Politics
GP Reveals What Happens To Your Body After Running A Marathon
Medical comment provided by Dr Donald Grant, GP and Senior Clinical Advisor at The Independent Pharmacy.
It’s a tough feat, even for tough feet: the 42.2km course of a standard marathon is a challenge many runners aspire to beat.
More and more of us are reaching the impressive milestone. 2026′s Brighton Marathon, for instance, saw a record-breaking 14,000 finishers.
Generally, being able to complete the race is seen as a marker of amazing health. Certainly, exercise is great for us, and runners can be expected to live as many as 12 years longer than less active people.
But given that ultra-endurance running has been associated with GI issues, and that tendinopathy, stress fractures, and even a higher risk of kidney and heart issues can hit on race day, we asked GP Dr Donald Grant to share whether they’re overall good or bad for our health.
Is running a marathon good or bad for us?
Sure, the day itself can be tough – “The marathon itself places a significant amount of stress on the body, particularly on the heart, joints and muscles, and it’s not uncommon to see temporary inflammation, fatigue or minor injuries following the event”.
That’s especially true if you haven’t prepared well for the event. But the race is only one session in what is usually a multi-week programme.
“Many of the long-term health benefits actually stem from the training element, where continuous exercise helps improve cardiovascular well-being, strengthen muscles and support mental well-being,” said Dr Grant.
“For most people, these benefits will outweigh the short-term strain of the event itself, provided they train appropriately.
Sticking to a well-organised endurance training plan can “strengthen the heart and make it more efficient, reducing blood pressure.
“These adaptations are linked to a reduced risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.”
So, while “The intense and repetitive strain placed on the body, particularly the joints, muscles, and connective tissues, can increase the likelihood of overuse injuries such as tendonitis and knee problems,” in general, “Running a marathon can be very good for your health when approached responsibly, but it can be harmful if undertaken without proper preparation and care.
“The difference lies in how well the demands of training and racing are balanced with recovery and overall lifestyle.”
When do the benefits of running max out?
Of course, you definitely don’t have to run a marathon to see health benefits.
Some research has suggested that the Goldilocks zone for maximum longevity is about two and a half hours of running per week (for reference, the average marathon finish time for UK women is about five hours, and obviously happens in one day).
“While running offers clear health benefits, these don’t necessarily continue to increase the longer or more intensely you train. Even moderate distance running is sufficient to improve cardiovascular fitness and overall well-being,” Dr Grant said.
“With extreme endurance events such as marathons, it could be said that benefits plateau and the risks of factors such as overuse injuries or fatigue may increase. It’s all about finding a balance that works for you.”
It’s now been almost six years since Madonna last released a new album – and the drought is almost over.
And folks, it sounds like she has something massive planned.
For the last year, the Queen of Pop has been teasing that she’s been back in the studio with former collaborator Stuart Price, teasing new music which she said would be a spiritual successor to her disco-inspired release Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Earlier this week, it looked as though Madonna was getting ready to announce something when she wiped her entire Instagram, and then shared a very exciting teaser clip on her official website, made up of a striking teaser image and what sounded like a snippet of new music.
Since then, posters have also been spotted around East London, suggesting that the new album, thought to be titled simply Confessions II, would be released on 3 July.
Madonna finally confirmed this to be the case in a social media post on Wednesday afternoon, announcing the album’s title and release date as well as unveiling its striking cover art.
The first Confessions On A Dance Floor album was released in November 2005, spawning the UK number one singles Hung Up and Sorry, as well as hits Get Together and Jump.
Madonna’s most recent album, the experimental Madame X, came out in 2019.
In the time since, she’s been on two world tours – including 2024’s greatest hits venture The Celebration Tour – and enjoyed her first UK top 10 in 15 years with Popular, a collaboration with The Weeknd.
Fans have been speculating that Madonna could make a surprise appearance at Coachella this weekend – where Sabrina Carpenter is once again scheduled to headline – to premiere new material, 20 years after last performing at the US music festival.
In its early days, football lacked the precise means of regulating the rhythm of the game as we know it today.
