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Transformers star Peter Cullen dead at 85: Actor voiced Optimus Prime and also played Winnie the Pooh’s Eeyore

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Acclaimed voice actor Peter Cullen, best known as Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise, has died at the age of 85; pictured 2023

Acclaimed voice actor Peter Cullen, best known as Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise, has died at the age of 85.

Cullen played the alien robot on the classic 1980s animated series as well as the string of hit live-action movies directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf.

Fans of retro children’s television may also recognize him as the voice of Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which ran from 1988 to 1991.

His representative confirmed to the Daily Mail that Cullen died at his home in Los Angeles this Wednesday but did not specify a cause.

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‘Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family – and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,’ his family said.

‘His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember “be strong enough to be gentle,”‘ their statement continued.

Acclaimed voice actor Peter Cullen, best known as Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise, has died at the age of 85; pictured 2023

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Cullen played the alien robot on the classic 1980s animated series as well as the string of hit live-action movies; the character is pictured in the 2014 film Transformers: Age of Extinction

Cullen played the alien robot on the classic 1980s animated series as well as the string of hit live-action movies; the character is pictured in the 2014 film Transformers: Age of Extinction

Peter Claver Cullen was born in Montreal in 1941 and grew up with three siblings – one of whom, his brother Larry, became the basis for Optimus Prime’s voice.

Although he initially nurtured dreams of being a serious actor, studying Shakespeare as part of the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada, he ‘soon came to the conclusion that I really wasn’t cut out to be the artsy guy,’ he said.

‘I had too much fun. I had followed the experience of grade school and high school by being the clown,’ he shared in an interview with The Young Folks

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Cullen jobbed around in Montreal on local film and TV and began working nightclub revues, where he honed his talent for assuming a variety of accents and characters.

With his young wife and child in tow, he struck out to Hollywood for a TV show in the style of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In that flopped, leaving him scrambling to pick up the pieces and eventually landing an announcing gig on The Sonny & Cher Show.

It was his friend Jonathan Winters, the iconic comedian and star of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, who advised him: ‘You know, Peter, what you ought to is, you ought to do your voices. Those voices, you could make a lot of bread.’ 

After working a string of ‘additional voices’ jobs on such shows as Scooby-Doo & Scrappy-Doo and Alvin and the Chipmunks, he achieved his big break in 1984.

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That year, he aced his ‘cattle call’ audition for the role of Optimus Prime, the chief of the heroic machines known as Autobots, on the show The Transformers.

After working a string of 'additional voices' jobs on such shows as Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and Alvin and the Chipmunks, he achieved his big break in 1984 on The Transformers

After working a string of ‘additional voices’ jobs on such shows as Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and Alvin and the Chipmunks, he achieved his big break in 1984 on The Transformers

Cullen's inimitable contribution was a mainstay, including in the 1986 animated feature The Transformers: The Movie, the swan song of Orson Welles

Cullen’s inimitable contribution was a mainstay, including in the 1986 animated feature The Transformers: The Movie, the swan song of Orson Welles

The first five live-action Transformers films were all helmed by Michael Bay and two of them, Dark of the Moon in 2011 (pictured) and Age of Extinction in 2014, earned over $1 billion apiece

The first five live-action Transformers films were all helmed by Michael Bay and two of them, Dark of the Moon in 2011 (pictured) and Age of Extinction in 2014, earned over $1 billion apiece

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With an all-star cast featuring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, the original 2007 picture emerged as one of the highest-grossing of the year and resulted in a cavalcade of sequels

With an all-star cast featuring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, the original 2007 picture emerged as one of the highest-grossing of the year and resulted in a cavalcade of sequels

‘On the advice of my brother Larry – who is a Marine Corps captain and fought in Vietnam and when he came back he had a very different outlook on life – one day when he asked where I was going I said: “I’m going to audition for a truck,” and he laughed,’ Cullen recalled decades later.

‘And I said: “No, he’s a hero truck,” and then he got very serious and he said: “Well Peter, if you’re going to be a hero, be a real hero. Don’t be one of those phony Hollywood sounding types that think they’re tough and they’re not.”‘

Larry’s guidance to his younger brother was: ‘Be compassionate, be strong enough to be gentle, and have a little dignity. But be strong.’

