The Big Conversation on Care is the latest attempt to fix England’s broken social care system. Getting a handle on this issue has been attempted no fewer than 22 times since the 1990s – but Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed that this time they’ll find the right answers. But what might these be – and will the tough choices on how to pay for it lose Labour votes?

More pay, more prestige for care workers

Anna Barford, Research Professor, Language Technology Lab

Care is a broad concept covering things like cooking, cleaning, childcare, teaching and healthcare. These labour-intensive activities are essential to enable individuals, communities and societies to survive in the face of challenges such as poverty, economic shocks and climate change. As such, spending on care should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

Care needs are met by a diverse set of people, including the family or household, volunteers, not-for-profit organisations, businesses, and the state. Some of this work is paid (often underpaid), while some is unpaid. And it falls disproportionally on women.

England’s social care budget does not cover this full range of activities. For adult social care, the budget includes spending on community-based support as well as care homes. Investing in adult social care translates into better jobs, better-supported families, and care needs that are met more fully. Burnham’s speech pointed to this, with his plans to increase pay and prestige in the social care workforce.

Spending should be understood within the wider ecosystem of care. However, decision-makers often overlook how unpaid care work, paid care work and other paid work relate to one another. As paid and unpaid care is largely done by women, well-paid care work could improve gender pay gaps. And providing paid-for support for care activities can free up women’s time to do paid work. For example, providing childminders and carers for elderly relatives can help to balance the competing demands on women’s time.

Fixing social care is a huge – and expensive – job

Conor O’Kane, Senior Lecturer in Economics

The prime minister has outlined what he would like social care reform to look like. Broadly speaking, he wants to see better pay and career paths for those who work in the sector. He would also like to protect people from having to sell their property or other assets to pay for care, which can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. But while almost all political parties in England agree that social care needs to be reformed, there is little consensus on how this should be paid for. Burnham provided no further detail.

I suspect that the UK nations will eventually adopt a scheme similar to the one the Republic of Ireland introduced in 2009. The “Fair Deal” addresses some of the key concerns that the PM has raised. The scheme takes into account a person’s income, savings and assets when deciding how much the state contributes towards residential care costs. Crucially, the assets element, which for many will be their home, only counts for the first three years that they are in residential care. This prevents assets being completely consumed by care costs. But this type of scheme does not come cheap.

Ireland’s Fair Deal costs the state the equivalent of around £1 billion a year. Given the difference in populations, a similar scheme for the UK could cost around £13 billion a year. That still does not cover the cost of the pay increases that Burnham wants to see for that sector. To raise this kind of money, he would need to increase the 20% income tax rate by about 2%, for example.

There is also some talk of an estate tax to raise the funds. Given that the PM is committed to both the current fiscal rules on borrowing and not raising taxes, I would expect Labour to go into the next general election with an outline of how a reformed social care system would operate and be paid for. But only time will tell whether voters will give them the mandate to finance this major reform to adult social care.

Public are confused – but clear that the state should pay

Anthony Kevins, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Studies

Any discussion of attitudes on social care in England must begin with two
observations: people are not happy with the status quo, but they also don’t really understand how the current system works or how it is funded. This is a tricky starting point, since it makes it difficult to assess how much public support there would be for any proposed reforms.

What does seem clear however, is that most people want the state to share the cost of social care with users. Support for full state coverage for everyone is relatively low, and even fewer people believe that users should have to cover costs on their own.

So how might the public want that new spending to be financed? My research suggests a hierarchy of preferred funding options, ranging from council tax – the least popular option – to a wealth tax on people with assets worth more than £1 million – the most popular option. Increases in inheritance tax and national insurance contributions were relatively unpopular. And an income tax rise on higher earners was second only to wealth taxes in popularity.

As always though, the devil will be in the detail of the funding plan. It’s unlikely that any mechanism will avoid at least a little backlash.

Technology is not a silver bullet

Kathrin Cresswell, Professor of Digital Innovations in Health and Care

One of the biggest challenges is moving beyond treating health and social care as separate systems. Burnham has promised a more integrated approach. I don’t believe that the two necessarily need to be fully integrated, but they do need to work together more effectively. That means investing in the relationships, governance and basic infrastructure that allow organisations to coordinate care around people’s needs. It is this kind of investment that enables lasting change.

Technology will undoubtedly be part of the solution, but it is not a magic bullet. The history of large-scale digital programmes in the NHS shows a consistent pattern. Expectations have often exceeded reality because the complexity of implementing the changes was underestimated.