Referees relied on direct voice signals or hand gestures, including raising their arms or waving handkerchiefs to try and communicate decisions to the players on the field. However, this method lacked clarity and consistency, leading to inconsistencies in the interpretation of calls and creating instances of controversy and chaos, especially as the game expanded and its popularity grew.
Given this reality, the need arose for a more decisive method, one capable of ending and restarting play clearly and immediately, leaving no room for interpretation or disagreement.
An invention that changed the face of refereeing
The radical transformation came with the British referee, Joseph Hudson, in Birmingham, when chance led him to the idea of the whistle after he heard a sharp sound from a violin that had fallen to the ground. This sound inspired him to develop a device that produced a similar effect, leading to the invention of the world’s first sports whistle in 1878.
Later, his company, Hudson & Co, produced the Acme Thunderer model, which used a small ball inside a brass tube. Air was allowed to pass through, producing a sharp sound that could be clearly heard even amidst the noise of the crowd. Despite its simple design, it revolutionised match management, providing the first standardised method for signaling stoppages and restarts.
While the first official match in which the whistle was used is unclear, historical sources indicate its appearance in FA Cup matches in the late 19th century, after which it gradually spread to European stadiums.
From a simple tool to part of the laws of the game
Over time, the whistle became more than just an aid; it became an integral part of the laws of the game. According to International Football Association Board (IFAB) regulations, the whistle is an essential tool used by the referee to signal the start, stop, or restart of play, as well as to award fouls and penalties.
Conversely, the law clarifies that its use is not necessary in all situations, such as throw-ins, corner kicks or even goal announcements, where a hand signal may suffice. It also emphasises that excessive use of the whistle diminishes its impact on the game.
Thus, the whistle has become a “legal language” on the field, leaving no room for interpretation and granting the referee immediate authority over the course of play.
Global industry and continuous tech development
The evolution of the whistle has not been limited to refereeing; it has extended to the industry itself. Materials have evolved from wood, bone and simple metals to high-quality plastics and weather-resistant alloys, with continuous improvements to ensure a loud and consistent sound.
Furthermore, some modern models have eliminated the inner ball to prevent any malfunctions that could affect sound quality, especially in fast-paced matches with large crowds.
This industry is led by specialised global companies, most notably ACME Whistles, whose name is synonymous with the iconic classic model. There is also Fox 40 International, which introduced a modern design without an inner ball. Molten’s products have also been used in major tournaments, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The whistle: The voice of the law in a single moment
Today, the whistle is no longer just a small tool in the referee’s hand. It has become a symbol of decision-making on the pitch, a voice that separates chaos from discipline in an instant.
The moment the referee blows that whistle, football time stops for a moment and the law is enforced. Despite its apparent simplicity, the whistle remains one of the most influential tools in the history of football.
Featured image via Getty Images/ Bongarts/ Joachim Sielski
By Alaa Shamali
The BBC has done the country a genuine service – no laughing at the back. On the front page of the BBC News website today is an investigation into immigration lawyers, who were found to be coaching fraudulent asylum claims, fabricating backstories, inventing persecution, selling identities wholesale to anyone who can pay. This is important journalism, and the team responsible deserves credit for it. Real, old-fashioned, get-your-hands-dirty investigative reporting, of the kind that used to be the BBC’s reason for existing. Congratulations, sincerely, to everyone involved.
Now, can we have a moment of honesty about what this ‘revelation’ actually reveals? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever that anyone paying attention did not already know. This has been going on for decades. Decades during which successive home secretaries of both parties stood at despatch boxes and talked about the integrity of the system, the rigour of the process, the robust safeguards in place, while the asylum industry quietly got on with its work, billing by the hour, gaming by the year, and laughing all the way to the legal aid pot.
The Daily Mail did an undercover investigation in 2023 that was near-identical in its findings. Reporters posing as economic migrants were offered elaborate fabricated backstories – featuring sexual torture, political persecution, support for Khalistani independence – for between £4,000 and £10,000 a time, complete with coached testimony and forged supporting evidence. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) intervened in three firms within days of publication. Three. Out of how many? The warning notice the SRA issued afterwards conceded that wrongdoing might be ‘more widespread than simply a handful of firms’. Might be. A remarkable understatement for a system operating at industrial scale.
