The BBC has officially announced the full cast for Celebrity Traitors series 2 but fans have been left disappointed after one star didn’t make the final line-up

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The Celebrity Traitors series two line-up has finally been unveiled, though some viewers have expressed disappointment after a beloved pop star was notably “missing” from this year’s announcement.

The BBC’s hit programme is due to return later this year, with a host of well-known faces heading to the Scottish Highlands at Ardross Castle this weekend to begin filming.

This year’s roster includes Coronation Street legend Julie Hesmondhalgh, EastEnders favourite Ross Kemp, Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne, and Brit Award-winning musician James Blunt.

Also joining the cast are BBC presenter Amol Rajan, The Last of Us actress Bella Ramsey, comedian James Acaster, Love Island host Maya Jama, Industry actress Myha’la and BBC mathematics expert Professor Hannah Fry.

Rounding out the ensemble are comedy talents Joanne McNally and Joe Lycett, alongside social media personality King Kenny, reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Rob Beckett will be providing the laughs with his television companion Romesh Ranganathan, My Mad Fat Diary star Sharon Rooney, and Game of Thrones actor Sebastian Croft.

Completing the cast are Jerry Hall, Miranda Hart, Michael Sheen and Richard E Grant.

Despite the impressive array of talent entering the castle, audiences at home have been left deflated upon learning that pop icon Cheryl Tweedy failed to secure a place on the show.

It was previously reported that the 42 year old had been approached to participate. The singer has maintained a low profile in recent years, leaving fans eager to see her return to their television screens.

One fan posted on X: “Celeb traitors cast reveal but there’s no Cheryl.” Another remarked: “Celeb traitors lineup is gorg but still missing Cheryl.” A third stated: “Noooooo! No Cheryl on Celeb Traitors!!!”

Another fan complained: “The fact I only recognise 3 people on here is outrageous, bring more people that are more popular and known!”

One declared: “Needs more celebrities like the last series and more actors for it to work! To many comedians.” Another contributed: “Too many comedians. Series 1 of #CelebrityTraitors had such a good cast that maybe it’s unmatchable.”

Nevertheless, other fans have been thoroughly impressed by the line-up, with one saying: “I thought the first series would be tough to beat, but this whole line up is incredible.”

Another enthused: “whhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaattttyy yes yes yes yessssss!!!!!! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!!”

The Celebrity Traitors will be coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later in 2026.

Sunday’s final between Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize has been halted after someone attempted to make their way to the table

Sunday’s World Championship Snooker final has been halted after someone attempted to make their way to the table. Wu was preparing to take a shot while leading 2-0 in the match and 67-31 in the frame, when an outburst from the crowd stopped proceedings.

A member of the audience appeared to be shouting about the BBC license fee. The event is being broadcast on BBC One.

Both Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize stepped back to allow the match referee to deal with the incident. Several security personnel could be seen on the TV, rushing from one side of the table to the other.

The crowd at Sheffield’s Crucible then applauded loudly when security apprehended the person protesting. BBC commentator John Parrott said: “Sorry for that disturbance, it’s all sorted.”

Wu then got proceedings back underway shortly after. It follows an incident on Saturday when another member of the crowd was ejected from the venue for shouting “never forget the Epstein Files” before the deciding frame between Wu and Mark Allen.

That semi-final was similarly halted and referee Marcel Eckardt addressed the crowd. He said: “Can you get this person out please, now please.”

Once they were removed, TNT commentator Philip Studd said: “That’s person seen the last of snooker for quite a while, I think.”

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Green Party leader Zack Polanski has suggested he retweeted “inaccurate” criticism of police officers responding to the Golders Green terror attack because he was “traumatised”.

But he also reignited his row with the head of the Metropolitan Police over the post, claiming Sir Mark Rowley’s open letter condemning Mr Polanski was inappropriate during an election campaign.

He also said he remained “concerned” about the officers’ actions, adding that everyone who works in public service “should not be above scrutiny”, and that actions must be “proportionate, no matter how brave”.

Mr Polanski apologised last week after sharing a post on X that accused Met officers of detaining the Golders Green attack suspect of “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head” when he was already incapacitated from being Tasered.

Sir Keir Starmer was among those who lined up to condemn Mr Polanski, calling his actions “disgraceful” and saying he was “not fit to lead any political party”.

Asked on Sky News on Sunday why he had shared the post, the Green Party leader said that he had found the attack “very traumatic, especially as a Jewish person”.

“And I also found the video that was circulating online traumatic, too,” he added. “I accept, though, that conversation about that video needs to be had with the [police] commissioner rather than on X.”

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips then asked: “You made a mistake presumably because you were traumatised, then?” Mr Polanski replied: “Well, you generally apologise when you make mistakes… it should be something I take directly to the commissioner and I accept that.”