New technologies, including AI, are unlikely to be different if they are seen as solutions in themselves. Real transformation depends less on adopting the latest tech than on supporting organisations to work together, developing shared ways of working, and building the culture needed for information and services to flow across organisational boundaries.

Social care presents an even greater challenge than the NHS. It is more fragmented, operates with fewer resources, and levels of digital maturity vary greatly. For many providers, the priorities are quite simple: reliable connectivity, basic digital infrastructure and technologies that support communication, independence and day-to-day care. It’s not always about the latest innovations.

Perhaps most importantly, we need to be realistic about how quickly success can be realised. Social care is fundamentally about supporting people to live well, maintaining independence and preventing crises. These benefits emerge gradually, requiring sustained investment and realistic expectations.

Better connections with communities

Robin Miller, Professor of Collaborative Learning in Health and Social Care

Burnham is right to emphasise both that social care is more than a complement to health and that the NHS will not work effectively without a strong social care system. For the past 30 years, successive governments have sought to ensure better collaboration between health and social care. The latest iterations see multi-disciplinary teams working on the ground while overall coordination is handled by “integrated care systems” (partnerships between health and care organisations in both the public and private sectors).

While some progress has been made, long-standing tensions remain. These are due to professional dominance of healthcare in local and national debates and insufficient investment in social care. At the same time, national performance focuses predominantly on NHS waiting times.

The proposed national care service may bring some consistency, but ultimately collaboration will be achieved through closer working between professionals and services – focused on what matters to communities. Health and social care will have to be better connected with local people and the networks that sustain them – this will involve health and care professionals working as equal partners with the voluntary and community sector. One example of this is through community hubs, where professionals are available within accessible venues such as libraries, supermarkets and sports clubs.

This is certainly a good start from the prime minister. But improving social care will also mean tough choices for the NHS – including changing its priorities on how its money is spent to divert more towards community and prevention.

Holly Willoughby’s new YouTube show brought in 41,000 views on its first day – after it was panned by critics and branded ‘dire’.

The former This Morning host, 45, launched her first episode of the show on Tuesday, with desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendos with first guest, The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, 65. 

It failed to impress critics – with a one-star review comparing her show to Meghan Markle‘s attempt to enter the lifestyle realm with her own show last year. 

Last March, Meghan launched a Netflix lifestyle series, which was blasted, leading to The Guardian branding Holly’s show ‘a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan’ while The Telegraph stated: ‘[Holly’s] dire show makes Meghan look good.’ 

And 24 hours after it was posted to her YouTube channel, it had received 41,000 views. 

She now has 11,000 subscribers to the channel.

The star, 45, launched her first episode of the show on Tuesday, with desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendos with first guest Stanley Tucci, 65

For context The Rest Is Entertainment launched in November 2023 and currently has 138K subscribers. It currently sits as one of the top three entertainment podcasts in the UK. 

Their episode went up on the same day as Holly’s episode with Stanley Tucci. Their episode has accumulated 29,000 views.

On the episode, she joins Stanley in making a pasta dish – which led to The Telegraph’s Anita Singh stating: ‘They are so stuck for conversation that they end up reading out the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie.’

After a beer and wine, Stanley kicked off a cookery session by handing Holly a coloured courgette, which led to the star stating: ‘I’ve never seen one like this before’ – in a very unsubtle innuendo, similar to her This Morning slip-ups.

While fans appear to enjoy the show, the reviews have been lacklustre elsewhere, with complaints of shaky camera work and an overlong running time. 

A shocking one star review came from The Telegraph, who referenced Meghan’s Netflix show With Love, Meghan.

She writes: ‘Holly Willoughby’s dire YouTube show makes Meghan look good… Not even Stanley Tucci can redeem this 50-minute borefest of awkward small talk, forced swearing and pie tin trivia… 

‘Even Meghan’s producers had the good sense to keep changing things up, editing her so she whizzed from rainbow fruit platters to flower arranging to holding guests hostage while potato printing.’

Alongside a three star review, The Mirror complains: ‘The result is a 50 minute show to cook a simple dish which might have worked better as say a tighter 30-40 minute episode in my opinion…

‘And with only one guest to bounce off, a slightly edited down version, or in future having several guests with a connection might make the conversation more entertaining, fast flowing and lively. But it seems to be a deliberately laid back affair.’

The i Paper’s Sarah Carson, meanwhile, stated: ‘Her new YouTube series, ‘Together,’ is a confused attempt to present herself as relatable… 

‘The public either wants honest, unfiltered imperfection or glamour and something to aspire to. Willoughby still hasn’t decided which she wants to be. Together is proof that her superpower was always her ability to be professional, not a personality.’ 

