By CONNIE RUSK, ASSOCIATE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR

Published: 08:50 BST, 25 August 2026 | Updated: 11:14 BST, 25 August 2026

Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington. 

The actor boasts an impressive social circle and shared a picture from a star-studded dinner he hosted at his west London home over the weekend.

Fans hailed Richard’s 69th birthday celebrations their ‘fantasy dinner guestlist’, with stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Martin Short and his son Henry, Sir Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia.

But in a new interview, Richard has explained how his friendship group shrank after Joan passed away. 

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Dialect coach Joan died in 2021 aged 74, just eight months after being diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer two days before Christmas.

He was heartbroken that some of his so-called pals were crossing the street to avoid an awkward conversation, rather than provide him comfort after losing his wife. 

Five years on, Richard says he can’t forgive them as he told The Sunday Times: ‘I’m very unequivocal, black and white, all or nothing. I’ve tried to go for the grey areas but it’s not succeeded for very long.

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Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington

Stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Sir Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia

‘There are people that have been edited out of my life and I will never see them again. If I had done that to them, I wouldn’t be able to look them in the face. People do everything to avoid talking about death.’

When the interviewer suggested these people might have good intentions, Richard thought about before answering: ‘No, portcullis down. Goodbye.’

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Richard added he has learnt to navigate his way around grief, but there isn’t a day he doesn’t wake up and remember what has happened. 

The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild following their daughter Olivia giving birth to a baby boy in June. 

He said: ‘I’ve felt that overwhelming thing that you’re part of the cycle of life. You’ve gone through death and now there’s a birth. I instantly thought, how many Christmases will I have to share with the grandchild? That’s the thing that galvanises you – how many years of life you have left.’

Richard and Joan met in 1982 at the Actors Centre in Covent Garden, where she was teaching. She was ten years his senior and at the top of her profession, while he was a struggling young actor newly arrived from Swaziland, now Eswatini.

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The couple married in 1986 and went on to have their daughter, Olivia.

In a new interview, Richard revealed his friendship group became a lot smaller after Joan passed away (pictured with Joan and his daughter Olivia in 2019) 

The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild. In June, their daughter Olivia gave birth to a baby boy 

Their journey to parenthood was not an easy one. The couple endured the heartbreak of losing their first child together, who died shortly after birth, and Joan suffered multiple miscarriages.

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But she was determined they would keep trying – and Olivia’s arrival was the gift that completed their family.

When Joan died in 2021, Richard announced her death with a moving video of the pair dancing together, writing at the time of his love for the ‘Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia’.

The actor has been remarkably candid about his grief. He has spoken of crying every single day, of writing Joan every night and of carrying on what he calls an ‘ongoing silent conversation’ with the woman he describes as the love of his life.

Cars outside All Automotive on Causewayside Street in the Tollcross have been torched.

Cars have been torched by firebomb thugs at a Glasgow garage as Scotland’s reignited gang-war continues to ramp up.

Emergency crews rushed to the yard outside All Automotive on Causewayside Street in the Tollcross area of the city around 12.40am on Tuesday, August 25. No one was injured and firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Images from the scene showed it taped off as police stand guard at the cordon. A number of motors inside have been left charred and in ashes following the early morning deliberate attack.

Officers are treating it as wilful as enquiries continue. It is claimed the attack is in retaliation for a string of incidents on the Daniel crime clan in recent days.

It’s understood that Police Scotland are not ruling out links to Operation Portaledge – the force’s dedicated investigation into gangland activity across the central belt.

It comes as fresh attacks were ordered by bosses of the notorious Lyons crime clan against members of their rivals, the Daniel family. Senior members of the Lyons gang are believed to have instructed Ross McGill’s Tamo Junto (TMJ) to launch the revenge attacks after the slaying of Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in the Costa Del Sol last year..

We told how Kelvinside Motor Company on Milton Road in Kirkintilloch was hit on Tuesday, August 18, and Saturday, August 22.

Daniel clan kingpin Francis ‘Fraggle’ Green is listed a a former director of the garage at Kirkintilloch Industrial Estate. It’s understood a group of thugs wielding machetes turned up at the garage in the first attack on Tuesday.

A burnt-out hatchback car was seen outside the garage on Sunday morning. No one was injured as a result of the fire, which is also being treated as wilful by police.

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On Friday, August 21, around 1.40pm, a car was smashed into a home in East Renfrewshire. The property – which is understood to be linked to 45-year-old gangster Billy Steele – was fenced off as police seek to trace those involved.

Elsewhere, on Friday morning, sources told the Record the TMJ footsoldiers ripped into a property in Glasgow’s Maryhill before trashing the home in their pursuit for Ronnie Daniel, 41. The TMJ gang then travelled to Stepps in an attempt to target Robert Daniel, 51, but he managed to flee the scene.