But he also accused Sir Mark of airing his concerns in the wrong way. “Open letters aren’t an appropriate way to do politics either in a local election… and I’ll be having that conversation with the commissioner,” Mr Polanski said.

Later, during an interview on the BBC, Mr Polanski suggested he remains concerned about the officers’ actions. He told Laura Kuenssberg: “I was very concerned by what I saw, and I remain concerned.”

On the same programme, transport secretary Heidi Alexander called his actions “abhorrent”. Labour minister Steve Reed added: “Polanski’s apology clearly means nothing given he continues to denigrate the actions of our brave police officers.”

In a rare intervention last week, Sir Mark hit out at Mr Polanski for sharing the “inaccurate” post and later accused him of “undermining” the force.

Mr Polanski also faced a significant backlash within his own party.

The Green Party’s Welsh leader, Anthony Slaughter, told LBC that while he had not seen the tweet: “It does seem, from what I’ve read, [it] was inappropriate to retweet.”

The party’s deputy leader, Rachel Millward, who was also challenged about the post, told the BBC’s Question Time programme on Thursday that she was “extremely grateful” for the emergency service response.

“I’m sure it was beyond terrifying, and these people are brave, well-trained in what they do; I’m sure they did a brilliant job,” she said.

Sir Mark said in his letter to Mr Polanski that he was “disappointed” in the politician’s decision to share the post, warning that it could have a “chilling effect”.

He said officers were “nothing short of extraordinary”, adding: “Without their efforts to stop him, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.”

The site was thought to have been burned down less than a year after being created in 850BC

It’s hard to think what parts of Cambridgeshire would have looked like in days gone by. Even today, there are still remnants among the Cambridgeshire countryside from people who have lived here before us.

Artefacts from the Bronze Age have a strong presence in Cambridgeshire, especially near Peterborough. One place called Must Farm is an important place for the remains of the Bronze Age.

Dubbed as “Britain’s Pompeii”, there is a wealth of well-preserved artefacts at Must Farm. The farm sits on the bed of a now-defunct river in Flag Fen.

It was once occupied for less than a year, but it burnt down in 850BC. It’s unknown what the cause of the fire was, but it’s believed to have been caused by an attack or started by accident. It then quickly spread to the homes. Around 10 wooden houses on stilts, which could have been home to around 50 to 60 people, were found at Must Farm.

At the time, archaeologists said it provided a “time capsule” into what it was like to live during that time, and was similar to Pompeii in Rome. When excavations took place, they discovered almost 200 wooden artefacts, over 150 fibre and textile items, as well as 128 pottery tools and around 90 pieces of metalwork.

An excavation was carried out by Cambridge and Bristol universities in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, the universities revealed their findings. Researchers reported that they found human and dog faeces. They also discovered a number of parasites including fish tapeworms.

Following the discovery, a number of items were put on display in an exhibition at Peterborough Museum in April 2024.

At a time when artificial intelligence is becoming more dominant, the music streaming platform has decided to introduce a new feature in the form of a ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge.

Its aim is to help users distinguish real human artists (not songs), compared to those that are AI-generated.

Over the coming weeks, those who have Spotify accounts will begin to see the new badge appear on artist profiles and next to artist names in search.

It will be marked by ‘Verified by Spotify’ text and a light green checkmark icon.

Why is Spotify introducing new ‘Verified’ badges?

Spotify explained: “Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists.

“In the AI era, it’s more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to.

“At Spotify, our focus is providing you with more context about artists and their music, so you can build more meaningful connections with them.”

It adds: “Artist profiles are a key place to learn more about music and artists.

“The new ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge shows an artist profile has been reviewed and meets Spotify’s criteria for authenticity and trust.”

The artists who receive the badge will have “consistent listener activity and engagement” over time, “good standing” with Spotify’s platform policies and “signals of a real artist represented in the profile”.

Spotify shares: “We’ll pair these standards with human review and judgment to identify real artists behaving in good-faith, not just filtering out bad actors, giving you a more reliable signal of the authentic artistry behind the music.”

It claims to ensure more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search for will be verified, representing “hundreds of thousands of artists”.

Spotify will prioritise artists with “active fan interest”, or who have made “important contributions to music culture and history”, rather than “functional” music creators and “content farms” whose content is primarily designed for “passive or background listening”.

As Spotify is home to “millions” of uploaders and artist profiles, reviews and verification will happen “on an ongoing basis to ensure accuracy and consistency”.

It adds that not seeing the badge on an artist profile “doesn’t mean they won’t receive it in the future”.

As well as the launch of the ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge, users will be able to see additional details about artists’ activity (in beta).

The music streaming platform details: “We’re also introducing a new section (in beta) across all artist profiles – regardless of ‘Verified by Spotify’ status – that highlights key artist details like career milestones, release activity, and touring activity, helping you better understand and connect with the artist beyond the music. 

