Josh Widdicombe has thrown cold water on his rumoured appointment as one of the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing.

The comedian appeared in the Good Morning Britain studio on Tuesday for a robust line of questioning from Susanna Reid on the reports he has been picked by the BBC to host alongside Emma Willis.

The comedian and Last Leg host was said to have had a ‘razor-sharp’ audition as one of the finalists for the coveted BBC role, and it appears his onscreen chemistry with Emma nabbed him the gig.

But Widdicombe was reluctant to confirm the news either way on ITV, simply telling Reid and her co-host Ed Balls: ‘Do not believe what you read in the papers.’

That wasn’t enough to satiate the GMB hosts, who continued to prod and probe an uncomfortable Widdicombe, who dodged their questions.

He went on to say: ‘It’s lovely to be linked with the role. It’s an impressive thing on your CV. I think I’d do a lovely job.’

He later added: ‘It would be lovely to be the next presenter, but the thing is… It doesn’t mean anything. I’m glad to be linked with it. I would love to do it.’

Reid suggested that Widdicombe might not yet have completed the paperwork to confirm the job, but he remained mum on it.

He even at one point suggested that Balls and Reid, who have both danced on the Strictly ballroom floor, would be a good fit for the hosting job.

‘If I was casting it, I’d look for a couple that have got Strictly heritage, two stars of the ballroom, chemistry, weekends off, experience in live TV,’ he said.

‘There’s only one couple I can think of, and they’re sitting right in front of me.’

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Police raced Monday to catch an armed teenage runaway before he and another teen opened fire on a San Diego mosque, killing three men and then themselves.

About two hours after one boy’s mother called to warn police that he had run away with her weapons and vehicle, shots rang out at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and a mosque security guard and two others were killed, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

The gunmen, ages 17 and 18, were found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the chief added.

The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, he added.

Here’s what is known about the attack:

Search for suspects began hours before attack

Wahl said the mother, who called the police around 9:40 a.m., had described her son as suicidal. The search for the boy took on more urgency as police learned that he was dressed in camouflage and with an acquaintance — facts that were not consistent with someone about to die by suicide, the chief said.

Police used automated license plate readers to try to find the teens, dispatched authorities to a nearby mall and alerted Madison High School, where at least one suspect was a student, Wahl said. Officers were still interviewing the mother about places the teens might be when they received reports of a shooting at the largest mosque in San Diego County.

As police arrived, gunshots rang out a few blocks away where a landscaper was shot at but uninjured. The shooters were soon found dead in a vehicle stopped in the middle of a road nearby, Wahl said.

Suspects engaged in ‘generalized hate rhetoric’

There was no specific threat made against the the Islamic Center of San Diego but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric,” Wahl said. He declined to immediately share more details.

The mosque’s director, Imam Taha Hassane, said the center focused on interfaith relations, and that a group of non-Muslims had been touring the mosque earlier Monday to learn about Islam.

The white mosque is surrounded by homes, apartments and strip malls with Middle Eastern restaurants and markets. It is home to the Al Rashid School, which offers courses in Arabic language, Islamic studies and the Quran for students ages 5 and up, according to its website. No students were harmed, Hassane said, and aerial TV footage showed the school children holding hands as they were led out of the parking lot surrounded by police vehicles.

Security guard remembered as ‘heroic’

Police have not yet released the names of the victims. But a family friend identified one as Amin Abdullah, a security guard whom Wahl said “played a pivotal role” in preventing the attack from being more deadly.

Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq said he had spoken with Abdullah’s son. The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

“He wanted to defend the innocent so he decided to become a security guard,” he said.

Wahl credited Abdullah with saving lives.

“It’s fair to say his actions were heroic,” the chief said at a news conference.

The ceremony took place at Greenfield Academy in Newton Aycliffe, where Esh Construction hosted representatives from the Advanced Learning Partnership Multi Academy Trust, Durham County Council, Atkins Realis, school staff and pupils.

The topping out marks substantial progress in the academy’s multi-million pound redevelopment, which includes a new education hub, upgraded sports facilities and community spaces.