The Times’ Carol Midgley writes: ‘Will it be a success? Well, it looks nice, Holly may take her fanbase with her, and her profile means she will probably be able to entice a good quality of guest… 

And 24 hours after it was posted to her YouTube channel, it had only received 41,000 views. She now has 11,000 subscribers to the channel

Last March, Meghan launched a Netflix lifestyle series which was widely panned, leading to The Guardian branding Holly’s show ‘a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan’ 

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‘Tucci was, as usual, effortlessly charismatic and at ease in front of the camera, and his recipe for spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano looked very tasty.’

Teasers show upcoming episodes will see Holly joined by best friends Nicole Appleton and Emma Bunton, alongside Katherine Ryan and Joanne McNally.

The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage also gave the show three stars, writing: ‘The former This Morning host has done a Meghan, rebranding herself as a cookery guru with a YouTube show that veers from agonisingly dull courgette slicing to sweary banter.’ 

Meanwhile, Holly revealed even her own children poked fun at her new show, confessing she was out of her depth when she switched from traditional TV to digital, with her daughter Belle, 15, laughing at her efforts.

Speaking on Sara Cox’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Holly gushed: ‘Today is launch day, this is like I’m giving birth today!’ Yet she confessed she found it ‘weird’ that YouTube was her new home. 

As Sara asked if her kids were ‘annoyed’ at her for encroaching on a younger digital platform, Holly admitted: ‘My daughter was laughing at me as I was saying ‘subscribe and ding the bell and you’ll get notifications.’

‘She was like, ‘mum, you really don’t know what you’re talking about’, and I’m like, ‘no I don’t but I’m learning!” 

While reviewers were left in shock, viewers seemed enamored at her shift from smiley magazine show co-host to an edgier character, writing: ‘Glad to see beautiful Holly back and with her own show a fantastic first episode Holly can’t wait for the next… 

‘I really enjoyed you and Stanley together, good to see you back hosting Holly it really suits you. I’ve followed you since This Morning, you’re an amazing host, one thing maybe have a website to put recipes up…

‘Love love love!!! Can’t wait for more. Going to cook tonight. Great show. Loved it and looking forward to more… Lovely to see you back Holly… Ahhh so excited.’ 

Last week, speaking to The Daily Mail’s Katie Hind, seven months after she revealed the project, Holly revealed she was not worried about reaction to the show. 

She said: ‘I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I know that and that’s fine. I don’t want to try to convince people if they don’t want to watch.’

Referring to her stalking ordeal, she added: ‘I don’t fear what people think. I’ve had real fear, I know what that’s like. Your perspective changes after something like that.’ 

Folk legend Linda Perhacs has been found, eight months after the star vanished after leaving a residential care facility.

A representative for the LAPD Missing Persons Unit confirmed to The Daily Mail that Perhacs was found on Wednesday.

They said in a statement, ‘She was found today. She’s safe. We can’t share where as it involves her HIPAA.’

This comes after Perhacs’ former co-producer, Fernando Perdomo, shared an update on the search, revealing that her inner circle had filed an official report with Adult Protective Services – part of the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department – which he said was ‘a step in the right direction.’

Perhacs’ friends also recently filed a police report with the LAPD.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Perhacs for further comment.

This comes eight months after Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill 

Perhacs is pictured on the cover of her 2014 album, The Soul of All Natural Things

This comes eight months after Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill.

The post read, ‘Linda Perhacs our dear friend and legendary singer-songwriter was discharged from a residential care facility approximately eight months ago under the supervision of her legal guardian. 

‘Since then, friends and longtime collaborators have been unable to reach her and repeated attempts to contact her guardian have reportedly gone unanswered. Please help us locate Linda to ensure her wellbeing.’

McNeill, who shared the post with Perhacs’ former manager Laurel Stearns, musician Julia Holter and director Jessica Hundley, advised followers to contact Stearns via email if they have any information.

Hundley later alleged to Rolling Stone in an email that Dolphin singer Perhacs ‘had been living at the care facility for several years, struggling with dementia.’

‘We have called elder care and filed several police reports and have now retained a private investigator to help in finding her.’

In an additional statement shared with People, Stearns said those issuing the statement ‘are not alleging wrongdoing’ but are instead ‘seeking confirmation that Linda is safe, well, and receiving appropriate care, while expressing concern over the prolonged absence of communication with a beloved public figure.’

Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill

Perhacs, then working as a dental hygienist, first delved into music with the release of Parallelograms in 1970 – which failed to garner attention or sales. However, the record was rediscovered in 1998 and became a sensation among fans

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‘As a public artist whose work has profoundly influenced musicians and listeners around the world, Linda’s well-being is of genuine concern to a broad community of admirers and colleagues.

‘Those issuing this statement respectfully request that anyone with verified information regarding Linda Perhacs’s current condition or means of contact reach out to her authorized representatives or designated point of contact. 

‘The intention is not to intrude upon her privacy, but simply to ensure that she is safe and to re-establish communication with someone whose artistic contributions continue to resonate across generations.’

The identity of Perhacs’ legal guardian has not been released.

Perhacs, then working as a dental hygienist, first delved into music with the release of Parallelograms in 1970 – which failed to garner attention or sales.

However, the record was rediscovered in 1998 and became a sensation among fans, leading to Perhacs returning to music.

In 2014, Perhacs released second album, The Soul of All Natural Things, and a third, I’m a Harmony, in 2017.

Where has drought been declared in the UK?

Why was drought declared?

How can droughts affect us?

People urged to use less water

Across the land, in 23million gardens, hosepipes are lying dry, coiled like sad, dead serpents in the sun. Or are they?

Over the weekend, as more water companies announced or implemented hosepipe bans across Britain there have been growing signs that many of us are not playing the game.

In fact, after becoming suddenly subject to what the Water Industry Act amusingly calls a ‘TUB’ (temporary usage ban), a few gardeners have been spraying away in defiance.

Perhaps not with sufficient reckless selfishness to keep a croquet lawn green, but certainly enough to put a smile on the face of the vegetable patch and give the last roses a chance.

Nor do parents much fancy carrying 30 buckets from the kitchen tap to their children’s paddling pool – a resource without which the long summer holidays are taxing to even the most experienced toddler-wrangler.

Now the Environment Agency has declared a drought in seven regions covering half of England, from Devon and Cornwall to East Anglia.

Will this ensure that people keep their hosepipes coiled and empty? I doubt it. At the heart of it, I suspect, is that much of Britain is suffering from a sudden, but oddly deep, revulsion to rules and bans.

Possibly this current aggravation is the result of the still-sour memory of the more pointless bits of Covid regulation, only six years back.

A woman walks her dogs over the parched grass at Wimbledon Common, south-west London, earlier this month

Many prime ministers have risen and fallen since, yet streams and eddies of resentment still boil in many hearts, memories of how largely pointless the unprecedentedly bossy regime of the government was at the time.

No10 was unruly, chaotically unable to curb their own revelry and yet rigorous as a Mother Superior in laying down ridiculous local ‘tiers’, ‘bubbles’ or ‘distancings’ and antisocial rules about the crime of sitting down on park benches.

Somehow, we’re less docile than we were then. It’s not quite a revolutionary fervour – come on, they’re only hosepipes, and we’re well-behaved Britons – but it’s certainly a stroppy and disobliging mood, and a steady abandonment of community spirit.

The irritation of gardeners and paddling-pool fillers is also aggravated no end by water-mains bubbling up in the street (water companies are wasting 2.87billion litres of water a day through leaks), sewage pumped into our rivers just as we need a refreshing dip, and reports of the massive pay rises awarded to water company bosses despite this (the head of Anglian Water got a £1.3million bonus this month regardless of the hosepipe ban). Not to mention the dividends harvested by these companies’ international shareholders.

Moreover, we are only now learning how vast an amount of water gets used by data centres (one small centre could use 26 million litres per year), especially since the AI boom, and how keen our masters are to build more.

So, if your patience with the corrupt water barons, your kids’ summer prospects and perhaps your local landscape are all under threat, there’s a strong temptation to uncoil the Hosepipe of Rebellion and save your begonias and courgettes for the nation.

Online and among acquaintances, I find it fascinating to hear these rumblings of rebelliousness over the simple, quite logical and desirable business of saving water.

In 1976, the last really serious drought in the public’s memory, I was on local radio covering Oxfordshire and beyond. We had experienced an oddly parched autumn and winter, then a series of heatwaves.

It was the driest 16-month span in two centuries. Tarmac melted, rails buckled and reservoirs depleted to dangerous levels. There were periods when people had to queue at standpipes in the street to get water and carry it home.

Local women queue to collect water in Northam, Devon, during the drought of 1976

Libby Purves worked for BBC Radio in the 1970s, when stations ran a ‘Droughtline’ during the extreme water deficit of 1976

On those old BBC local stations, we were very close to our audience and got to know them well. My memory is of an extraordinary, almost wartime-style willingness among our listeners to buckle down, keep to the rules and help out.