“Much like nutrition facts offer a quick, reliable snapshot on what’s inside packaged food, these details – based on Spotify’s platform data – give meaningful signals of an artist’s authentic activity on Spotify, even for those who haven’t yet met our ‘Verified by Spotify’ criteria.

“You’ll begin seeing this in the About section on mobile across artist profiles in the coming weeks, as well as by clicking ‘Verified by Spotify’ in the banner for verified artists.”

How much is Spotify UK per month?

At the time of writing, there are various UK Spotify subscriptions, ranging from £5.99 to £21.99.

• Premium Individual (£12.99 per month) – one Premium account, 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue, cancel anytime
• Premium Student (£5.99 per month) – one verified Premium account, discount for eligible students, cancel anytime
• Premium Duo (£17.99 per month) – two Premium accounts, 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue (plan manager only), cancel anytime
• Premium Family (£21.99 per month) – up to six Premium accounts, parental controls for the plan manager, 15 hours/month of listening time from the audiobooks subscriber catalogue (plan manager only), ability to create accounts for listeners under 13, cancel anytime

All Premium plans have ad-free music listening, lossless audio quality, can download to listen offline, play songs in any order, listen with friends in real time and organise listening queues.

What do you think of the new ‘Verified by Spotify’ badge? Let us know in the comments below.

Now, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has insisted holidays won’t face major disruption but said that some disruption is not completely out the question for Brits this summer.

The Cabinet Minister said more fuel has been imported from America while refineries have upped their production following jet fuel shortages caused by the Iran war.

A temporary rule change has been introduced by the government which will allow airlines to group passengers from different flights together on to fewer planes as part of plans to save fuel.

Why are jet fuel supplies at risk?

It comes amid warnings of a jet fuel shortage ahead of the peak holiday season if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen.

Supplies from the Middle East have been disrupted since the start of the war because of Iran’s effective closure of the critical international shipping route.

Is there a jet fuel shortage in the UK?

The government website’s latest update, posted on May 2, explains: “There are no immediate supply issues, but government is preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption.”

Asked if people jetting off abroad are likely to face problems this summer, Ms Alexander told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I’ve spent every week of the last two months in close contact with airlines and airports.

“On Thursday (April 30) of this week, airlines told me very clearly that they have good visibility over the next six to eight weeks of jet fuel supply.

“There is no current disruption to jet fuel supplies.

“We are, for example, importing more jet fuel from America.

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“We have asked the refineries in the UK to maximise their production.

“We’ve got four refineries here, refineries in West Africa are also producing more.”

She continued: “The last thing I want is for people to turn up at a departure gate and have last minute cancellations.

“I am confident, sat here today on the basis of the information that I have available to me, that the majority of people who are traveling this summer will have a similar experience to that which they had last year.”

New airline rule change could see families ‘herded on to a different plane’

The government’s airline rule change could see passengers moved from the service they originally booked to a similar one.

It aims to reduce the amount of wasted fuel from flying planes that have not sold out and might have been cancelled.

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It has been criticised by consumer group Which? as it said rules shouldn’t be “bent in favour of airlines”.

Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said families could find themselves “herded on to a different plane, at a time of the airline’s choosing”.

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“The honest message is that Britain is exposed to fuel supply risks that a properly energy-secure country would not face,” he added.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for private jets to be grounded to save fuel.

“While ordinary people pay the price, the super rich are simply getting in their private jets at will – wasting huge amounts of jet fuel on unnecessary trips,” he said.

Would you mind your flight being switched this summer? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrated his birthday alongside far-right members with a noose birthday cake.

The party in southern Israel was attended by right-wing activists, including Ben-Gvir’s personal aide, who was convicted of assaulting a Palestinian.

‘Activist’ Benzi Gopstein, who was convicted two years ago for incitement to terrorism, was seen smiling at the event.

But the most disturbing part of the event was when Ben-Gvir’s wife, Ayala, gave him a cake with a golden noose reading: ‘Sometimes dreams come true.’

The cake was a nod to the bill his party passed, which made the death penalty for Palestinian terrorism convicts law.

The legislation makes the death penalty a default punishment for Palestinians who are found guilty of ‘intentionally’ carrying out attacks, which are classed as terrorism by a military court.

The move has been condemned by the European Union as well as France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

After the bill was passed into law, Ben-Gvir celebrated it by popping a bottle of champagne.

It’s been classed as discrimination as it does not apply to Jewish citizens of Israel and does not comply with International Humanitarian Law.

‘The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU. This is a clear step backwards – the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law,’ EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists in Brussels.

As Palestinians living in the Israel-occupied territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, the measure effectively creates harsher and stricter sentences for the people living there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had attended the chamber to support the bill, could also be seen congratulating lawmakers on it passing.