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When Cullen arrived at the audition, his brother’s voice was still ringing in his ears, and it was Larry’s intonation that emerged when he began playing Optimus Prime.

The show became a beloved children’s classic during its run from 1984 through 1987, producing what over the decades grew into a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

Cullen’s inimitable contribution was a mainstay, including in the 1986 animated feature The Transformers: The Movie, the swan song of Orson Welles. 

In 1988 he earned a job on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as the unshakably morose donkey Eeyore, a part he continued to play in projects like The Tigger Movie, A Very Merry Pooh Year, Piglet’s Big Movie, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, The Book of Pooh and House of Mouse.

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He joked that stepping into the gentle world created by AA Milne was a ‘relief’ after his previous action-packed shows and films, speaking onstage at TF Con.

Fans of retro children's television may also recognize him as the voice of Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which ran from 1988 to 1991

Fans of retro children’s television may also recognize him as the voice of Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which ran from 1988 to 1991

In 2007, his voice reached a massive global audience with the release of the first of the live-action Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay.

With an all-star cast featuring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and Anthony Anderson, the picture emerged as one of the highest-grossing of the year and resulted in a cavalcade of sequels.

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The first five films were all helmed by Bay and two of them, Dark of the Moon in 2011 and Age of Extinction in 2014, earned over $1 billion apiece.

Cullen remained with the franchise after Bay left, voicing Optimus Prime most recently in the 2023 release Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

For the following year’s picture Transformers One, which was conceived as an origin story, he was replaced by the younger-sounding Chris Hemsworth. 

When asked about his own Transformers films crossing the billion-dollar mark, Cullen said: ‘It’s a staggering thought, and it’s humbling at the same time,’ via IGN.

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‘There is such great talent behind the scenes as well as from the artistry to the conception to the writing to the directing to the acting,’ he observed. 

‘For me, I take great pride in being a part of it. It will never cease to be an area of conversation in my life, and thankfully so, because it is such a positive feeling to be able to talk about it. It’s one of the highlights of my life.’

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Matteo Guendouzi continues to shine light on Mikel Arteta’s shrewdest Arsenal transfer

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Daily Mirror

Matteo Guendouzi’s antics in Lyon shone a colourful light on the abrupt end to what had been shaping up to be an Arsenal career that had decent potential

Of all the contributory factors in Arsenal’s title-winning season of 2025-26, discipline was the one that tended not to get mentioned too much.

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Over the course of their triumphant Premier League campaign, none of Mikel Arteta’s players received a red card. Only Manchester City and Brighton could boast the same record. And Arsenal’s collection of 51 yellow cards was the lowest tally in the Premier League by some distance.

They might not be unfamiliar with dark arts but this is currently an Arsenal team that keeps its composure. Which is why Arteta would be allowed a wry smile if he saw the chaos caused by Matteo Guendouzi in Lyon on Wednesday night after he helped Fenerbahce to a 2-1 win that means they are in this season’s Champions League.

Guendouzi made a reasonably compelling case for his defence. “For 90 minutes, even longer with the warm-up, they insulted my family,” he said, referring to the Lyon crowd. “It’s something that gets to you. They insulted my mother and my family, and to me, that was disrespectful. Beyond that, if we can’t celebrate the way we want anymore, I think that is a shame.”

Fair enough. But look at the footage of Guendouzi’s celebrations and it is clear he is goading the Lyon players and supporters. He has to take his share of the blame for the violent scenes which have gone viral on social media.

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And that will not be a surprise to Arteta. After almost eight years in charge, the significance of one decision in 2020 has, understandably, been forgotten. But Guendouzi’s antics in Lyon shone a colourful light on the abrupt end to what had been shaping up to be an Arsenal career that had decent potential.

And it marked Arteta down as a manager who wants no nonsense from his players and is not prepared to indulge nonsense, no matter how talented the player is. Guendouzi certainly caught the eye when he was recruited as a 19-year-old from Lorient by Unai Emery in 2018.