We had a ‘Droughtline’ section in the morning and afternoon shows, and people would ring in with useful tips for others. They told us about finding the best way to wash dishes and keep clothes clean with least wastefulness, and useful ideas about re-routing the washing-machine water outlet.

They told us how you could use your hose to siphon the children’s bathwater out of the upstairs window into the garden and make sure any soapiness didn’t damage your plants (I really can’t remember now quite how this was done – I think it may have come down to just using less soap).

There was an ironmonger offering lightweight plastic watering-cans at cost price to pensioners, and others who weighed in and said they were carrying the cans for elderly neighbours and, in standpipe areas, fetching cans for them too.

Of course there were complaints, but there were also a lot of jokes. Fewer people had showers in the 1970s, so couples sharing a bath was one of the saucier running gags.

I remember being so impressed by this Blitz spirit at the time that when the drought had really ended and the reservoirs were visibly becoming healthy, I got genuinely angry that the local water board refused for weeks to stop nagging about their economic plight. As a result, some careful souls were still siphoning bathwater months later, into rainswept gardens. It didn’t seem fair.

One glaringly obvious difference then, which has probably contributed to the contrast with today’s stroppiness, was that we all knew that we owned the water system.

Those who ran it were civil servants, like the police, or nurses, or train drivers – secure jobs but not particularly cushy. When water was privatised under Mrs Thatcher in 1989, with a hefty sweetener of public money to entice investors, England and Wales got the only wholly commercialised water supply in the world (Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s stayed public).

There have been some benefits, some good feats of engineering and, at times, some decent management but, as the population grew, pipes got older and shareholders more demanding. We know of the inefficiencies we now suffer, and we also know that the system is not ours. In its ownership and motive it’s every bit as commercial and international as Netflix or Disney.

Drought Minister Denis Howell speaks next to a standpipe in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, during a visit in the summer of 1976 

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That, I think, makes a difference to anyone’s willingness to manoeuvre watering-cans with an aching back or save up cabbage-water to wash the dog. It really does.

But we are also less inclined to follow the small rules, it seems. When infrastructure breaks down, so does the public’s eagerness to help out.

Not only has Britain’s belief in a mutually beneficial relationship with our utilities deteriorated, but we have become atomised within communities and less likely to help out for the general good of everyone.

So, it’s interesting to watch the small rebellions of some, and the admirable and citizen-like behaviour of others. And perhaps it’s also useful to remember that this too shall pass.

Just as hot, dry Britain was reaching the end of its tether, in the last week of August 1976 the Prime Minister James Callaghan appointed a specific Minister for Drought: Denis Howell.

There was talk of getting him to do a rain dance, though at least one clergyman condemned the very idea. Manfully, the cheerful little Brummie Howell invited reporters to his home and spoke of how he regularly shared the bath with his wife, Brenda.

Within days, torrential rain caused floods across the hard dry land, and he was renamed minister for floods. In the subsequent winter, 1978-9, there were blizzards and naturally we all hailed him as minister for snow. Ah, happy days.

Easingwold’s regular free Summer of Music concert in the Marketplace featured a captivating performance by vocalist Carla, better known as the Northern Soul Sista, who filled the air with Tamla Motown and Northern Soul classics.

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Carla’s set included ‘Get Ready’ by The Temptations and ‘Needle in a Haystack’ by The Velvelettes, alongside favourites like Tommy Hunt’s ‘Loving on the Losing Side’, Shirley Ellis’s ‘Soul Time’ and Arthur Conley’s ‘Sweet Soul Music’.

A dancing train formed in Easingwold during its weekend of live music. (Image: Submitted)

The musical afternoon concert concluded with an encore of The O’Jays’ ‘Love Train’, with attendees forming a dancing train that wound through the Marketplace.

Sunday saw the town come alive once more, as Easingwold hosted its annual 10K road race, with the  event drawing hundreds of runners and supporters who cheered them on.

Easingwold Town Band entertained the runners after the annual 10K race. (Image: Submitted)

After the race, the live entertainment resumed, with performances from the Easingwold Town Band, followed by The Young Ones.

Their lively set of 1950s and 1960s favourites, including classics by The Beatles, The Tremeloes, The Hollies, and The Everly Brothers, provided the perfect soundtrack to wrap up the weekend.

