malkinson to be jailed for all those years ago.
Quinn, of Whipton Barton Road, Exeter, was found guilty of two counts of rape, causing grievous bodily harm and attempting to choke or strangle his victim with intent to rape.
London’s newest major museum, V&A East, launches in Olympic Park with a landmark exhibition tracing the global impact of Black British music
A vast new branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum opened in London’s Olympic Park on 18 April, positioning itself as both a cultural heavyweight and a community hub. V&A East Museum will offer free, permanent galleries alongside major temporary exhibitions, with local young people helping to shape its vision and design.
The new space joins sister venue V&A East Storehouse, which opened in May 2025. Across two sites, V&A East is one of the UK’s most ambitious new museum ventures of the last decade. Both sites are based on East Bank, a vibrant new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, created as part of the Mayor of London’s 2012 Olympic legacy.
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The opening was first marked by an exclusive viewing of the museum, followed by a star-studded launch event to celebrate its landmark exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story. Artists in attendance included AJ Tracey, Beverley Knight and MNEK. Performances and DJ sets formed part of the celebrations, reflecting the institution’s emphasis on living culture and creative exchange.
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The inaugural exhibition charts more than a century of Black British music and its influence in the UK and beyond. Bringing together more than 200 objects — including instruments, fashion, photographs and personal belongings of famous artists — the multi-sensory exhibition spans genres from lovers rock and Brit funk to grime and UK garage, highlighting both pioneering figures and contemporary artists.
Displays range from the piano of early star Winifred Atwell to fashion worn by artists such as Little Simz and archival material from Skepta and girl band Mis-Teeq. Developed in collaboration with BBC Music, the exhibition forms part of a wider programme of performances and broadcasts celebrating Black British music across 2026.
Alongside this, at the heart of the museum’s permanent galleries is Why We Make, a new display exploring contemporary global culture through objects selected from the V&A’s extensive collections. Developed in close partnership with V&A East’s Youth Collective, the galleries examine the motivations behind creative work across time and geography.
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“Those range from voicing dissent to building creative communities to rethinking systems,” said Why We Make curator Chloe Kellow. “We want this space to be full of lots of different voices and lots of different answers to that question of why we make and who a maker can be.”
It’s not just a museum, but a civic space for dialogue, discovery and shared experience
Kellow said east London’s layered history made it a natural home for the V&A’s five-storey expansion. “East London has such a rich history of industry, and making of all types – whatever that word might mean to people,” she said. “Some of the first experiments in plastics happened here at Hackney Wick, you had silk weaving at Spitalfelds.
“Today, it’s a hub for the latest fashion, and for designers rethinking use of materials for a climate-resilient future.” Works by the late Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery will sit alongside Italian Renaissance paintings and 19th-century coral jewellery from India and Tibet.
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New acquisitions include pieces by artist and designer Yinka Ilori, an outfit from Lazy Oaf ’s recent collaboration with creative King Owusu, and photographs taken at Preston bus station by British documentary photographer Jamie Hawkesworth.
Members of the Youth Collective influenced gallery layouts, materials and lighting, drawing inspiration from London’s high streets, said Kellow. They also helped select and interview local artists whose work features in the opening displays. “Our design is driven by the idea of openness – a building that welcomes its community, celebrates creativity, and frames the exchange between art, people and place,” added V&A East project director, Jen McLachlan. “It’s not just a museum, but a civic space for dialogue, discovery and shared experience.
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Jade Lloyd has shared her story of how her postpartum psychosis led her to believe she had done the unthinkable in order to raise awareness surrounding the rare mental illness
07:37, 22 Apr 2026Updated 07:41, 22 Apr 2026
A mother has bravely opened up about her battle with postpartum psychosis that left her utterly convinced that she had killed her newborn daughter for weeks.
Jade Lloyd, from Sherbourne in Dorset, was sectioned for four months after giving birth to her daughter, Penelope, in 2020. The 32-year-old suffered with extreme anxiety and intrusive thoughts, culminating in a terrifying episode in which she hallucinated that she had killed her own newborn daughter.
The mother-of-one said: “I became terrified that I’d killed Penelope, and that my husband was keeping me in the spare room to protect me from what I’d done.”
Postpartum psychosis is a rare and rapid-onset mental health illness that affects around 1 in 1,000 mothers after giving birth. Unlike the milder mood changes of the more common “baby blues”, postpartum psychosis is a severe condition with symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, mania and mood fluctuations.
Due to the risk posed to the safety of the mother and the baby, postpartum psychosis should be treated as a medical emergency, with treatment often requiring hospitalisation of the affected mother. The birth of Jade’s daughter, Penelope, now five, had been a traumatic three-day affair.