Students at a topping-out ceremony has been held at Greenfield Academy in Newton Aycliffe (Image: Supplied)

Grant Watson, construction director at Esh Construction, said: “Reaching topping out at Greenfield Academy is a significant moment for the project and a real testament to the collaboration between the academy, Durham County Council and our project teams.

“With the building envelope now largely complete, we’re making strong progress internally and looking ahead to the next phases of fit-out and external works that will bring these new facilities to life.”

The new block will eventually accommodate up to 750 students and is being funded jointly by Durham County Council and the Multi Academy Trust.

It forms part of a wider programme of works, including a sports centre extension and refurbishment of existing school facilities.

A topping-out ceremony has been held at Greenfield Academy in Newton Aycliffe (Image: Supplied)

The teaching block is now structurally complete, with the roof fully installed and tested, brickwork nearing completion and windows fully glazed, making the building secure and weather-tight.

Inside, partitions have been formed and classrooms are taking shape, while mechanical and electrical installations are underway.

Once finished, the block will house 19 classrooms and specialist hubs for IT, art, design and technology, and science.

Mr Watson said: “With the building envelope now largely complete, we’re making strong progress internally and looking ahead to the next phases of fit-out and external works that will bring these new facilities to life.”

Work on the sports centre extension is also progressing, with brickwork complete and internal works and cladding about to begin.

The centre will feature new changing rooms and a dance studio for both curriculum delivery and wider community use.

James Keating, executive headteacher at Greenfield Academy, said: “This new building will transform the lives of our young people for generations to come.

“It will give our pupils access to an outstanding learning environment, one that truly reflects their potential, nurtures their ambition and provides the facilities they deserve.

“These state-of-the-art spaces will inspire creativity, curiosity and confidence, and will support our staff in delivering exceptional education every single day.

“We are incredibly proud of the progress being made and deeply grateful to all partners involved in bringing this vision to life.”

In addition to the new build, refurbishment work is underway within the existing school to reconfigure and upgrade key areas, providing lasting benefits beyond simple aesthetic improvements.

The overall project aims to deliver modern, adaptable learning environments, enhanced sports facilities and a strengthened community role for the academy.

Councillor Cathy Hunt, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for children and young people’s service, said: “This is a key milestone in developing a modern education hub at Greenfield Academy and we are pleased that our strong collaboration with Esh Construction and the academy has allowed us to reach this important moment.

“We’re excited for this multi-million-pound development to be completed, when it will provide a cutting-edge facility for families in Newton Aycliffe.”

Health workers and humanitarian groups are rushing to try and contain an Ebola outbreak spreading through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a former government minister warning the outbreak should be “a wake-up call” about the “dangerous” threat of UK and US aid cuts on the response to pandemics.

DRC’s eastern Ituri province has seen more than 390 suspected cases and at least 100 reported deaths, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Jean Kaseya. Cases have also been detected elsewhere in the country and in neighbouring Uganda. Other neighbours Rwanda and South Sudan are now on high alert. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has said that a “small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak” are being withdrawn from the area.

Rory Stewart, who served as the UK’s Africa minister during the last major Ebola outbreak in 2018, said the connection between aid cuts implemented by Donald Trump and the UK and outbreaks like this was “very strong.” Such cuts have “huge impacts”, he added “particularly on things like global health”.

“Pandemic preparedness – in other words, dealing with an Ebola outbreak or even a new version of a Covid outbreak – requires lots of people on the ground in places like DRC or Uganda who are able to detect cases, respond to them, quarantine and prepare responses,” he told BBC Radio 4. ” And it’s all the infrastructure behind that which is being undermined at the moment. And that’s a real threat, of course, to the world.”

“I’m not trying to start a scare in Britain around this outbreak, but what I’m hoping will happen is people will see this and realise how dangerous this is, and how much risk we’re taking by not dealing with it more directly,” he added, saying that this outbreak is the “canary in the coal mine” for future problems.

Jean Pierre Badombo, the former mayor of Mongbwalu, a mining town in Ituri at the epicentre of the outbreak, said people started falling ill in April after a large open-casket funeral procession. “After that, we experienced a cascade of deaths,” he told Reuters. The World Health Organisation (WHO), who declared the outbreak “a public health emergency of international concern” over the weekend, said a strain of Ebola – Bundibugyo virus disease – was confirmed on 14 May, weeks later.