The Young Ones entertained onlookers with firm favourites. (Image: Submitted)

Town Councillor  Frank Johnston-Banks said the Summer of Music programme, with its mix of genres and talented performers, had been a hit with the community, with the Northern Soul Sista’s performance hailed a highlight of this year’s programme.

He said: “Weekends such as this remind us what makes our town of Easingwold so special: great music, a wonderful community spirit and people coming together to enjoy everything Easingwold has to offer.” 

George Michael’s estate is suing his former best friend for charging fans to watch footage of the late star online from the recording of a lost album.

Andros Georgiou, 63, believes his old friend would be ‘turning in his grave’ at the legal action, which came in response to the online release of his film Trojan Souls – The Greatest Album That Was Never Made.

It features almost 90 minutes’ worth of recordings of the late Careless Whisper singer in the recording studio, shot in 1992 and 1993.

A website was launched last month to host the film, which asks fans to pay £4.99 for 48 hours access to Trojan Souls – The Greatest Album That Was Never Made, while distributor Tribe Media is also selling a £19.99 VIP tier, which promises access to previously unheard recordings of Wham! star Michael’s unreleased songs from the record.

George’s estate has lodged a case at London’s Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court, claiming its rights have been breached, according to The Sun, with Georgiou saying he had ‘no idea’ the estate planned to sue him until he was contacted by the newspaper about it.

Andros has branded this move ‘a case of sheer greed’.

He told Metro in a statement: ‘First and foremost – my brother in arms, my best friend, George Michael to you, Yog to me – would turn in his grave knowing what Russells (the estate’s lawyers) are attempting – and spending his money to do it.

‘It is well known Yog and I were working on Trojan Souls through my record label, Hardback Records.

‘The film I have released was shot by me, with Yog’s full approval – trust me, he would never have allowed anyone else into that studio.

‘This was a home video leaked over 30 years ago.’

Georgiou added that as it kept ‘resurfacing’ on YouTube and then other social media sites he decided to ‘put the film out myself, since others were already profiting from my home video’.

He had shot the video in Japan on George’s Faith tour, using a camcorder given to him by Sony.

Trojan Souls was set to feature duets with a remarkable number of musical stars including Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Bryan Ferry, Seal and Sade, but Michael – who died in December 2016 – is said to have lost interest in the record after his then-partner Anselmo Feleppa’s health declined.

Following Feleppa’s death in March 1993, he never completed the record.

According to The Telegraph, the film shows Michael playing the piano, performing vocals with backing singers and talking to producers about his track list in a studio in Los Angeles.

Georgiou and Michael grew up together as second cousins, whose fathers moved from Cyprus to the UK together in 1953, sparking ‘37 years of an unbreakable friendship’, according to the film’s website.

They co-founded the label Aegean Records together in 1996, but fell out after Michael’s arrest in an LA public toilet in 1998.

While still estranged before his death, they had planned to reconcile and Georgiou said they had spoken on the phone in the final weeks of Michael’s life.

Georgiou added in his statement: ‘Yes, we fell out, but we loved and cared for each other deeply, and I find the baseless claims and the constant attempts to erase me from history both disrespectful and, frankly, a bit desperate.’

Michael died of natural causes at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on Christmas Day in 2016. He was aged just 53.

Robobuild Limited and Big Geoff Overseas Limited, the holding companies George used to manage royalties and world tours, have brought the claim against Georgiou and Tribe Media, the production house distributing the film.

Michael’s Wham! co-star Andrew Ridgeley is currently promoting a new documentary titled Wham! 10 Days in China, which focuses on their 1985 visit to China as part of their 1984–85 tour, The Big Tour.

They were the first Western pop act to visit the country.

Metro has contacted lawyers for George Michael’s estate for comment.

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A beach toy library allowing visitors to borrow toys for the day will not be set up in Scarborough after “legal and practical difficulties”, town councillors have said.

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Similar free beach toy libraries have been set up in Devon, Somerset, and Essex but members of Scarborough Town Council voted to scrap the plan at a full meeting on Tuesday, July 29.

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Deputy mayor, Cllr Sarah Mason, said the council’s community and place committee considered the beach toy library proposal but “found too many unresolved practical, safety and responsibility issues” for the authority to manage.

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“They made a recommendation that we cease taking this matter forward,” she added.

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The town clerk added that some of the issues raised by the council’s insurance company included liability concerns “if someone was to fall over the box or to cut themselves on a broken toy”.

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She added that use of land owned by North Yorkshire Council and a lack of response from the authority had further hindered the proposal.

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“We have spent a significant number of staff hours on it, and there have been recommendations from the community and place committee that we should potentially not look at this any further,” the clerk noted.