While Emery indulged the teenager, Arteta was quickly unimpressed when he succeeded his fellow Spaniard. During a mid-season training camp in Dubai, Guendouzi was involved in a bust-up with members of the Gunners staff after having an altercation with a team-mate.

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Arteta was deeply unimpressed but Guendouzi managed to convince the new manager he deserved a chance. But his time under Arteta came to an unhappy end after Guendouzi was involved in a fracas after a defeat at Brighton.

Guendouzi actually escaped any official sanction after grabbing Neal Maupay – no stranger to controversy himself – but Arteta had seen enough. He called Guendouzi into a meeting and was said to be unimpressed by the French youngster’s attitude. There was little doubt about his talent but Arteta was clearly not taken by his character.

He spent the next season at Hertha Berlin and another loan arrangement at Marseille was made permanent. Guendouzi then had a couple of seasons at Lazio before Fenerbahce paid £25million for him early this year.

It is clear Guendouzi is a talented operator but his involvement in another bust-up – and a quite spectacular one at that – is a reminder that Arteta did exactly the right thing all that time ago.

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York council collects rubbish from The Groves after outcry

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York council collects rubbish from The Groves after outcry

Recycling and general waste was collected from streets in The Groves after gas works cut off access for bin collection crews, City of York Council has confirmed.

Council environmental services lead Ian Hoult apologised to residents affected by the delays and pledged to collect the rubbish as soon as possible.

It comes after Stephanie Holdsworth, who lives in Diamond Street, accused the council of ignoring a growing health hazard after first missing a recycling collection on Tuesday, August 11.


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General waste went uncollected the following week on Tuesday, August 18.

Mrs Holdsworth said Diamond Street, Emerald Street and Earle Street were among those affected and the council had not attempted to collect the rubbish despite several calls from residents.

Speaking ahead of waste the council’s confirmation on Thursday, August 27 that waste had been collected, the resident said: “The council have not collected anything or even attempted it and now the big bags and bins are starting to smell as bags are scratched open by animals and they’re getting infested with flies, even though the residents have all tried their very best to keep things safe and tidy.

“The council simply doesn’t care and are quite happy to ignore a health hazard in our streets as it’s not a very prestigious area of York.

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Uncollected bins and rubbish in The Groves, York (Image: Stephanie Holdsworth)

“We all suspect that the council is simply leaving the collection until the next scheduled date, effectively leaving us with only one bins and recycling collection a month and the residents just have to lump it.”

Another Groves resident, who asked not to be named, said people who get assisted collections and only use bin bags were particularly affected by bad smells.

They said: “They are being ripped apart by vermin and are littering the streets.

“The council do not seem to care even when it is reported to them.”

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Mr Hoult said the gas works had made it difficult for crews to access the streets.

He said: “We apologise for any inconvenience that residents in the area have experienced.

“Our crews will be attending these properties as soon as possible to carry out the delayed collections.”

Separately, the council has said waste collections across York will be unaffected by the bank holiday on Monday, August 31.

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People have been told to be aware that the council’s Hazel Court and Towthorpe tips are likely to be busier than usual over the weekend.

The council has said people should remember to pre-book a slot to visit Hazel Court if they are planning on disposing of waste there.

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Smile Makers Discount: Best Deals On Top-Rated Vibrators And Wellness Toys

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Smile Makers Discount: Best Deals On Top-Rated Vibrators And Wellness Toys

If there’s one thing we know about here at HuffPost, it’s vibrators. From suction, to rabbit, wand, and even male vibrators, we’ve tried them all. What an awful job, eh?

Naturally, that means we keep a firm eye on brands we think are creating some of the best wank widgets out there.

Smile Makers Collection is one of our favourite brands on the market right now.

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Founded in 2012 to make pleasure products as normal a part of everyday life as, say, a toothbrush, the brand has a ton of brightly coloured vibrators all named after sexual fantasies.

But most importantly, of course, they’re really darn good. Whether you want to achieve an orgasm or not (the brand emphasises pleasure over an end result, which we love) it has 11 vibrators to choose from in a range of shapes and sizes.