In 2017, the BBC’s own File on Four caught an immigration solicitor on tape advising an undercover journalist how to fabricate a second job, sourcing a bent accountant to certify the fiction. That solicitor fought his way through 17 interlocutory applications, two failed judicial reviews, and an application to the Court of Appeal before being struck off. The system rewarded his defiance with years of delay. As they say, this isn’t a bug. That is the feature.
And then there are the cases that go beyond paperwork fraud into something far more consequential. Abdul Ezedi – remember him? The Afghan national who doused a mother and her two daughters with corrosive chemicals on a south London street in January 2024, then fled through the night, was last seen leaning over Chelsea Bridge, and was subsequently found dead in the Thames. He had arrived illegally in 2016. His first two asylum applications were refused. He was convicted of sexual assault and indecent exposure in 2018 and placed on the sex-offenders register. Then he claimed he had converted to Christianity. A church minister vouched for him. A tribunal judge was persuaded. He was granted asylum in 2020, despite the Home Office’s own assessment that he was ‘using religion for his own ends’, an assessment the judge chose to override.
Then there’s Emad Al Swealmeen, the Islamist who detonated a homemade device outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday 2021. He had arrived from Iraq in 2014, claimed asylum, was refused, lost his appeals, and then converted to Christianity at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral five-week Alpha course – complete with a baptism, confirmation and clergy support. Asylum granted. A pastor in south Wales later admitted he had baptised up to 500 asylum seekers in those years, with more than half vanishing after the ceremony, never again setting foot in any church. A curate at Liverpool Cathedral, himself a former refugee, told a reporter plainly: ‘There are many people abusing the system. I’m not ashamed of saying that.’ He was not ashamed. Neither, it seems, were any of the institutions through whose hands these cases passed without consequence.
The Home Office, to its credit in the Ezedi case, had seen through the fraud. The immigration tribunal overruled it. This is a pattern that border officials and even judges have been noting for years. The then independent border watchdog wrote in 2017 that there was ‘considerable evidence’ of last-minute asylum claims designed purely to frustrate deportation. By 2019, the former immigration enforcement chief David Wood was describing a system ‘rife with abuse’ processing thousands of fraudulent applications annually. Nobody resigned. Nobody was charged. The machinery ground on. And now the BBC has found it all over again.
So let us be precise about what needs to happen, because warm words and £15,000 fines for rogue advisers, the government’s response in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act (2025), are not remotely adequate to the scale of what has been operating, openly, for 20 years.
Every individual found to have coached fraudulent asylum claims must be struck off, charged with fraud and conspiracy, and have their assets seized to repay the damage inflicted on the public purse and on the genuine refugees whose cases are crowded out and cheapened by this corruption. This is not a matter for regulatory proceedings conducted at the speed of cold treacle. It is fraud. It must be treated as such.
Every individual found to have obtained asylum status through fabricated claims should be deported. Without the interminable procession of appeals that the legal aid budget currently subsidises at public expense. They are here fraudulently. Fraud voids the claim. This principle is not complicated, and the Human Rights Act must not continue to function as a permanent veto on removing people who lied their way into the country. We must repeal it and leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
Every charity that has received public money while facilitating, enabling or turning a blind eye to this fraud should have its charitable status stripped and be required to repay every penny of taxpayer funding it received in connection with that work. The charitable sector has too long served as a laundering mechanism, not for money but for moral credibility, allowing organisations engaged in the systematic gaming of the asylum system to present themselves as humanitarian bodies beyond scrutiny or accountability.
There must be a full root-and-branch investigation across the entire immigration-law sector. Not a review. Not a working group. Not a consultation with stakeholders. An investigation, led by people with the powers and the will to follow the evidence wherever it goes – across every firm, every adviser and every associated charity that has been touching this system for the past two decades at least.
The Home Office, under Labour and the Conservatives alike, has been asleep at the wheel for so long that the wheel has rusted solid. Ministers have from time to time stamped their feet, spoken darkly about ‘crooked lawyers’ and ‘industrial-scale abuse’, and then left every mechanism of accountability untouched. The machinery grinds on. The boats keep coming. The briefs keep filing. The legal aid clock keeps ticking. The public keeps paying.
