Now recovered from an arm injury that forced the initial postponement of this show in January, Itauma is looking to make the biggest statement of his career so far against what on paper is his toughest test, one he sees as the final piece of the puzzle before pursuing world title opportunities. Franklin has never scaled the heights of boxing’s glamour division but is a tough and durable customer who gave Whyte plenty of trouble before dropping a close decision back in 2022 and was then beaten but not stopped by Anthony Joshua.

Britain’s Got Talent made a return to ITV on Saturday with a brand new episode

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Britain’s Got Talent hosts Ant and Dec were forced to step in and ‘change the rules’ after one act’s fate was left hanging in the balance.

During Saturday’s (March 28) episode of the ITV hit talent show, judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and KSI were back on our screens as they searched for the next big act.

It comes as no surprise that they went all out in a bid to impress the panel and win the £250,000 cash prize as well as a spot on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance.

However it was one performer that caused quite a stir. Kevin Hogg, who is known as a dance legend and Gateshead’s own MC Tazo, took to the stage and attempted to win over everyone with his MC skills.

As his wife and two children, Tyler and Riley, watched on from the crowd, he invited everyone in the audience to get up and dance as he MC’d his way through an original track all about Britain’s Got Talent.

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READ MORE: Britain’s Got Talent fans voice fears for Simon Cowell ‘he’s lost the plot’READ MORE: ‘Chilling’ true crime doc with twist fans don’t expect is streaming now

It was clear that KSI was a big fan as the musician and YouTuber danced along and described Tazo’s song as a “banger”. Fellow judge Simon also enjoyed the performance and gave him a ‘yes’.

However Amanda and Alesha weren’t feeling it and ultimately they weren’t that impressed and said ‘no’. It looked like Tazo was heading home as he needed three ‘yesses’ from the judges to go through to the next round.

But Geordie hosts Ant and Dec were not going to let that happen as they stepped in to ‘change the rules’ and put him through to the next round.

Walking onto the stage, Ant asked: “Can we just give a ‘yes’ then that will be three ‘yesses’?” As the crowd cheered, Simon replied: “OK right, I changed the rules.” Pointing at KSI he explained: “Two ‘yesses’, four ‘yesses’, he is through.”

It comes as elsewhere viewers were left baffled after Simon”s unexpected reaction to one act insisting “he’s lost the plot”.

Music group Arubai from Japan took to the stage and transformed one of Queen’s biggest hits into a genre yet to be heard on the BGT stage. They performed Don’t Stop Me Now as a Japanese punk track.

Simon was the only judge to say ‘yes’ and that moment didn’t go unnoticed by fans as they rushed straight to social media to share their reaction.

One fan wrote on X: “wtf has happened to Simon he’s lost the plot #bgt.” Another questioned: “Simon liked it.? #BGT #BritainsGotTalent.”

Britain’s Got Talent airs Saturday nights on ITV and ITVX.

BBC One viewers shared their excitement as one show returned for its fifth year

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BBC One audiences shared identical reactions within moments of The Big Night of Musicals beginning, as the beloved event returned to television for its fifth year.

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals came back on Saturday, March 28 on BBC One with comedian Jason Manford returning as presenter.

This year, viewers enjoyed special performances from some of Britain’s most prominent West End and touring shows including The Lion King and Wicked.

Taking to the stage were recognisable performers including Eurovision star Sam Ryder in a world exclusive, delivering a stunning performance from Jesus Christ Superstar before his debut in the production this summer. X Factor’s Alexandra Burke was also scheduled to perform as Chaka Khan in I’m Every Woman.

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Broadcasting on BBC One at 7.45pm, it had been previewed: “Back for a fifth year and filmed in front of an audience of 12,000 at Manchester’s AO Arena, the show brings together some of the biggest and most exciting productions currently on stage alongside exclusive previews of shows opening this year and unique one-off collaborations created especially for the night.”

Within minutes of the programme starting, viewers expressed the same sentiment as they flocked to social media to voice their enthusiasm, reports the Mirror.

Writing on X, one viewer said: “Hooray they’ve gone back to the original show and not showing clips.” Another posted: “Been looking forward to this #BigNightofMusicals.”