There’s something for everyone, from total beginners, to aficionados in the backdoor department.

But if we know anything at all, it’s that the only thing better than one great vibrator is two great vibrators. So when we heard that Smile Makers Collection was launching a sale on vibrator bundles, we knew we had to scream and shout about it.

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From now until 1 September, the brand has up to 50% off some of its most covetable products, from a sex toy for every day of the week, to a menopause wellness kit, and a duo of two of our favourite of its vibrators.

Best vibrators from Smile Makers to shop now

You don’t need someone else to give you the best head of your life – all you need is this suction vibrator.

Shaped like a pretty flower, it’s loaded with five pulsation modes and can be squeezed on the side to customise your own pattern.

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It comes with three different sized heads, so you can find the perfect fit, as well as a satin storage pouch, to make sure it stays safe for longer.

Should you be really serious about oral (why shouldn’t you be?) this set comes with two different oral sex toys: the suction Poet, and the French Lover, which has a protruding tongue on the end to mimic the licking of your lover’s tongue.

Naturally, you’ll need lube, so it also comes with the brand’s Generous Gel, a water-based formula that can step in for saliva. Sweet.

I mean, what more could you want than three different vibrators for 33% off? If you’re just starting out on your self love journey, or want to replace your collection entirely, this trio has everything you could ever need to fulfil all your worldly desires.

The Ballerina, on the left, is a hands-free clit vibrator that covers your entire vulva to send vibrations deep into your body. But if you’re after something more, the Artist (the rabbit in the middle) offers blended orgasms thanks to its dual clit and G-spot stimulation, delivered via two bendy and silky soft silicone wands.

But if it’s penetration you’re after, the Romantic is a textured G-spot vibrator with a curved end to make sure you’re really hitting that sweet spot, and it’s great to use during oral sex, or paired with another clit vibrator.

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If you’re completely new to pleasure products, going with a basic shape that you can play around with is always a good idea.

The Billionaire from Smile Makers is one of our favourite sex toys for beginners, as it can be used either for internal or external play.

The vibrator is loaded with six vibration modes – just enough to figure out if you prefer intense or gentle stimulation – and the lube is there to get everything nice and wet before you begin. Trust me, lube makes everything better.

Not sure if you like penetration or clit stimulation more? You shouldn’t have you choose, especially not when there’s 25% off a bundle that gives you both.

The firefighter (the flame shaped toy, you’ll no doubt be unsurprised to hear) is intended for external play, and can either be used on the pointy end for precise stimulation or laid against your entire vulva for broader vibes.

Then there’s the Tennis Player, which has a bulbous head that feels lovely against your G-spot, or it could be fun for clit stimulation if you fancy!

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When you’ve just pushed a literal baby out of your body, you won’t be thinking about sex with your partner for a while. But that doesn’t mean you can’t explore your pleasure in other ways.

With your changing body and new role in the world, it’s also important to make some time just for you. This kit has all the ingredients to help you do that – a pelvic floor trainer, to help you regain control of your bladder, along with silky swipes to help you feeling fresh down there when you’re out and about.

If you do feel like exploring some feel-good time, this kit also comes with a gentle lipstick vibrator that has been designed specifically for new mums. It’s extremely gentle and fluttery, so as to not overwhelm your clit, and it’s also whisper-quiet, so it won’t disturb your little one.

The kit also comes with a massage oil, which could make for a fun, expectation-free date night to built back up to full-on intimacy, and a lube and vibrator wash, to keep anything that goes near your vulva clean and slick.

If you’re going on a hen do, or away for a big birthday, there’s no better party favour than one that will give your gals the time of their lives.

This set comes full of six of everything, including a small silicone-coated bullet vibrator, a bottle of lube, and a box of vulva wipes.

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If you’re sharing rooms you might want to give this to them at the end of the trip, because trust us, they’ll want to use these right away.

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Violent killer escaped prison and went on the run in strop over sharing jail cell

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Daily Record

Former soldier Christopher Bouhadi, who was serving a life sentence for murder, escaped from HMP Castle Huntly in June.