A source told the Record: “A gang wearing balaclavas and carrying machetes kicked in the door of a house last night looking for Ronnie.

“They ripped the place apart and trashed the house and a heavy police presence has been on the scene ever since. The Lyons and TMJ gang are desperate to claim a serious scalp and Robert was then chased near his home last night by the same gang.

“Things have escalated again and the word on the street is this is the Lyons now trying to get revenge for what happened to Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons last year.”

Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were shot and killed in a targeted execution at Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola on May 31 last year. Suspected hitman Michael Riley, 45, is behind bars in Spain awaiting trial over the murders.

Separately, Steven Lyons, 45, is also awaiting trial over an organised crime plot in a Spanish Jail. The double murder marked one of the most violent episodes during the gang war, which exploded in Scotland last year after crime kingpin Mark Richardson’s cronies ripped off Ross McGill with fake notes in a botched £500,000 cocaine deal.

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Police have closed a Co Down road following a crash on Tuesday morning.

The Leode Road, in Hilltown, is currently closed following the single vehicle collision in the area. Police say closures are in place at Newry Road and the junction of Carmeen Road.

Emergency services are in attendance at the scene and police are asking motorists to avoid the area until the road reopens.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Road users are advised that there are closures in place on the Leode Road, Hilltown, due to an ongoing one vehicle road traffic collision in the area. Closures are in place at the main Newry Road and at the junction of the Carmeen Road, and emergency services are in attendance.”

Please follow our live blog below for further updates.

By RICHARD MARSDEN

Published: 10:14 BST, 25 August 2026 | Updated: 10:27 BST, 25 August 2026

Twelve people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the A66 crash that killed seven people, including two police officers.

Nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, have been arrested across Teesside on suspicion of a range of offences including possession of a firearm and being part of an organised crime group. One has since been charged.

In the early hours of Saturday, a Volkswagen Passat that had been pursued by police travelled the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough and crashed into an oncoming police car – two PCs and all five Passat occupants died.

Cleveland Police said it was investigating “serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident”.

PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, died in the crash, as did Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and 17-year-old Cole Robert Worthy.

Earlier, Cleveland Police released more details of its investigation into the lead-up to the crash and information about the 12 people it had arrested.

The force said:

Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox said the investigation had been “fast moving and complex”.

He said: “The events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect.

“We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident and to bring all those responsible to justice.”

Lancashire Police have issued a stern warning after drivers were seen driving in the wrong direction on the M6 motorway near Junction 34, following a collision on the northbound lane

Police have issued a stark warning over what they described as ‘absolutely unacceptable’ behaviour by motorists spotted driving the wrong way on the M6 motorway.

Drivers were caught reversing their vehicles and travelling the wrong way up an exit ramp on Sunday afternoon (August 23), during a collision on the M6 northbound carriageway near junction 34. Although nobody was hurt, officers stressed that the situation ‘could have easily been so different’.

Lancashire Police have identified a number of the vehicles involved and vowed to take ‘appropriate action’ against those behind the wheel. Officers are now appealing to anyone who captured footage on a dash cam or mobile phone of other drivers travelling in the wrong direction to come forward.

They cautioned that such reckless behaviour ‘can have utterly devastating consequences’, pointing to two fatal wrong-way collisions near Middlesbrough and in Ireland as stark examples.

Two police officers and five other individuals lost their lives in a crash in Teeside in the early hours of Saturday, after a Volkswagen Passat – which had been pursued by police – was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway, reports the Daily Star.

The vehicle then collided with a marked police armed response vehicle. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were among those tragically killed.

Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were also declared dead at the scene. In the wake of the incident, TikTok footage has emerged showing one of the deceased men recording himself driving dangerously in the months prior to the deadly smash.

This heartbreaking event came hot on the heels of a separate crash in which five teenagers were killed on the M9 in Co Kildare after their BMW careered into oncoming traffic while attempting to flee from police.

Three women and a seven year old boy travelling in the other vehicle involved in the head-on collision sustained serious injuries and were taken to hospital.

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The full statement released by Lancashire Police concerning the M6 incident, published on Monday afternoon, read: “We need to tell you about something that happened on the motorway this weekend, that is absolutely unacceptable.

Shortly before 1:45pm yesterday, we received a report of a collision on the M6 northbound near to junction 34, and as a result, there were people turning around and driving the wrong way back up the slip road to avoid joining the motorway.

“Thankfully nobody was seriously hurt, either in the collision or due to this incident, but as we have seen in other parts of the country this weekend, these actions can have utterly devastating consequences. We have identified a number of those vehicles and drivers involved in the incident and will take the appropriate action against them.