A third viewer posted: “#bignightofmusicals I defy anyone who says they don’t get musical theatre to watch #thelionking and not be moved.”

A fourth wrote: “I’ve waited a very long time to watch #BigNightOfMusicals, it’s finally here!!”

One person shared: “Love Big Night Of Musicals on BBC1 but I’m in floods of tears as they started with Lion King. Great one this time as I’ve seen most of the shows on tonight’s one.”

Another said: “Fuming I didn’t get tickets for The Big Night Of Musicals this year because Lion King would’ve had me sobbing.”

One BBC audience member remarked: “I love Big Night of Musicals” while another contributed: “#BigNightOfMusicals is pure joy. Love it!”

The programme opened with a special performance from The Lion King, which moved viewers to tears, before continuing with Oliver the musical and The Producers featuring Andy Nyman and Marc Antolin.

Big Night of Musicals is available on BBC iPlayer

We spoke exclusively to actor Joel Kinnaman about his brand-new Netflix crime drama Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole

Netflix has released a fresh crime drama that’s ideal for viewers seeking their next binge-worthy series.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, based on the globally best-selling author’s popular books, follows the alcoholic yet gifted detective Harry Hole (Tobias Santelmann) as he pursues a savage serial killer terrorising Oslo, Norway, reports the Mirror.

Simultaneously, Harry is attempting to expose his corrupt colleague, detective Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman), leading to a tense game of cat and mouse between the two.

The nine-part series, which could be likened to a blend of Luther and Line of Duty, features some particularly grisly scenes, placing it on par with Idris Elba’s BBC detective drama.

In a recent interview with Wales Online’s publishers Reach Plc, Joel Kinnaman, who stars in Detective Hole, dissected one of the show’s most gut-wrenching moments and offered some unexpected behind-the-scenes insights into the creation of this gruesome scene.

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The scene in question involves Kinnaman’s sociopathic police officer Waaler enticing an unsuspecting man into public toilets under the guise of sexual favours, only to then castrate and murder him.

Kinnaman revealed: “When we were shooting that, that’s where you really felt like this big budget was coming in because that penis prosthesis was so perfect. It felt very real holding it.” He added: “It was a very realistic experience.”

Despite the sequence proving difficult to watch, shooting it was quite different for Kinnaman and the remainder of the cast and crew.

The star joked that whenever the prosthetic made an appearance, he would “make a soundtrack” for its entrance.

“It was pretty hard to keep from laughing but then when he got into it, it became sort of horrifying,” he said.

Adding: “It was a very strange feeling. It was very strange to do it, but I enjoyed it.”

Speaking about joining the crime drama, the Swedish-American actor said he was “very excited” about the prospect of portraying the Swedish character in a Netflix production, which he said would make it more “accessible” to viewers.

Kinnaman continued by saying he was thrilled to enter acclaimed crime author Nesbø’s universe and the character of Waaler, saying: “I’ve never got to play this kind of mouth-watering, crazy role. So fun and such an opportunity.”

The star continued about Waaler’s psychology: “He’s sort of morally conflicted and he’s driven by his sexual confusion and his sexual desires and his strive for power and power games. But what is also fuelling all of this is his childhood trauma.

“I sort of play him as a malignant narcissist on the scale of psychopathy. That was sort of the hypothesis that I was playing off of and that’s someone… he’s not born a psychopath, but he has been damaged at a young age.

“And then it veers, it makes his personality veer off in this direction and course.”

Kinnaman suggested that early-life trauma had resulted in Waaler’s absence of empathy, which subsequently drove his exceptionally brutal conduct.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is streaming on Netflix now

Britain’s Got Talent viewers were anything but impressed after a major rule change was introduced this week.

As per tradition, an act must get at least three ‘yeses’ from judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and KSI to go through to the next round, making a majority.

But tonight, at the last second, an unexpected switch-up secured one auditionee’s place in the competition after they were initially rejected.

From Newcastle, MC Tazo arrived onstage with a smile, having already been hyped up by fellow Geordies and hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly beforehand.

He explained to the panel that he had an eight-year-old and a 12-year-old, who were in the audience to support him and were ‘absolutely buzzing’ upon learning he was auditioning.

No further details were given ahead of his performance, but everything soon became clear as some intense music kicked in and he began hyping up the crowd.