Billy Kember and the other BBC journalists behind this investigation have done their job. Now it is time, long past time, for the state to do its.
Gawain Towler is a commentator and an elected board member of Reform UK. This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Gawain’s Fainting in Coils Substack.
Between the more dramatic – and, indeed, salacious – revelations in Lena Dunham’s new book, she’s also treated Girls fans to some intriguing behind-the-scenes tea.
In her new memoir Famesick, the Emmy nominee has opened up about some of the A-list stars who tried out for roles in Girls, only to not make the cut.
While she didn’t name which parts the actors were trying out for, she listed Marvel star Elizabeth Olsen, Fifty Shades actor Dakota Johnson, Black Mirror’s Cristin Milioti and comedian Amy Schumer, claiming they were all seen “several times” about appearing in the show.
Jordan Strauss/AP/Evan Agostini/Invision/
She also claimed: “I recognised a woman named Allison Mack from Smallville; she wasn’t right for any of the roles but invited me via email to her ‘intimate women’s group’ every week for the next year (there but for the grace of God go I).”
In 2021, Allison Mack was imprisoned over her involvement in the sex-trafficking cult NXIVM, after pleading guilty to charges of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.
Lena previously wrote about Amy Schumer’s Girls audition in her Lenny newsletter back in 2016, revealing the comic tried out for the role of Shoshana.
“Everyone in the room was stunned by the detail and skill of her improv, the wild talent radiating off her (and I was personally intrigued by her breasts),” she joked.
“It was clear Amy wasn’t meant to play an innocent Juicy Couture lover obsessed with emoji – even if her Meatpacking District club lingo was the funniest shit I had ever heard. But when she left the room, the vibe was very ‘Someone give that lady a show, STAT!’.”
Meanwhile, Jenny Slate has previously revealed that she made it far into the audition process for the role of Marnie, which eventually went to Allison Williams, before eventually being cast as recurring character Tally Schifrin.
Keir Starmer has hit back at Donald Trump after the US president threatened to rip up the UK-US trade deal over over the pair’s rift on the Iran war.
The prime minister insisted he is “not going to yield” on the conflict despite pressure from the White House.
The trade agreement struck last year is seen as one of the biggest achievements of Starmer’s time in office.
But in an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, Trump said the deal “can always be changed” as relations between the two men remain in the deep freeze.
At prime minister questions on Wednesday, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called on Starmer to cancel King Charles’ state visit to America later this month in responce.
The PM replied: “My position on the Iran war has been clear from the start. We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war.
“A lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course, and that pressure included what happened last night.
“I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield.
“It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so. I know where I stand.”
Starmer also took a pointed dig at Trump by insisting the so-called special relationship between Britain and the United States is bigger than any one person.
He said: “In relation to the King’s visit, this the purpose of the visit is to mark the 250th anniversary of relations and independence, obviously, of the US.
“The monarchy is an important reminder of the longstanding bonds and enduring relationship between our two countries, which are far greater than anyone who occupies any particular office at any particular time.”
Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
A new grassroots campaigning organisation, Organise South West, will officially launch online on 21 May. It aims to bring together trade unionists, community groups, and local activists to campaign on shared regional issues. These include public services, a just transition, and public ownership of water.
The launch event will take place online. It’s open to all interested in building stronger connections across Devon and Cornwall. More information and registration is available here.
Organise South West has set up in response to the growing challenges facing communities across the region, including rising costs of living, declining public services, and environmental pressures.
The initiative aims to link up existing grassroots organisations and trade union branches. This will help to coordinate campaigns and build collective power across geographic and organisational boundaries.
A key early focus of the organisation is supporting the campaign to bring South West Water back into public ownership. The group has recently launched a petition calling for water services to be run in the interests of people and the environment, not private profit.
Dr Deirdre Patterson said:
Across the South West, public services are stretched over wide geographies where communities often aren’t well connected. The challenges people face don’t stop at district or local authority boundaries. So if we’re serious about winning change, we need organising that brings communities together across those divides.
Dr Jeremy Evans Anbleyth added:
Organise South West is about turning frustration into collective power. Places like the South West and Kernow (Cornwall) are too often overlooked. We’re bringing people together to win real change, starting with taking back control of essential services like water.