There is no approved vaccine or targeted treatment for this strain and the WHO has warned the true scale of infections was likely far greater than official figures suggested. The Bundibugyo strain had caused only two previous outbreaks, neither within the last decade, while its epidemiology remains poorly understood. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Centre at Brown University, told The Independent the relative lack of treatments and scientific understanding meant researchers were “flying blind and fighting the virus with both arms tied behind our backs.”

US foreign assistance spending fell by nearly 57 per cent after the Trump administration dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after the president returned to the White House for a second term last year, which had financed laboratory networks, disease surveillance programmes and emergency response capacity across the continent .Earlier this month the administration began plans to divert a further $2 billion in global health funding to cover the costs of shutting USAID operations overseas. Meanwhile, in the UK, billions of pounds are being cut from aid spending as the budget falls from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI),to fund increased defence spending.

Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official who led the agency’s Covid-19 response, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “The dismantling of US-funded health programming in DRC… is likely a big factor in why this outbreak was detected so late.” He warned that WHO, which he said had mounted one of its largest-ever deployments to help contain the 2018 DRC outbreak, was now “reeling” after Trump withdrew all US funding, cutting the agency’s emergency budget for health emergencies by 37 per cent and forcing it to lay off thousands of staff. He continued: “Its emergency contingency fund is close to empty. Tough starting point to mount a major response.”

Ms Nuzzo, of Brown University, said the outbreak bore “the cumulative effects of cuts to a number of global health programmes, which have reduced the people and attention given to public health threats.” Lawrence Gostin, university professor at Georgetown, agreed that there were “all the characteristics of weakened health systems, including very late detection, ongoing uncontrolled spread and deep distrust of public health workers.”

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

New research from the University of Leeds and the RSPB has found that the deliberate burning of moorland, often to support recreational shooting, exposes an average of an additional 550,000 people to unsafe levels of particulate pollution, with peak exposure affecting up to 2.3 million.

Dr Ailish Graham, lead author from the University of Leeds, said: “Until now, prescribed moorland burning has been seen as a local air quality issue.

“Our results show that prescribed burning can increase PM2.5 concentrations across much larger regions impacting towns and cities across northern England and Scotland.”

Tom Aspinall, uplands senior policy officer at the RSPB, said burning has well-known environmental consequences.

He said: “The environmental impacts that burning has on our precious upland peatland habitats are well-documented and can lead to the devastation of peatland landscapes which are vital both for wildlife and carbon storage.

“This is one of the reasons why we’re calling on the UK Government to introduce a system of licensing to regulate grouse moor management practices across England in line with recent legislative changes in Scotland.

The boxer and his wife have gone above and beyond to make sure their daughter’s married life gets off to a secure start

Tyson and Paris Fury have reportedly gone above and beyond to make sure their daughter’s married life gets off to a secure start as their huge wedding gift has been revealed.

Venezuela Fury, the eldest of the couple’s seven children, was seen tying the knot on Saturday (May 16) with her partner, Noah Prince, in an extravagant ceremony on the Isle of Man, where the Fury family recently relocated after giving up on life in Morecambe, Lancashire.

In pictures captured on the big day, the Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist, where the nuptials took place, was seen decorated with an archway of blue hydrangeas and yellow roses, while a long blue carpet had been rolled out to the entrance.

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Venezuela’s mum, Paris Fury, was seen making sure everything was perfect for her 16-year-old daughter, while dad Tyson was seen accompanying the teen to the church. Having gotten out of a vintage car, the bride was seen wearing a stunning white lace fishtail dress with a 50-foot-long train for her big day.

Her now-husband, meanwhile, was sporting a smart white suit, while his new father-in-law looked dapper in a black ensemble as he walked his daughter down the aisle to The Notorious B.I.G track, Juicy.

The wedding reception then took place at the nearby four-star Comis Hotel and Golf Club, which is where, according to reports, police were called after an incident occurred just moments after nineties popstar Peter Andre performed a string of chart-topping hits at the lavish wedding reception.

It’s now been reported that Tyson, 37, and Paris, 36, didn’t hold back on their gifts for the newlyweds, reportedly paying for a £30,000 honeymoon, thought to be in the Caribbean, after Venezuela and Noah were seen jetting off from Manchester Airport on Monday (May 18).