“We know that there will have been a lot of people on the motorway or making their way the correct direction down the slip road at that time, who will have been lawfully going about their journeys. We need to ask for your help. If you have dashcam that covers the junction 34 slip road, and shows any of these drivers, or took mobile phone footage, it is really important that you get in touch, so we can see it.

“Being stuck in standstill or slow-moving traffic can be frustrating, we get it, but it is never an excuse to put the lives of those around you, and your own life at risk. Nobody got hurt yesterday, but that outcome could have so easily been different.

“We will not tolerate driving that endangers lives. If you have information or footage that can help us, please call 101 quoting log 0689 of 23rd August.”

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The rugby league icon has passed away just weeks after the death of his beloved wife, Lady Joan

Sir Billy Boston, the Welsh rugby player who went on to become one of the greatest try-scorers in the history of British rugby, has died at the age of 92.

The Cardiff-born rugby league icon passed away overnight, just weeks after the death of his wife, Lady Joan. Boston had become a hero in the rugby league heartland, with supporters building a statue for the man who plundered 478 tries for his adopted home, Wigan.

Altogether, he touched down a remarkable 571 times in 562 first-class matches – winning the World Cup with Great Britain in 1960, as well as three Challenge Cups.

He was also a trailblazer for black sports stars and, for all of his many achievements, he would become one of Welsh sport’s most iconic and beloved figures.

The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed the news of Boston’s death on Tuesday, writing: “Sir Billy Boston, one of the best loved and most iconic figures in the history of Welsh sport, has passed away peacefully at the age of 92.

“The most famous son of Tiger Bay, he died overnight in hospital in his adopted home for the past 74 years, Wigan. His death came only four days after the funeral of his wife, Lady Joan, to whom he had been married for 70 years.”

Just last year, Boston became the first player from rugby league to be knighted. At the time, former Wales rugby league international Jim Mills said that Boston “is rugby league” in the north of England. He had previously been made an MBE in 1986 for his services to the 13-a-side code.

Born in Butetown in 1934, Boston had initially dreamed of playing for Cardiff – and ultimately Wales – at the Arms Park in rugby union.

His time in the 15-a-side code was relatively brief. He played for Cardiff Schools, winning the Dewar Shield in 1949, while he held became the first black player to play representative rugby union for Wales – turning out for the Boys Clubs of Wales and the Wales Youth teams in 1952.

For the former, he captained them against England in Neath – scoring a hat-trick of tries in a 32-0 win.

At senior level, he played for Neath and Pontypridd before heading North to do his National Service. It was then that Wigan swooped in to sign professional terms.

Having initially turned down their offers of £1,000 and then £1,500, Boston’s mother, Nellie, told him she would get rid of the club by asking for the ridiculous sum of £3,000. They agreed, with Boston admitting years later that he cried that night, with his dream of playing for Cardiff and Wales gone.

However, union’s loss would ultimately be league’s gain – with Boston becoming a tremendous success in that code. And Wigan would go on to become his home for the past 74 years.

Making his debut for Wigan at the age of 19, he would score the first of his 478 tries for Wigan against Barrow in November 1953. By the summer of 1954, he was chosen to tour Australia by the Great Britain selectors.

He would play in all five Tests and ended up scoring a staggering 36 tries in 18 matches – including seven hat-tricks and six against North Coast. He also equalled the record for the most tries in a Test match, having scored four against New Zealand in Auckland.

With Wigan, he would win the Challenge Cup in 1958, 1958 and 1965 as well as running in two tries in the 1960 Championship final to earn the club their first title in eight years.

Boston would also win two Lancashire Leagues and one Lancashire Cup. His record of 478 tries for the club, surpassing Johnny Ring’s tally of 368, still stands to this day.

Having twice equalled the record for most tries in a game for the club – scoring seven on two separate occasions – only Wigan legends Martin Offiah and Shaun Edwards have bettered that particular record.

For Great Britain, he would win 31 Test caps – scoring 24 times. He would also play one match for Wales against France B, while he won the 1956 European Rugby League Championship – representing Other Nationalities.

Towards the end of his career, Boston would enjoy a short spell with Blackpool Borough. His 571 tries is bettered only by Australian Brian Bevan when it comes to rugby league’s most prolific scorers.

Following his retirement, Boston became a publican in Wigan. He received the freedom of Wigan in 2000.

As well as the statue in his adopted home, there’s another at Wembley – the venue where he lifted three Challenge Cups. In recent years, another statue of Boston, along with fellow league legends Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman, was unveiled in Cardiff.

Boston was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2016 at the age of 82.

Last month, Boston’s wife of 70 years, Lady Joan, passed away at the age of 90. Her funeral took place in Wigan on Friday.

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Russia has threatened to target British factories in a ‘semi-military’ response to the UK’s support for Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin warned that a ‘Pandora’s box has been opened’.

On Monday, Moscow accused the UK of ‘participating in this war’ after Prime Minister Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv for his first foreign visit.