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Cllr Rich Maw, who originally proposed the idea of a beach toy library, said he was disappointed by the recommendation to scrap the plan, adding that the scheme was also backed by a prominent beachfront business owner.

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He told the meeting: “Instead, we’ve reached the conclusion that the idea is somehow unsustainable, without even testing whether or not the partnership could work. I also struggle with the suggestion that a beach toy library somehow conflicts with our environmental ambitions.

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“The whole purpose of the scheme is to encourage the reuse of plastic toys that already exist, reducing waste, and discouraging the purchase of new disposable items, and this is despite the involvement of the business that sells those items.”

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Scarborough South Bay Beach. Courtesy Anttoni Numminen Ldrs

However, Cllr William Stuart said that the “difficulties we’ve heard about are not caused by any lack of effort from this council” and suggested that littering on the beach was “the main issue”.

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“We need to look carefully at what is actually causing the problem. From the discussions that I’ve had with residents and beach users, the main concern is litter,” he told the meeting.

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Cllr Stuart said: “If someone leaves litter on the beach, rather than taking it to one of the many bins already available, how likely are they to take toys to a dedicated collection point that they may not even know exists?

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“The priority should be in improving beach cleanliness and addressing the litter problem as a whole.”

Zendaya continued her stylish Spider-Man: Brand New Day press tour alongside husband Tom Holland at Wednesday’s star-studded premiere in London.

The actress, 29, who portrays MJ in the film, turned heads as usual in a plunging white gown from Tamara Ralph with a silver sequin web design.

The stunning dress featured sparkly straps and cinched her in at the waist before flowing out into a chiffon train. 

The pair put on a typically loved-up display as they posed together at the premiere after confirming last month that they were indeed married. 

Meanwhile Tom, 30, – whose performance in Christopher Nolan‘s $250million epic The Odyssey was recently roasted by critics as ‘comic book basic’ – wore a dark purple Anderson & Sheppard suit and bespoke Pragnell spider brooch.

Tom steps back into the iconic suit as Peter Parker for the latest installment – which is already impressing fans -, taking on the legendary web-slinger role once played by Tobey Maguire.  

The actress, 29, who portrays MJ in the film, turned heads as usual in a plunging white gown with silver sequin detailing on

Florence Pugh, 30, meanwhile stunned in a silver tassel dress with a statement structured neckline. She will reprise her role as Yelena Belova in the film.

A host of other stars were also at the premiere and all stuck with a mostly black theme including Myleene Klass, Laura Whitmore, Cat Burns, Lottie Moss and Nadiya Bychkova.

The new film was released in cinemas on Wednesday and the fan reviews are already very positive.

Fans penned on X after wasting no time in heading to the cinema: ‘I’ve just returned from watching Brand New Day, it’s genuinely one of the best Spider Man movies ever, and if we’re talking about Tom’s, this one takes the crown alongside No Way Home. I also wanna add this, marvel is SO back.’,

‘Just came out of Spider-Man Brand New Day… I can’t lie I enjoyed it very much. I loved it. Spider-Man is still my GOAT superhero and Tom Holland has done a great job. Super excited for the future.’,

‘NO SPOILER My first immediate thoughts on Spider-Man Brand New Day This is by far the best live action spiderman best spiderman fights they had me feeling like i was watching montage from insomniac spiderman such a good movie tom holland is the goat.’,

‘Just saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This is the best one for Tom Holland’s Spidey Quadrilogy (imho) & I really like how well the emotion is handled in this.’,

‘Tomorrow is a Brand New Day. Man, it feels emotional. I’ve always loved Marvel, but there’s something diff about Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Watching Peter go from Infinity War and Endgame to losing almost everyone in No Way Home… that journey hits hard. It feels personal.’,

The stunning dress featured sparkly strap detailing and cinched her in at the waist before flowing out into a chiffon train

The pair put on a typically loved-up display as they posed together at the premiere after confirming last month that they were indeed married

They shared a sweet moment holding hands at the event 

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She wore her long dark tresses in curly waves 

The Tamara Ralph design clung perfectly to her figure 

She looked stunning as she posed up a storm in the white gown 

The pair looked every inch the perfect couple as they posed together 

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She commanded attention as usual in the white dress

Meanwhile Tom, 30, – whose performance in Christopher Nolan’s $250million epic The Odyssey was recently roasted by critics as ‘comic book basic’ – wore a dark purple suit

Tom steps back into the iconic suit as Peter Parker for the latest installment, taking on the legendary web-slinger role once played by Tobey Maguire

L-R: Florence Pugh, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Marisa Tomei

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Zendaya and Tom posed with their co-star Marisa Tomei

She also flashed a glimpse of her huge Jessica McCormack engagement ring

‘Brand new day isn’t the beginning, it’s the ending of the movie. Best spider man movie!