A murderer climbed over a prison fence and went on the run because he did not want to share his cell with another inmate.

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Former soldier Christopher Bouhadi then fled on foot across farmland before traveling more than 20 miles to get away from Castle Huntly jail.

When he was captured after a few hours, Bouhadi told police he had already served the full length of his 16 year minimum sentence imposed in 2009.

Bouhadi – who was jailed for the murder of his “only friend” Barry Fleming and given a life sentence – appeared via video link at Perth Sheriff Court on Thursday, August 27.

He admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice by absconding from Castle Huntly, on the outskirts of Dundee, on June 17, and remaining unlawfully at large.

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Fiscal depute Laurelle Johnstone told the court: “He was serving a High Court sentence for murder imposed on June 1, 2009 and with a minimum 16 years.

“He was transferred to Castle Huntly from HMP Addiewell on February 10, 2026. At 5.30pm on June 17 he was seen in his room by staff at the prison.

“When they were conducting a final check for the evening at 8pm he was not within his room. A full search of the premises was carried out to no avail.

“Staff carried out a CCTV check and established that at 7.22pm the accused walked towards the south boundary of the prison estate, jumped over the fence, and crossed into farmland.

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“He was seen heading in the direction of the public road before being lost to sight. At 9.17pm, his absence was reported to police. He was traced at 11.07pm in Glasgow Road, Perth.”

When Bouhadi, 41, was being charged by police, he said: “What do you mean with attempt to defeat the ends of justice? I f****** done my f****** 16 year tariff man. I shouldn’t still f****** be there.”

He told police he had been asking for help within the prison and had decided to leave when he felt he was not receiving any.

His solicitor told the court Bouhadi had “done well” to be moved to the open prison, but had become “visibly distressed at the prospect of sharing a cell due to past trauma.” He said his client had not asked to be considered for parole at the end of his 16-year term in 2025.

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Sheriff William Wood jailed him for 12 months and said: “It wasn’t a planned escape and has all the hallmarks of being an opportunistic decision. The court needs to mark its displeasure – you were in the prison for a good reason.”

Ex-Black Watch soldier Bouhadi was high on drink when he stabbed Mr Fleming, 28, in the neck and left him dying in a pool of blood. He then boasted about his act to locals.

The High Court in Livingston heard Barry had taken pity on Bouhadi, who had been “living rough in doorways”, and allowed him to stay in his flat.

Bouhadi, from Broxburn, had been kicked out of the army for failing a drug test before savagely attacking Mr Fleming outside the Clifton Arms pub in the West Lothian town in May 2008.

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France relaxes strict cheese-making rules after prolonged drought

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Beaufort cheese wheels stored in a cellar in eastern France. Archive photo

The National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO), which regulates France’s labels of origin, has also approved temporary changes to the rules for other protected produce because of the effects of the summer heat.

Products that will benefit include some types of Calvados and cider from Normandy, Crémant d’Alsace fizzy wine, lamb from Poitou-Charentes, and Reine-Claude plums.

Certificates of origin allow farmers to sell at a premium, but they come with strict regulations governing the location and method of production.

The aim is to preserve the unique identity of cheeses, wines and other foodstuffs, supposedly linked to their particular terroir – a French concept that links locality and tradition.

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Because of a 2026 drought – which the INAO now describes as “historic” – farmers are being allowed to bend the rules for a short period.

Makers of Abondance cheese in the Alps, for example, will be authorised to reduce the amount of pastured grass in their animals’ diet from 50% to 15%. They will be entitled to import forage from outside their zone, and use some supplements.

Makers of Comté cheese in the Jura mountains will be able to replace the local green maize they usually give to their cattle with maize from elsewhere.

The derogations are allowed in French and European law for periods of exceptional weather. Similar measures came in after the dry summer of 2022.

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It will be interesting to see if the changes lead to any detectable change in the taste or quality of the cheeses – or to the quantity produced and how it is priced.

Longer term, the measures raise questions over the viability of the existing labels of origin in France and elsewhere.

If changing climate means that certain foodstuffs can no longer be produced in their traditional localities, then the idea of terroir will be stretched to its limits.