Mr Burnham had announced that European defence firm MBDA had been given permission to share information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile, meaning Ukraine could start manufacturing the projectiles locally.

The move sparked a furious reaction from the Kremlin, with a senior Putin adviser now warning of a more aggressive response and claiming Russia views the UK as ‘evil number one.’

Yesterday on BBC Newsnight, former Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Fedorov said Russia’s response to Mr Burnham’s announcement had been ‘very negative’, with Putin warning a ‘Pandora’s box’ was being opened.

Asked about the threat, Mr Fedorov said: ‘There’s a very serious political and public pressure on President Putin today, to undertake certain measures against UK, because he is considering UK as part of the war in Ukraine, and assistance from the UK is considered as a direct involvement of UK in this war.’

The official warned a new stage of escalation would see a ‘not only verbal but maybe some visible reaction’ from Russia towards the UK.

Expanding on what this would look like, Mr Fedorov said: ‘It might be so-called technical reaction, maybe some hackers attack from unknown source – not from official level, of course.

‘There might be different political steps. And I cannot exclude 100 per cent that there might be some semi-military, for example.

Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Horodetskyi House in Kyiv with a warm handshake on Monday

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He clarified British factories producing drones for Ukraine could be targeted in such a move by ‘unknown sources’.

Hackers would also target what he described as ‘concrete enterprises’ linked to the production of drones or components for Storm Shadow (the British version of Scalp) missiles.

Mr Fedorov explained that by Mr Burnham handing over blueprints for the manufacturing of missiles in Ukraine, Britain has become ‘much more involved’ in the war.

‘Moscow is considering steps by UK prime minister as direct military involvement into this conflict,’ he added.

Fedorov’s comment come after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed earlier on Monday that ‘Britain is participating in this war’ on the side of Ukraine.

‘Britain methodically and regularly pours fuel on the fire and methodically and regularly plots to prevent any progress in the peace process.’

He added Russian armed forces were intent on identifying ‘the production sites of such missiles’ and ‘the production sites of other military equipment’ in order to destroy them.

But Mr Burnham insisted there would be no let-up in the UK’s support for Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s aggression, branding Russia’s threats to the UK ‘outrageous’.

‘Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it,’ he said.

It emerged over the weekend that the Russian ambassador has been withdrawn from London as relations deteriorate even further.

The UK’s decision means the ‘deep-precision’ Scalp – which is built using both British and French technology – could now be produced in Ukraine.

The weapons are critical for long-range strikes reaching targets deep inside Russia.

Giving a speech in front of St Sophia cathedral in Kyiv to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, Mr Burnham compared the country’s resistance to the fight against Nazi Germany.

‘My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st,’ he said.

‘Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine.’

In his first major speech on the international stage, Mr Burnham praised the ‘sheer strength’ of the Ukrainian people as ‘truly awesome’, and said that ‘this is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war’.

‘Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security but the front line in keeping Europe safe,’ he added.

‘The Ukrainian people deserve not just our continued support, but our gratitude and respect,’ he said, thanking Ukrainians for ‘the incredible stand’ they have taken.

Mr Burnham also chaired his first meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ on Monday afternoon – the group of nations providing strengthened support for Ukraine.

Britain will keep providing defence aid to Ukraine despite Russia’s threats. Pictured: Burnham and Zelensky 

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The Prime Minister also observed destroyed Russian vehicles displayed at Mykhailivska Square as part of his visit

In an apparent message to Donald Trump, he told the coalition that Ukraine needed more Patriot interceptor missiles immediately to ‘help to protect its people’.

He also called on the US Congress to ‘ratchet up’ economic pressure on Russia.

Mr Burnham said Russia’s economy was struggling with a record budget deficit and declining oil revenues as he backed a sanctions bill proposed by the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

The Kremlin has previously warned of ‘consequences’ over UK drones being used by Ukraine to strike far into Russia.

Moscow said last week that the deeper Britain became involved, ‘the higher price it will pay’.

Mr Burnham said: ‘On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, its people should be in no doubt: The UK is behind you.

‘In the fight and the rebuilding to come, we stand with Ukraine. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down till there is a lasting peace.’

But Russia said relations with Britain are at ‘an unprecedentedly low level’ as it ordered its ambassador Andrey Kelin back to Moscow after seven years in post.

Mr Kelin has accused the UK of choosing ‘a path of confrontation’ with Russia.

Mr Burnham said: ‘Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.’

The crash happened just before midnight on Monday (August 24) at Bowes.

Police and paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) both attended the collision. It is not yet known how many vehicles were involved.

A NEAS spokesperson said: “We were called to a road traffic incident on the A66 at Bowes shortly before midnight on August 24.

“We dispatched one double crewed ambulance and one patient was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital.”

Durham Police has been contacted for a comment.