‘Just watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and yeah this is the best Spider-Man movie ever. I definitely need a rewatch asap.’

Zendaya and Tom famously met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016.

Fast forward ten years, and the pair are now married and back on the promotional trail for their latest Spider-Man film.

The new film follows the ending of No Way Home, in which a spell cast by Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) caused everyone in the world to forget the existence of Spider-Man’s secret identity, Peter Parker (Holland).

Florence Pugh meanwhile stunned in a silver tassel dress with a statement structured neckline 

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She looked sensational in the gorgeous number which she teamed with strappy heels 

She will reprise her role as Yelena Belova in the film

Myleene Klass looked stunning in a backless black gown

Myleene was joined by her daughter Ava, 18, for the premiere 

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Laura Whitmore and her husband Iain Stirling looked smart in all black looks

Cat Burns looked stylish as she arrived

Clara Amfo wore a web-inspired silver dress

Strictly’s Nadiya Bychkova showed off her toned abs in a black co-ord

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Lottie Moss meanwhile wore a red mini dress and towering heels 

Tom Fletcher wore a pink shirt and black trousers 

Tom’s co-star Marisa Tomei wore a strapless navy dress. Marisa portrayed May Parker (Aunt May) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marisa and Tom posed together

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The new film follows the ending of No Way Home, in which a spell cast by Dr. Strange caused everyone in the world to forget the existence of Spider-Man’s secret identity, Peter Parker

Brand New Day picks up four years later, after Parker has largely given up on his connection to the world around him and has devoted himself entirely to fighting crime as Spider-Man, even as his former girlfriend MJ (Holland’s real-life wife, Zendaya, who stunned in a black arachnid-theme gown at the film’s premiere on Monday in Los Angeles) has moved on with a new love interest after forgetting that they were ever a couple.

Amid the turmoil in his life, Parker’s superpowers begin to undergo a sometimes disturbing evolution, which several critics compared approvingly to the direction taken by the popular original trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the web-slinger.

Critics have called it one of the best of the iconic web-slinger’s films – and a return to form for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Critics had high praise for Brand New Day’s returning star, Tom, and they largely applauded the film’s move away from the confusing bloat of the previous entry in the series, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski wrote that the current Spider-Man series is the only part of the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe that he still looks forward to.

Oleksinski called Brand New Day a ‘welcome reunion’ with Holland and Peter Parker, though he noted that it was ‘much darker’ than previous Spider-Man entries.

He agreed with the comparisons to the Maguire years, writing, ‘Tonally, Brand New Day is a lot more like Tobey Maguire’s aughts films, which to my mind are not only the gold standard of Spider-Man movies, but Marvel films as well.’

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico gave Brand New Day a middling 2.5 stars out of four.

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The new film was released in cinemas on Wednesday and the fan reviews are already very positive

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Like others, he saw a negative influence from the MCU and worried that the film was only a transitional piece to set up a bigger payoff.

‘Affection for the characters who have been around for four movies now goes a long way to holding Brand New Day together,’ Tallerico wrote, ‘but it ultimately succumbs to one of the biggest problems of late-stage MCU: The feeling that it’s just preparation for more movies.’

The premiere comes as Tom and Zendaya’s latest movie The Odyssey has already set critical and audience review records. 

Figures show from just under one week of The Odyssey’s wide release, July 17, the movie’s total haul is $303million worldwide, with likely another $15-20million coming in when Wednesday’s figures arrive.

But with the couple’s upcoming Spider-Man movie set to be released in days, fans will have to see which film becomes the top-grossing film of the year, as Brand New Day is currently breaking ticket pre-sale records for the opening weekend and first week.

It comes after last month Supergirl was projected to face a staggering $100million loss after it bombed at the box office on its opening weekend.  

The film, which stars Milly Alcock, 26, as the superhero, was released globally in June.

It marked a major setback for Warner Bros and the rebooted DC Universe as Supergirl cost $170million to produce and $120million to take to market. 

Warner Bros had a hopeful beginning last summer when Superman became the highest-grossing superhero movie of the year. 

But poor tickets sales on the opening weekend saw Supergirl take in $38million in U.S. and Canadian theaters and $30million in overseas markets.