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What happens next in EastEnders as Craig is caught out? Monday spoilers confirmed | Soaps

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What happens next in EastEnders as Craig is caught out? Monday spoilers confirmed | Soaps
It’s been quite a week on the Square – and more drama awaits (Picture: BBC / Metro)

It’s that time of week again when EastEnders fans must wait until the following Monday for a new visit to the Square and viewers are no doubt eager to find out what’s next given the big developments this week.

Friday’s visit to the Square saw Craig Ingram (Matthew James Bailey) tell Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) about Amy Mitchell’s (Ellie Dadd) role in Joel Marshall’s (Max Murray) attack.

Jack had caught Amy texting Craig and, horrified, the Branning patriarch wasted little time meeting with his colleague, ready to give him a piece of his mind for speaking to his daughter.

But Craig’s revelation about Amy’s role in Joel’s attack left Jack reeling. He wasn’t sure what to make of Craig but ultimately showed gratitude towards his colleague, offering to give him a character reference amid his disciplinary.

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And we can’t not talk about that Doof Doof cliffhanger – next week cannot come quick enough!

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Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy) was floored to discover that, despite hoping otherwise, the father of her unborn baby is none other than Max Branning (Jake Wood), who she’d been sleeping with since June.

Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), who reconnected with Priya earlier this month, has no idea that his fiancé is pregnant and he’ll no doubt be devastated when he discovers that the baby is not his.

And Denise Fox (Diane Parish) was overwhelmed when new brother Darnell Larson Jr (Christopher Colquhoun) agreed to get tested for a stem cell transplant.

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It’s been quite a week in Albert Square and, if you’re eager to know what next week has to offer, here’s everything we can currently offer you about what Monday’s (August 31) edition of the BBC One soap has in store.

What happens next in EastEnders? New spoilers for Monday, August 31

Much of the next episode revolves around the Hawkins clan, who make an unexpectedly swift return following their brief visit to the Square earlier this month.

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Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) is at a loss for words when sisters Gemma (Patricia Potter) and Jodie (Anna Constable) rock up – and this time they’ve got Nicola’s son Ryder (Felix Uff) in tow.

Nicola Mitchell and George Knight walking through Albert Square in EastEnders
Nicola’s world is turned on its axis (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes / Kieron McCarron)

The siblings urge Nicola to let them stay and, despite her initial reluctance, Nicola agrees – but only if mum Rose (Marian McLoughlin) stays away.

It seems like Nicola gets what she wants – that is until Gemma’s hubby Ned (Jamie Bamber) subsequently arrives with Rose!

Hawkins’ Assemble? Not quite, as Nicola refuses to let them stay under her roof, with Gemma and Ned tasked with finding alternative arrangements.

The Hawkins family standing in Number 1 Albert Square in EastEnders
The Hawkins make their mark on Albert Square (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes / Kieron McCarron)

Harry (Elijah Holloway) offers Ryder and Jodie somewhere to stay, urging his mum to make peace with Rose. Ned, meanwhile, heads over to speak to Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) but he is taken aback to see old mate Alfie (Shane Richie).

It proves to be quite a day for Nicola and just as she thinks she’s got her head around everything, she arrives at the Vic to find her extended family all gathered – with Alfie having offered Gemma and Ned a place to stay.

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Oh boy.

Elsewhere in the Square, Priya is pressured by Ravi to tell the kids about their engagement but, still reeling from her pregnancy secret, she is struggling to keep a grip on everything.

Priya speaks to Penny in EastEnders
Priya is overwhelmed (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes / Kieron McCarron)

Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) bribes Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) to help with her wedding when she sees them planning Kim’s (Tameka Empson), with Priya getting roped in too.

Priya, however, is overcome with nausea soon afterwards and steps outside, where Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) spots her. Priya reveals her pregnancy but urges Penny to keep shtum.

Talk about kicking things off in a big way!

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Amy speaks to Craig in EastEnders
Will the truth come out about Craig and Amy? (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes / Kieron McCarron)

The question is: Will there be any further developments for Amy and Craig?