Organise South West emphasises practical organising support and collaboration between unions and community campaigns. And it’ll focus on winnable issues that matter to working people across the region.
Featured image via Organise South West
By The Canary
English football has suffered one of its most devastating continental blows in recent years, following a series of consecutive Champions League eliminations.
It began with four clubs being knocked out in the round of 16, culminating in Liverpool’s exit in the quarter-finals, leaving Arsenal as the sole remaining English representative in the race to restore English football’s dominance.
Liverpool’s defeat and Salah’s heartbreaking farewell
Liverpool exited the competition after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg, a result that mirrored their 2-0 victory in the first leg.
The match featured a poignant moment: the emotional farewell of Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, who played his final Champions League match at Anfield in a Liverpool shirt. Despite his team’s attacking pressure in the second half and their missed opportunities, they were unable to mount a comeback.
This was Mohamed Salah’s final Champions League match for Liverpool after nine seasons with the Reds.
Early collapse of the English Quartet
Before Liverpool’s elimination, English clubs had already suffered a major blow in the round of 16, with four representatives being knocked out: Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
This collective collapse was a huge shock to English football, especially given the pre-tournament expectations of potential Premier League dominance in the later stages.
Arsenal: The last representative to save the Prem
After these eliminations, Arsenal became the sole remaining English representative in the competition.
Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their round of 16 tie, having secured a 1-0 victory in the first leg. This result keeps the Premier League’s hopes alive despite the collective collapse of the other clubs.
Why the English decline? It reflects a clear decrease in the presence of English clubs in European competitions after they had been a formidable force in the semi-finals and finals in recent years.
This decline comes at a critical time, raising questions about physical and mental readiness, in addition to the pressure of the schedule faced by Premier League clubs compared to their European rivals.
Featured image via Liverpool FC News
By Alaa Shamali
On 14 April 2026, the Telegraph’s Tony Diver reported that the Green Party is supporting candidates who’ve been smeared as ‘antisemites’ by Zionists in the UK media.
In the past, the Green Party would have shied away from responding to this. Even worse, they wouldn’t have supported their candidates in the first place.
In a refreshing change of pace, however, deputy leader Mothin Ali hit back with the following:
Thanks for highlighting this Tony. — Mothin Ali (@MothinAli) April 14, 2026
If anyone has been affected by the unfair smears, please do reach out https://t.co/H6CMaaUq0q
Unbowed and unapologetic, as he should be.
Green Party finally step in
For clarity’s sake, a ‘Zionist’ is someone who supports the project of Israel existing as an ethno-nationalist settler colonial project with aims to expand outwards into the wider Middle East.
Here is a senior Israeli minister detailing this – a project they refer to as ‘Greater Israel’:
The plan for a Greater Israel extending over the West Bank into Lebanon and Syria laid out with great clarity by a senior government minister. This is of course completely illegal, goes against all the stipulations of International Law and should lead to immediate sanctions https://t.co/yw02xIpXDx
— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) April 9, 2026
Importantly, ‘Zionist’ does not equal ‘Jewish person’.
This is demonstrable in that not all Jewish people are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jewish.
Many non-Jewish politicians are Zionists – particularly those in the Labour Friends of Israel and Conservative Friends of Israel groups:
Members of Labour Friends of Israel, before that grotesque organisation hid their names. https://t.co/VKiRnwtxMk pic.twitter.com/AiiKxsMWLZ
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) April 8, 2026
The UK’s mainstream media is Zionist given that its output aligns with the expansionist aims of the Greater Israel project:
“The IDF are sniping children in the head.”
British 'Journalist' : “Israel are one of our allies..”
“The IDF soldiers were ordered to shoot at Gazans who were waiting for food.”
British 'Journalist' : How can we not support our allies? pic.twitter.com/mmi1rERw55
— Nadira Ali
(@Nadira_ali12) April 14, 2026
There are many reasons why we’ve ended up in this situation, including:
- Israel is a key partner to the US, and the UK is subservient to America.
- The Israel lobby has proven to be incredibly effective at making connections within the UK establishment.