Not only that, it has also been suggested that the couple also gave their daughter and a new husband a large cash sum. A source told The Sun: “Tyson and Paris gave Venezuela and Noah a wedding gift of £5million to kick-start their life. Obviously, they were over the moon. Some family members thought it was a lot of money for a young couple so there were some mixed feelings — but it’s up to Tyson and Paris.

“Tyson also paid for the honeymoon and got them a traditional gypsy wagon as a sentimental gift. Tyson’s got one in his front yard. The wedding was magical and they spent £40,000 on Venezuela’s dress alone. That’s the gypsy way — go big.”

It comes after Venezuela shared a first look at the static caravan she has moved into with new husband. Sharing a series of pictures posted to her TikTok page, the teen showed off the brand new home that boasted an open plan kitchen and living room, with a cream carpet and gold accents running throughout the space. The living room also has a space built into the wall for a large flatscreen TV, and a modern fireplace.

The new home also features two bedrooms, each of which has built-in wardrobe units and dressing table space, while the bathroom, like the rest of the caravan, is fitted out with white, gold and marble details, as well as featuring a shower and a separate, freestanding bathtub.

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After the death of a much-loved husband, a Yorkshire Dales group of Women’s Institute ordinary women decides to do an extraordinary thing.

Led by Katie Melia’s Chris and Alexa Chaplin’s Annie, the friends vow to make an artistic nude calendar for a cancer charity, but discover that upturning preconceptions is a dangerous business, leading to emotional and personal ramifications that no-one could anticipate.

Katie Melia’s Chris and Alexa Chaplin’s Annie, right, in rehearsal with Sandy Nicholson’s Jessie in York Musical Theatre Company’s Calendar Girls The Musical.

Yet their bold front brings each woman unexpectedly into flower in a tale that became a global phenomenon, spawning a million copycat calendars, Nigel Cole’s 2003 record-breaking film, Tim Firth’s stage play and Firth and Barlow’s musical (premiered under the title The Girls at Leeds Grand Theatre in November 2015).

Matching Chris and Annie’s friendship, Katie and Alexa have been friends since 2010. “We met when appearing in York Light Opera Company’s Crazy For You,” says Katie.

“We last worked together in Disenchanted, doing it for the second time last October,” says Alexa.

“That time it was for Steve Coates Music Productions, which was cast and directed by Katie. We both played the same parts that we did for Pick Me Up Theatre [Katie’s Snow White and Alexa’s Cinderella] and got two of the original Princesses back, having first done it with Robert Readman in 2016. We’ve done such shows as Little Shop Of Horrors and Oliver!, and Calendar Girls must be about our seventh show together.”

It turns out that Katie and Alexa are no strangers to a state of deshabille on stage. “We did Gypsy with Robert for Pick Me Up as two of the three strippers,” recalls Katie. “Neither of us had very much on in that one.”

Alexa was “very keen” to do Calendar Girls. Katie was “umming and ahhing”. “But only because it’s my 40th birthday on the Sunday after the show finishes, but when I realised who was going to be doing it, I thought, ‘I can’t miss out as it’s an amazing show with amazing people in it, like Alexa’.”

Addison’s cast also will feature Katie’s husband, who has stepped in to replace Ryan Stocks in the role of Annie’s husband, John Clarke. “That’s brilliant because they’ve been friends for 16 years,” says Katie, whose husband in Calendar Girls, Rod, will be played by Jack Hooper.

“It does help in this show because they’re such long-standing friendships, and we have to build something authentic and believable,” says Alexa.

Analysing her character Chris, Katie says: “She’s the more happy-go-lucky and feisty of the two, and she’s definitely Annie’s right-hand woman, keeping her grounded. She’s there as her relief, her support, her friend, with everything that Annie’s going through with losing her husband.

“You also see the vulnerable side of Chris through the struggles of her son, where she wants him to be everything she isn’t, but feels she is losing control of him because he’s being led astray by this rebellious girl when he’s on the path to be head boy.”