The storyline was left on Friday with the pair deciding to keep the fact they’ve been in contact a secret, as they shared another kiss – but will Jack find out the truth?

EastEnders airs these scenes Monday August 31 at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

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Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario into ‘Lake America’ as his fight with Canada spirals

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Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario into ‘Lake America’ as his fight with Canada spirals

President Donald Trump has signed an order purporting to rename one of the five Great Lakes along the U.S.-Canada border in a fit of pique over his ongoing trade war with Ottawa that appears to have no end in sight.

Trump on Thursday signed an order directing federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in all official documents and records, echoing a smilier move from early in his second term when he attempted to unilaterally rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”

While the president does have the authority to direct how the government recognizes the names of places and landmarks, he cannot force Canada or individual citizens on either side of the border to follow his preferred naming conventions.

The move, intended as a sop to a flagging political base that has grown increasingly disenchanted with his presidency and his administration’s failure to address the cost of living concerns that drove them to vote for him nearly two years ago, comes as Trump continues to antagonize traditional American allies for no apparent reason other than his own deeply-ingrained belief that the country has somehow been disrespected by allies who act as sovereign states rather than vassals.

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Speaking in the Oval Office as he signed the order, Trump suggested that the decision was in part motivated by displeasure over what he described as Ottawa’s failure to pay the United States mob-style “protection” money for the privilege of existing under the American military umbrella.

“You know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada, and they understand that. As an example, we bought icebreakers. They’d like to use them. We have 11 brand new icebreakers coming in, they’d like to use the icebreakers. They don’t pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they’re not a state,” he said.

He added that the “whole Canadian thing” has been “going on for decades” and “has to stop” while offering up the example of automobile manufacturing as something that he believes should be entirely re-shored to the U.S.

Asked why he was antagonizing one of America’s traditional allies even as he continues to cozy up to dictators in China and North Korea, Trump lashed out at leaders in Ottawa for pushing back against his trade war with retaliatory tariffs that they levied in response to the ones he ordered after trade talks broke down last week.

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“The Canadian officials have treated us very badly — they’re nasty people,” he said.

Trump then suggested that Canada was “the worst to deal with on trade” despite the country’s long relationship with the U.S. and the trade agreement his administration negotiated during his first term.

He complained that Canadians “feel entitled” and added that “we can’t have that.”

Trump had teased the troll-ish renaming order in a video posted to TikTok earlier this week.

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In the video, he displayed a map of the Great Lakes and suggested he would do exactly what he did on Thursday.

“We’re gonna make a little change; we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario,” the 80-year-old president said. “We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence.”

Trump, a former real estate mogul with a penchant for branding, then used a Sharpie to cross out the lake’s name and write “LAKE AMERICA” above it.

His geographic broadside at America’s northern neighbor is the latest episode in a series of events that have brought the close relationship between the two countries to a nadir.

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According to The Globe and Mail, Canadian defense forces have begun modeling a response to a hypothetical U.S. invasion for the first time in more than a century.

Since taking office last January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to acquire Canada, which he described on multiple occasions as “the 51st state.” And in recent weeks, he’s reportedly turned his attentionback to Canada, fixating on the country’s “vulnerability” to foreign adversaries in its Arctic reaches.

At the same time, the 79-year-old president has made clear his desire to take control of Greenland, a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, another NATO ally. The White House, which says it needs Greenland for purposes of national security, sees several options to achieve this goal, including the use of military force.

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Andy Burnham wants to ‘move things forward’ in solving Stormont budget crisis

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Andy Burnham wants to ‘move things forward’ in solving Stormont budget crisis

“We want to have an honest exchange, I think there are things we would say, if we can work together, have a look at where possible savings could be made or where things could be done differently, that’s right and proper that I ask for those assurances given that we have got to make sure it is fair across the whole of the UK when it comes to a budget.”