‘Right, BGT, I wanna know, are you ready to have some fun out there?’, the 43-year-old gas engineer, whose real name is Kevin, shouted on the mic.

Encouraging everyone to put their hands in the air, he proceeded to rap about the show and yell for audience participation with, ‘When I say “Britain’s Got,” you say “Talent”.’

Kevin even managed to get boxer-turned-YouTuber KSI on his feet, who grooved through the whole thing.

As the performance came to a close, Simon had a smile on his face, and Ant and Dec were cheering from the wings… but Amanda and Alesha were in need of convincing.

‘I thought it was an absolute banger!’, declared KSI.

‘Love the energy, great vibes, got me out of my seat. I loved it,’ he screamed to the point where his voice was actually turning hoarse.

After KSI gave ‘the easiest yes of the night’, Simon told Kevin: ‘That was fun.

‘I think people are gonna like you, and I’m actually with KSI on this. I thought that was good. I liked it a lot. So I will say yes.’

Alas, Kevin needed three yeses to sail through, and it wasn’t going to come from Amanda, who admitted: ‘You’re lovely, but the song was not.’

After Simon’s attempt at guilt-tripping by reminding his fellow judges that the hopeful has ‘two young kids’, Mis-Teeq star Alesha said she was ‘hoping it was gonna be amazing’.

‘But it was slightly out of time, Kevin,’ she said, earning boos from the crowd, apologising before giving a hard ‘no’.

Ant and Dec were immediately gutted, rushing out onto the stage to intervene.

‘Can we just give a yes? That’s three yeses,’ asked Ant, which the crowd was more than happy to allow.

‘OK, right. We’ve changed the rules,’ Simon stated.

‘Two yeses,’ he said, pointing to himself and KSI, then pointing to the presenting duo: ‘Four yeses, you’re through.’

Ant and Dec celebrated and jumped to hug a relieved Kevin, although their rule change did not go down well with those watching at home.

Taking to X, @wonderthunder13 raged: ‘Make up the rules as we go along on’.

‘So what “talent” are Ant and Dec such fans of? I’ve got a headache’, said @rozlaws of the performance.

@RyanSoapKing25 also argued that the performer ‘wasn’t that good’.

However, many defended the auditionee, who is autistic and used his autism as inspiration for jokes throughout his routine, such as poking fun at his love of graphs and data.

‘Ant and Dec *personally* found him funny and the whole point of the golden buzzer is that they can let whoever they enjoy through, thats what its for,’ said @peraltasbearcam. Gross that some people are using this to be ableist’.

Ted also earned a wealth of positive feedback from the judges, who called his act ‘so unique’ and ‘brilliant’, while other online commenters, including those who are neurodivergent, hailed him as ‘one of the most creative acts I’ve ever seen’ and ‘good at what he does’.

Britain’s Got Talent continues next Saturday on ITV1 and ITVX.

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If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

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All three people who died in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon were television journalists, it has been confirmed.

The Lebanese trio were travelling in a car when they were killed on Saturday.

Fatima Ftouni, an Al Mayadeen reporter, and Ali Shoaib, an Al Manar correspondent, were among those who died.

It has emerged the third person killed was Ms Ftouni’s brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni.

Fatima Ftouni had done a live report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in the Jezzine region.

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Al Manar described Mr Shoaib as an “icon of resistance reporting”, while Al Mayadeen said Fatima Ftouni had been distinguished by her ⁠brave and objective reporting.

Sky’s special correspondent Alex Crawford said: “There has been strong condemnation of the attacks on the three journalists. They were travelling along one of the main roads in the south of Lebanon.

“The two senior correspondents were very well known in Lebanon.”

She added: “On top of these attacks against the journalists today… Israeli airstrikes have also killed seven medical workers… in a string of attacks across south Lebanon. There have also been a number of children killed.”

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Iran-backed Houthis confirm missile fired at Israel

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Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said the attack on the journalists was a war crime.

He added: “We strongly condemn this aggression and demand that all international bodies take action to stop what is happening on our land, and we reiterate our condolences to the families of the martyrs and to the journalistic and media community in Lebanon.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the bombing as a “targeted strike” and claimed that Ali Shoaib was “a terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah‘s Radwan Force”.