In Ramallah, dozens of activists, political factions and civil society groups gathered to protest the law.

Some held placards depicting a blindfolded prisoner flanked by two hanging nooses – a stark image of what they fear lies ahead.

‘Stop the execution of prisoners law before it’s too late,’ read the placards, held alongside portraits of imprisoned Palestinians.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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He has captured hearts after his quick-thinking and kindness managed to calm an ‘irate’ passenger and stop a Jet2 flight being diverted

A quick-thinking eight-year-old boy managed to stop a Jet2 flight from being diverted, showing a maturity “far, far beyond his years”.

James and his son Phoenix Rose, eight, were heading back from their holiday in Turkey because of a “family emergency” – and they had no idea as they prepared to board what awaited them on their Jet2 flight home to Manchester.

A fellow passenger who was seated a few rows behind the father and son quickly began to be disruptive, and things “erupted” to the point that the flight attendants informed her that the pilot had made the call the flight would have to be diverted.

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“We’d seen that lady at the gate, drinking whiskey,” James claims to the Mirror. “We never thought anything of it. After half an hour in, the first drink service came round and all of a sudden it just erupted and she’d been drinking her own whiskey and obviously the staff had seen her so they, said to her ‘You can’t do that.”

James claims: “We thought that’d be the end of it. They confiscated a whiskey bottle off her. Told her that she can’t buy any alcohol anyway because she’s too intoxicated, to which she started throwing her hands about, swearing, effing and jeffing, really being irate.”

The flight attendants offered her one final chance to calm herself down and stop shouting and swearing, “obviously there’s a lot of kiddies on the plane as well,” James adds, “it just wasn’t right to do”. However, the disruptive passenger didn’t seem to care, James says, alleging the woman “Basically just said, ‘f**k off and go and f**k yourself.’ As loud as she could.”

The flight attendants, who James couldn’t praise enough for the way they handled the situation, informed the passengers that the plane would have to be diverted, but desperate to get home due to the emergency the family was dealing with, James “sprung up out of this seat” and begged the flight attendant passing by him to give him a chance to try and smooth things over, saying “Please, please we can’t afford the plane to be diverted, please just give me 30 seconds.”

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Initially a bit reluctant because the call had been made to diver the flight, the attendant agreed to try one more time, and James asked the woman sitting in between him and Phoenix to swap seats with the inebriated passenger. “As a parent I was a bit concerned about doing it anyway but you don’t really know the full situation until you get into it. So me and my lad, effectively, well I say me and my lad, it was all my lad effectively, he just took all the control. Phoenix, he got his cards out, he started singing to her this Dance Monkey song.”

For the rest of the flight, the eight-year-old reportedly impressively managed to keep the angry passenger calm. “Phoenix for three and a half hours was singing to her, was talking to her about his football, talking to about his Youtube channel, asking her questions about her kids, saying, ‘listen you don’t want to get arrested when you get there, tell me about your kids.’ It was just phenomenal to see him.”

However, when a the story hit the headlines about the initially mystery passengers saving the day, James realised what a big impact the kindness his son had shown to the woman had. “It does look like the whole country – because it’s gone everywhere – has fell in love with him.” The story has even crossed the Atlantic, with American news outlets getting in touch hoping to interview the family.

The story was made public, James said, through another passenger on the plane who was trying to get home to a family emergency, just like they were. Jet2 have offered the entire family free flights to a destination of their choosing and are sending the young Manchester United fan a goodie bag as a thank you.

“He’s just a naturally nice kid who is polite, who helps anyone, anyone he can. I mean, we’ve literally just come to, we’re up at Burnley because he’s playing against Burnley Academy. And we’ve just been to local Tescos up here to get him a drink. And there’s a homeless person outside Tescos and Phoenix has said, ‘Dad, can you, can give him some money?’ And I said, ‘I’ve only got notes, mate.’ He said, ‘Well, give him a fiver then, Dad.’ So, well, that’s Phoenix in a nutshell. He’d do anything for anyone.”

The proud dad said his son, who plays in the position of goalkeeper, has learned skills in the sport that helped him calm the disruptive woman down, “You have to be mentally switched on and concentrated and good at presentation and good at commanding yourself,” he explains, during the half-time break of his son’s game. Phoenix is “so proud of what’s happened” and the positive reaction, but he had a “magical” reaction to getting so much attention, saying: “Well Dad, that’s just us as a family, we’d do it again, wouldn’t we dad?”

A spokesperson from Jet2 said: “The vast majority of customers have a brilliant experience when they fly with us, however our highly-trained crew are always there to look after everyone, as well as provide our friendly in-flight service. We have heard about how James and Phoenix reassured a fellow customer and we would like to congratulate and thank them for their kindness and care.

“We are arranging for a goodie pack to be sent to them, alongside a voucher for a pair of free flights, in recognition of what they did.”

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