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Documents refute RFK Jr.‘s Senate testimony that his Samoa visit had ‘nothing to do with vaccines’

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Documents refute RFK Jr.‘s Senate testimony that his Samoa visit had ‘nothing to do with vaccines’

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Nepal’s devastating floods reveal the danger of ‘cascading hazards’ in Himalayas

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Nepal’s devastating floods reveal the danger of ‘cascading hazards’ in Himalayas

The devastating floods that have swept through the Nepal–Tibet border region are first and foremost a human tragedy. Hundreds of people have died or remain missing.

But as scientists begin to reconstruct what happened, the event also exposes something fundamental about the way we understand natural hazards in high mountain regions. Mountains and rivers do not reset after an extreme event. A landslide changes a slope. A flood rearranges a river. A retreating glacier exposes sediment and unstable ground. Each disturbance changes the conditions in which the next one occurs. In the Himalayas, those connections can turn individual hazards into destructive hazard cascades.

Early satellite and seismic evidence indicates that this disaster began high in the mountains with the collapse of part of a slope and steep glacier in Tibet. A huge mass of ice and rock travelled rapidly into the valley below, mobilising water, sediment and debris that then spread through the river system and into Nepal. The precise mechanics of the event will take time to establish. But describing it simply as a flood captures only the final stage of a much longer process.

I am involved in a UK-Indian academic project that starts from a simple proposition: hazard risk in the Himalayas is not static.

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Climate change is changing how hazards interact

For instance, retreating glaciers can leave behind unstable slopes and large stores of loose sediment. Some have been described as “sediment bombs” because huge quantities of material can remain in a valley until released by another landslide, severe rainfall or a flood. The first hazard therefore changes the landscape in which the next one happens.

A bulldozer rescues people in Nuwakot, Nepal.
Zuma / Alamy

It would be wrong to conclude from a glacier collapse alone that climate change caused this particular disaster. Individual events require careful attribution, and steep Himalayan landscapes have always experienced landslides, avalanches and floods. But climate warming is changing the background conditions in which these processes operate: glaciers are retreating, the slopes they inadvertently support are being destabilised, new lakes are forming and large volumes of loose sediment are being exposed. Warmer air can also hold more moisture, increasing the potential for intense precipitation.

More importantly, these changes are making hazards even more connected. Changes in glaciers can influence slope stability. Slope failures can obliterate glaciers in seconds and alter entire river drainage patterns. Altered rivers can mobilise sediment. Sediment can amplify subsequent flooding.

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Additionally, mountain landscapes retain a physical record of what has happened before. A landslide can load a river system with debris that takes years or decades to move downstream, altering channels and changing how later floods behave.

Heavy rain falling on a relatively stable catchment with a clear river channel is one thing. The same rainfall after a major landslide has deposited millions of tonnes of sediment and narrowed that channel is another. The hazard and trigger event may be similar. The landscape it encounters is not.

Satellite images

Satellite images of the glacier before (above) and after its collapse on August 26.
ESO Sentinel, CC BY-SA

In the latest Nepal disaster, sediment will have been redistributed through the catchment. Channels will have changed, and some slopes may have been destabilised. Embankments that once guided water and sediment have been damaged or destroyed entirely.

Communities can carry these effects forward too. The same river corridor experienced serious flooding in 2025, when lives were lost, a Nepal–China friendship bridge was destroyed and transport and trade were disrupted. Some communities affected this week were still living with the consequences of a previous disaster.

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Disaster planning needs to factor in a changed landscape

Early warning has to keep up and this disaster is a further wake up call to address fundamental challenges around disaster-risk management. Early-warning systems are often built around known hazards and known thresholds: a particular river level, rainfall intensity or unstable slope. But major events can change the geography of the risk itself. After a landslide or debris flow, a previously minor tributary may contain huge quantities of mobile sediment, while a river that previously carried monsoon floods safely may have become shallower or narrower. Evacuation routes can disappear.

A hazard map produced before such an event may therefore provide an increasingly poor representation of what happens afterwards. One of the aims of our project is to develop ways to track those changes and feed them into risk assessments and new smart early-warning systems.

Cascades thinking means asking how one disaster changes the conditions for the next. The floods in Nepal will leave behind altered river channels, unstable slopes and damaged infrastructure. The next heavy rainfall – or collapsing glacier – will encounter that changed landscape.

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