"He's one of the best on the inside…"
Shai Masot of the Israeli Embassy sings the praises of new Labour candidate Luke Akehurst and his lobby group in the Al Jazeera documentary The Lobby.pic.twitter.com/pikfMwOJCB
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) May 29, 2024
The way that UK Zionists push back against their critics is simple and well-documented; they accuse anti-Zionists of being antisemites.
For a time, this strategy was highly effective.
Following Israel’s genocide in Gaza, however, the tide has turned.
This is why we’re seeing high-ranking British politicians pushing back against the status quo.
The Candidate Media Smears Support Group
Diver drew attention to the following internal message within the Greens for Palestine group:
Diver also drew attention to the following response from Ali:
The Telegraph’s dwindling audience may read the above and see antisemitism, but only because they haven’t yet woken up from the genocidal nightmare our media dreamed into existence.
Everyone else can understand that Zionism and the British media are toxic.
Of course a political party should defend its candidates against both.
But this wasn’t always the case.
In the 2024 election, the Green Party dropped a number of candidates who criticised Israel. Among them was the Canary’s Maddison Wheeldon:
[Wheeldon] first put herself forward as a Green candidate, but later heard that she wasn’t going to have their backing. She said this was because of her very outspoken position in support of Palestine and against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As she highlighted, “there’s this bully atmosphere that we’re… seeing across the media – this intimidation atmosphere” that makes people want to hold their tongues on Palestine. But she isn’t one to back down. And this strength of character meant she had strong support after her break with the Greens
Wheeldon had support because people could see that what Israel was doing was wrong.
Now, the number of people awake to this reality is so great that we can no longer be ignored.
The battle continues
What we’re seeing with the Green Party did not happen overnight.
Opinions shifted on Zionism because of the activists who took a stand against it.
Many of those standing up found themselves smeared and ruined; many were abandoned by the institutions which should have protected them.
While the Green Party has greatly improved, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a ways to go. We’ve criticised the party’s handling of their ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion, and we’ll continue to criticise them wherever we see a need to do so.
Today, though, we’re celebrating the stand they’ve taken against the British media, and we’re offering our full solidarity to the candidates who are bearing the brunt of the attacks.
They should know they’re not alone, and that we’ll be with them every step of the way.
Featured image via Green Party
By Willem Moore
Politics
Intimacy Coordinator Reveals What Happens When An Actor Becomes Aroused While Filming Sex Scene
When filmed right, a sex scene can be incredibly steamy and really enhance the viewing experience, especially if you’re already heavily invested in the characters.
For example, is there anything better in a romcom than the will-they-won’t-they couple finally coming to their senses and racing to the bedroom for a passionate evening in the sheets? I think not.
In fact, these scenes can be so believable that it’s hard to believe that the actors aren’t actually going at it. How do you stay un-aroused while filming these scenes? How do you go back to talking normally to the co-star once the scene is complete?
Well, there’s a lot to it.
How do actors avoid getting turned on when filming sex scenes?
While these scenes are hot as hell to us, the behind-the-scenes filming is… not so much. According to Backstage, there are a number of measures in place to ensure the safety and comfort of the actors, as well as choreography.
Basically, the scenes may SEEM very real to us but there is so much that goes into making them happen that they’re anything but.
Before the scene is even staged, the parties involved in a sex scene will meet with an intimacy coordinator one-on-one to ensure that the actor feels safe in the scene, discuss any boundaries and any other concerns that they may have.
From there, the intimacy coordinator works with a choreographer to discuss what can and cannot happen in the scene, which areas of the body the actors are comfortable with displaying and being touched and the boundaries the actors have when it comes to filming a sex scene.
Then there are the modesty garments. Backstage explains: “Modesty garments are coverings or full-body makeup can shield certain body parts from the camera and prevent genital-on-genital contact, which is strictly prohibited on union sets. ”
Shibues and hibues—strapless thongs—are a popular form of modesty patch. These stick directly to the body and give the illusion of nudity without actually revealing an actor’s genitals. While the adhesive is pretty strong, these can be removed with baby oil.
Speaking to Backstage, Alicia Rodis, an intimacy coordinator said that she keeps these in a variety of hues on set, adding: “We take a shibue, open it up, and put a silicone guard underneath so everyone becomes like a Barbie doll.”