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While Jade and her husband had initially planned a home birth, Jade ultimately had to receive intensive medical intervention, with her daughter finally arriving via a Vontuse and Forceps delivery. “It was a far cry from what I had planned,” Jade said.
Soon after giving birth, what Jade had initially dismissed as normal mother’s jitters surrounding the safety of her child spiralled into a debilitating paralysis. She said: “I became too anxious to drive, or even go into a supermarket. One day I just started walking towards a train line and had my first suicidal thought.”
After her health visitor suggested that she was likely suffering with post-natal depression, Jade started taking antidepressants. “But they didn’t work,” she said, adding: “I started having intrusive thoughts about Penelope being harmed by myself or other people, I was so worried about her dying.
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“I couldn’t sleep and then I began to feel like I didn’t need to sleep, I felt wired all of the time. I was so scared about what was happening in my head, and was worried my daughter would get taken off me.”
Jade’s symptoms continued to escalate and the onset of hallucinations brought her condition to a fever pitch. She recalled: “One night I flung myself backwards off the bed, and leant on Penelope.
“I got up and started hallucinating that I was John Legend, singing on stage. My husband called my mum and she came and spent the night with me in the spare room.”
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It was this physical separation from her daughter which caused Jade to believe that she had killed Penelope. The next day, a doctor came to assess the delirious mother and referred her to a Mother and Baby unit (MBU) in Bournemouth.
Here, Jade was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She spent the first two weeks on the ward convinced that she was in prison for killing her daughter.
When doctors performed an ECG (electrocardiogram) test, to record the electrical activity of her heart, she grew terrified that it was the electric chair, and she was going to be killed. “I would go from being really distressed to be being really happy and singing a lot”, she said.
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She spent one month in the mother and baby unit, alongside Penelope, where she was given anti-psychotics, and a sedative, to help her sleep. After being discharged, Jade fell into a “deep depression” which lasted for two years.
“I really struggled with knowing what had actually happened, and what was a hallucination,” she said. With a 50 % chance of postpartum psychosis recurring to those who have had it following another birth, Jade and her husband have since decided not to have any more children.
Since recovering, Jade has been raising awareness for the mental illness on TikTok in a bid to help others where she felt helpless. “After I came out of the mother and baby unit, I looked online, and there was no one talking about postpartum psychosis in a way I could connect to,” she said. “I felt like I needed to be that person, to help show mums that it does get better.”
Gold (Lize Van der Walt) is originally from South Africa where she won a gold medal in the 400 metres at the age of 21.
She moved to the UK, where she started as a fitness trainer, before joining Gladiators in 1997.
Former Gladiator star Gold dies aged 60
Gold (Van der Walt) died at the age of 60 on Sunday (April 19) after a “long and brave” battle with cancer.
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A post on the official Gladiators Facebook page said: “We’re deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Gladiators’ golden girl, Gold (Lize Van der Walt)
“Lize joined the UK Gladiators in 1997, bringing strength, spirit and determination to the Arena.
“Chosen from thousands of applicants to become one of the show’s new Gladiators, she quickly made her mark.
“Although injury limited her appearances, she showed incredible resilience and when she did compete, she proved that all that glistens truly was Gold.
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“Originally from South Africa, Lize was a talented athlete long before Gladiators, excelling in the 400m and relay.
“Her adventurous spirit brought her to the UK, where she became part of Gladiators history.
“She returned to the Arena in 2000 to represent the UK against her home nation. A proud full-circle moment that reflected her strength and character.
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“Following her time on Gladiators, Lize returned home to Hermanus in South Africa, a beautiful coastal town known for its breathtaking views and sunsets.
“There, she built a new life as a successful artist, creating seascapes and semi-abstract work inspired by her surroundings.
“After a long and brave battle with cancer, Lize passed away on 19th April in South Africa, aged 60.
“Our thoughts are with her son Michael, her family, friends and all who knew and loved her.
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“Thank you for the memories, Lize. You will always be part of Gladiators history.”
Who were the original Gladiators from the 90s?
Gladiators made a successful return to TV in 2024 after being rebooted by the BBC.
The show, hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh, has just completed its third season and features the likes of Giant, Bionic, Cyclone, and Athena.
Scotland are back at the World Cup, after a 28-year hiatus. Steve Clarke’s men will be hoping to make it past the group stages for the first time in the nation’s history, but face a tough task in Group C, which they share with five-time winners Brazil and Africa Cup of Nations champions Morocco, as well as Haiti.
Their away kit comes in a bold coral colour, reminiscent of the Tartan Army’s 1999 away strip.
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