It added: “Additionally, the terrorist engaged in incitement against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, using his position as a channel to disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials.”

The military’s statement made no mention of the other casualties.

In a statement, Iran-backed Hezbollah denied the IDF’s claim.

It said: “The enemy’s ‌false claims are nothing but an expression of its weakness and fragility, and a desperate attempt to evade responsibility for this crime.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described Al Manar as a “Hezbollah-affiliated” channel and Al Mayadeen as being “pro-Hezbollah”.

But it said that journalists were “not legitimate targets, regardless of the outlet they work for”.

CPJ’s regional director Sara Qudah said it was investigating, adding: “We have seen a disturbing pattern in this war and in the decades prior of Israel accusing journalists of being active combatants and terrorists without providing credible evidence.”

The CPJ said at least four other journalists had died across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February.

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The IDF has denied deliberately targeting journalists in conflicts such as the war in Gaza.

Lebanon’s information minister Paul Morcos said his ministry and the foreign ministry were preparing to file a complaint to the UN Security Council over Israel’s targeting of journalists.

In a statement, Mr Morcos “stressed that Lebanon will not treat such attacks as normal and is committed to national unity”.

He also “called for reaffirming and enforcing international protections for journalists and warned against any attempt to weaken these safeguards”.

Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel.

It is the first time Israel has faced fire from Yemen since the start of the Iran conflict.

Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said they fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting what he described as “sensitive Israeli military sites” in southern Israel.

Israel’s military earlier said it had intercepted a missile.

She has rebuilt her life and received “absolutely amazing” support in her ongoing rehabilitation

After years of struggling with addiction, Emma Lynch is now marking more than two years in recovery.

The 35-year-old has faced addiction since a young age. Now she has rebuilt her life with the support of the South Eastern Trust’s Ward 15, a specialist inpatient addiction unit based at Downshire Hospital in Downpatrick.

Following a three week stay on the ward, Emma has spoken about the positive impact the service has had in supporting her ongoing rehabilitation.

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She explained: “I had been suffering with addiction for 20 years on and off, just to the point where it was just too much. The doctor referred me to Bernagh House and it was very much me wanting to put in the work and go, as a patient, into Ward 15, you cannot do it on your own.”

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During her time on the ward, Emma completed a detox programme and participated in a range of sessions focused on understanding addiction. With the support and guidance of staff, she also developed a ‘Sober Living Plan’ to help maintain her recovery after discharge.

She added: “March 4 2024 was my first day sober. I really have continued on. I go to recovery meetings and take part in the Recovery Shed, there is a whole range of different groups that I attend.

“The staff here are absolutely amazing. There are staff who have a history of addiction and when they are talking to you, helping you, they do know what they are talking about. They are so compassionate and there is no judgement.”

Senior Nursing Assistant, Declan Hampton who works on Ward 15, described the rewarding nature of supporting patients through their recovery: “Every day is different. Being here is such a good opportunity for me to learn. There are people walking through the doors as one person and coming out, after their three weeks, as another. To see that is very rewarding.”

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Occupational Therapist, Anna Milligan, also part of the Ward 15 Team, highlighted the importance of helping patients build meaningful lives beyond addiction.

“The essence of Occupational Therapy is to help people do the things that they want to and are able to live a meaningful life. Part of my role is to break down barriers for the individual. We work together to create a Sober Living Plan which highlights what they are going to do once they leave the ward.

“It gives structure and purpose to their day and supports them to live a life they enjoy. For some people, being in recovery can feel quite restrictive, my role is to help people discover a new life for themselves.”

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With over 30 years’ experience, South Eastern Trust, Health Development Specialist in Alcohol and Drugs, Ed Sipler, emphasised the importance of a team approach in supporting recovery: “We work as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team to help people gain control of their lives, to move away from alcohol and drugs, improve their self-esteem and strengthen their coping skills.

“I often ask patients as they prepare to leave after three weeks, ‘What are you walking out of here with, that you did not have when you walked in?’ They are leaving with self-respect, a sense of control and a toolbox of skills they can use to stay sober. Whether they continue to use that tool box, that is the key.”

Ed added: “We are proud to see people walk of here with their heads held high.”

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