Though people with penises may opt to wear a “sock”, which is a drawstring skin-coloured pouch that holds the penis and testicles, instead. For those with breasts, they can wear pasties over their nipples.
What happens if an actor gets aroused during a sex scene?
With all of these measures in place, it’s hard to imagine getting aroused but according to David Thackeray, an intimacy coordinator for studios like Netflix, Warner Bros, Apple TV, BBC, and HBO, it’s perfectly normal.
Speaking to Business Insider, Thackery said that during the filming of sex scenes, actors “are going through the physical and the mind, so yeah, it happens.”
When it does happen, the production immediately pauses. Thackery said: “We just make it really clear that’s normal and that the worst thing you can do is carry on, so we call that a time-out. Give them five minutes then I come in and check in … Then we come back into it when they’re ready.”
Thackery added that actors are warned that this can happen beforehand and intimacy coordinators work hard to ensure the entire team knows that this is normal, saying: “The worst thing we can do is gawk or make it a massive deal. I will say for the crew as well, making sure they’re aware of what scene is being shot, what nudity is going to be seen. You don’t want them to be surprised.”
Thackery also added that the crew can also call a time-out during the filming of these scenes.
Lindsay Hoyle slapped down Keir Starmer as he gave a long-winded answer during prime minister’s questions.
The Commons Speaker was forced to interrupt the PM as he clashed with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Starmer was once again repeating his attack on Badenoch for initially calling on the government to give its full support to Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
He said: “A week later, when she realised she had made a massive error of judgment, she made the mother of all U-turns.
“But that didn’t work, so this weekend she said when I said we should jump into the war, she said she meant verbal support.”
But Hoyle then stood up and told the PM: “It’s prime minister’s questions. We’ve got to concentrate.”
The prime minister has been regularly criticised for dodging questions at PMQs.
Last month, he failed to give a straight answer when asked six times by Badenoch if he had personally spoken to disgraced Labour peer Lord Mandelson before appointing him the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
Smash Kitchen introduces dressings
Only 4% of Danish Citizens Hold Crypto Despite Global Growth: Survey
Will Trent Loses Main Cast Member After Shocking Onscreen Death
-
Politics5 days agoUS brings back mandatory military draft registration
-
Sports5 days agoMan United discover Nico Schlotterbeck transfer fee as defender reaches Dortmund agreement
-
Fashion5 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Veronica Beard
-
Politics5 days agoMalcolm In The Middle OG Turned Down ‘Buckets Of Money’ To Appear In Reboot
-
Politics3 days agoWorld Cup exit makes Italy enter crisis mode
-
Crypto World6 days agoCanary Capital Files SEC Registration for PEPE ETF
-
Business5 days agoTesla Model Y Tops China Auto Sales in March 2026 With 39,827 Registrations, Beating Cheaper EVs and Gas Cars
-
Crypto World2 days agoThe SEC Conditionalises DeFi Platforms to Be Avoided for Broker Registration
-
Crypto World2 days agoSEC Signals Exemption for Crypto Interfaces From Broker Registration
-
Crypto World7 days agoBitcoin recovers as US and Iran Agree a Ceasefire Deal
-
News Videos6 hours agoSecure crypto trading starts with an FIU-registered
-
NewsBeat3 days agoPep Guardiola and Gary Neville agree over Arsenal title problem that benefits Man City
-
Business5 days agoOpenAI Halts Stargate UK Data Centre Project Over Energy Costs and Copyright Row
-
Business4 days agoIreland Fuel Protests Enter Day 5 as Blockades Spark Shortages and Government Prepares Support Package
-
Politics5 days agoLBC Presenter Mocks Trump Over Iran War Failures
-
Crypto World5 days agoFederal judge blocks Arizona from bringing criminal charges against Kalshi
-
NewsBeat3 days agoJD Vance announces ‘no agreement’ with Iran over nuclear weapons fear
-
Tech6 days agoA version of Windows 10 released a decade ago is now eligible for additional security patches
-
NewsBeat1 day agoTrump and Pope Leo: Behind their disagreement over Iran war
-
Crypto World1 day agoSEC Proposes Certain Crypto Interfaces Don’t Need to Register as Brokers
You must be logged in to post a comment Login