Assessing Annie’s character, Alexa says: “It’s a really emotional role. This is the most real character I’ve ever played and the most touching, and that’s quite a responsibility, but it’s also a fantastic stage role and I’ve been really enjoying the acting challenge of Annie being more of an introvert than Katie’s Chris, where she responds to Chris’s energy and humour. They’re quite a counterpart to each other, and above all Annie has to carry the show’s emotional load.”

Alexa lost a close friend to cancer. “But even without that, I’m moved sentimentally and empathetically by the music, so I find it very moving, because the script and lyrics are so well written,” she says.

“In the face of something tragic, you do still have to go to the supermarket and cook meals. It’s brilliantly observed [by Tim Firth] with ordinary life motoring on, amid the tragedy, with all the undercutting of emotion with wry quips being so Yorkshire.”

Katie adds: “John will make a quip at the most emotional moment, which is so relatable because that’s how we react to loss or pre-emptive loss.”

At the epicentre of Calendar Girls is the photo-shoot for the nude calendar. “I had a wobble a few weeks ago because of the reality of what’s required. You agree to do the show, knowing you will have to strip, then rehearsing in a dressing gown, but you’re aware there’ll be no clothing beneath that dressing gown when you get on stage!

“You also know that Chris is the one who champions doing the calendar and she’s the one who won’t be protected by props. I’ll just have some strategically placed ‘bunting’. I have to walk to the front of the stage, which I’d forgotten , so when it was all laid out to me, I thought, ‘I can’t do this’. At which point [husband] Peter said, ‘you signed up for it, it’s too late to back out now’!

“The thing is, the audience will not be judging on body type. It’s all about female empowerment.”

Alexa’s Annie will be “comfortably hidden behind watering cans and pot plants”. “Working together, it’s about thinking about sight lines and making everyone feel comfortable with the props and the solidarity of all doing it together: that teamwork and moral support,” she says.

York Musical Theatre Company in Calendar Girls The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow (May 20) to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 orjosephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

He explains that he was helped in his preparation by police transcripts of the rapist’s interviews, “which was so revealing”. But in Believe Me, Pope foregrounds the stories of three victims, played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Aasiya Shah and Miriam Petche. The latter portrays Carrie Symonds, future wife of Boris Johnson, who, as a 19-year-old student, was picked up by Worboys on the King’s Road and spiked. She later waived her right to anonymity and campaigned against his early release from prison. It was these women’s testimonies that, for the actor, were the “eye-opener, and a great gateway into investing into what he was like on those journeys in the taxi.”

A spokesperson for the country park said that the new machines are ‘quicker’ and “easier to use”

A Cambridgeshire country park has installed a new parking machine after customers complained about an “extremely harsh” system. Milton Country Park, situated just outside of Cambridge, has recently announced a new parking system “following lots of customer feedback”.

Visitors claim to have had received unfair fines from the previous system. One person wrote: “While the park itself is lovely, the parking enforcement is incredibly harsh. It’s a popular spot for families with young children, but the management shows zero leniency – staying even a minute past your paid time results in a £60 fine.”

Another stated: “Great park but horrible parking process. App is truly awful and machine gets busy. You can lose the first 15 minutes just trying to pay, and time starts the moment you enter the car park, not pay.”

A review on Tripadvisor said: “Whilst the park itself was fine, the main issue was the parking. I paid for two hours and left within that time, however, around 10 days later I received a parking fine claiming I had underpaid – which I hadn’t.”

The customer appealed the charge but claimed it was rejected. They said that because they had paid in cash, they had no evidence and ended up paying the fine.

A spokesperson for Milton Country Park said: “Following lots of customer feedback about the parking machine in our car park, we’re pleased to let you know that we have removed the old machine and have now installed two brand-new machines with a much simpler pay-on-exit system.”

They added: “The new machines are easier to use, quicker, and designed to make parking more convenient for everyone. Thank you to everyone who took time to share their feedback – we really appreciate it and are always looking at ways to improve your experience with us.”

The country park offers visitors a large green space and outdoor activities including paddle sports and open water swimming. The site contains a cafe, playground, bike track, woodland, and lakes.

Describing the site itself, one visitor said that is is an “incredible place to relax and enjoy with family and dogs”. Another described it as the “most beautiful park” they had ever visited.