Mrs Brown’s Boys creator Brendan O’Carroll has announced he will be unable to go ahead with this year’s festive specials on medical grounds.

Traditionally, the divisive comedy airs over both Christmas and New Year, but on Monday morning, Brendan shared that this would not be the case in 2026.

“It is with sincere regret I must announce that due to an unexpected medical issue I will have to cancel the recordings of the 2026 Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas and New Year’s Specials,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Following a CT Scan, it was found that I had two fractures in my mandible (jaw) which require immediate surgery and a few months recovery.”

He continued: “I am talking with the BBC about getting Mrs Brown’s Boys back on the screen in 2027.

“I will sadly have to postpone both the 3 Arena Dublin and Gleneagle Arena shows Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Panto, which were scheduled for later this year. We are currently working with MCD to try to reschedule these shows for 2027. I would like to thank MCD and the BBC for their support and understanding at this difficult time.”

He added: “This decision has not been taken lightly and has been made on medical advice from my consultant. To say I am heartbroken is an absolute understatement. I would like to sincerely apologise to all our fans who were looking forward to seeing the shows and for any disappointment caused.

“I now need to focus on getting myself back to full health, and I genuinely cannot wait to see you all again in 2027. Our fans mean the world to us, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love and support and trust me, Agnes Brown and her family will be back!”

Mrs Brown’s Boys specials have been airing annually on the BBC since 2011, the year the sitcom launched.

Since then, it has also inspired a spin-off talk show, All Round To Mrs Brown’s, and two films, including a cross-over with Tyler Perry’s character Medea.

Back in 2024, the show landed in hot water when rehearsals for one Christmas special were briefly paused due to an “implied” racist term.

“At a read-through of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied,” O’Carroll said at the time.

“It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.”

Police officers in Greenville, South Carolina, are currently looking into the death of actor Hayden Panettiere.

On Sunday night, the Nashville star’s family confirmed in a statement that she had died at the age of 36.

Since then, a rep for Greenville Police has told NBC News that the Golden Globe nominee had been found at an apartment block in the South Carolina city on Sunday night, after a call was made to emergency services by an “acquaintance”.

“Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” they said.

Their statement also explained: “The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

“An acquaintance of Ms Panettiere placed the 911 call.”

Hayden began her professional acting career at the age of five, and later became known for her work in shows like Heroes and Nashville, as well as the Scream film franchise.

She also appeared in Malcolm In The Middle, Ally McBeal and lent her voice to the films Dinosaur and A Bug’s Life, as well as the Kingdom Hearts video game series.

Her father Skip Panettiere issued a statement following the news of the late star’s death on Sunday, which read: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”

Last year, Hayden published her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she opened up about the highs and lows she’s experienced during her time in the spotlight, including abuse, addiction and struggles with her mental health.

Hayden is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.

We’re afraid there’s been a disappointing update for anyone hoping to see Madonna making her Pyramid Stage debut next year.

Back in June, ahead of the release of her latest hit album Confessions II, the Queen of Pop sat down for a chat with presenter (and superfan!) Graham Norton for a one-off BBC special.

During their conversation, Madonna sparked rumours that she could be performing at Glastonbury when it returns next year, teasing: “I think I’ll do promo tours for a while. Then, in the summertime, something bigger.”

When Graham questioned whether it was something “in this country”, referring to the UK, she added cryptically: “It could be. Why do I have to tell you everything?”

At the time, many interpreted this as a nod to a future Worthy Farm performance, though Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has now poured water on this speculation.

Speaking to Radio 4, Emily said that while she can’t disclose who will be headlining in 2027, “it’s definitely not Madonna, I’ll tell you that”.

“We have got three headliners and we’re very excited about it – it’s all coming together really well,” she added.

Emily was then asked whether Taylor Swift was one of them, at which point she laughed off the question and said she wanted to change the subject.

Taylor was originally supposed to make her Glastonbury debut in 2020, following the release of her Lover album, but the festival was eventually cancelled that year due to the Covid pandemic.

Since then, the Grammy winner has released five studio albums, racked up six more UK number one singles and embarked on her record-breaking Eras Tour, but has yet to book another spot on the Glastonbury line-up.

Recent Pyramid Stage headliners have included modern chart-toppers Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa and Kendrick Lamar, as well as acts like Coldplay, The Cure, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney.

Meanwhile, The Sun claimed last month that Madonna had “cooled on the idea” of performing at Glastonbury, and would instead book three nights at the British Summer Time festival at London’s Hyde Park for 2027 instead.

With mere weeks to go until we can tuck into the main delicacy that is Nigella Lawson’s Great British Bake Off debut, bosses have given us a little amuse bouche to tide us over until then.

On Monday morning, producers shared a first-look photo of Bake Off’s new family together for the first time, ahead of the show’s return to our screens, which is expected to take place next month.

“Life is about to get sweeter,” they teased, alongside the picture of Nigella with her new colleagues Paul Hollywood, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.

“Bake Off is coming soon…”

Although an exact return date for Bake Off is still being kept under wraps for now, the show’s launch has taken place in early September since 2020, so it’s a fair bet that this year will follow suit.

The new season will be Nigella’s first since taking over from long-serving judge Prue Leith.

Nigella said when the news was confirmed in January: “I’m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now!” she enthused.

“Of course it’s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I’m also bubbling with excitement.”

She continued: “The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it’s a National Treasure – and it’s a huge honour to be entrusted with it.

“I’m just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity!”

Last month, the Daily Mail alleged that Nigella and Paul were “not really getting on too well” behind the scenes of Bake Off, claiming that the former was finding the latter’s somewhat ostentatious conduct “rather cringe”.

Reps for Channel 4 and Paul Hollywood did not respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment at the time, while Nigella’s team declined to comment.

Pirates Of The Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer has claimed that he is currently in negotiations with Johnny Depp to get him to return to the franchise.

Over the weekend, Bruckheimer appeared at Disney’s annual D23 fan event, where updates are given about the company’s films, theme parks and other major projects.

During the event, Pirates Of The Caribbean’s lead producer confirmed to Deadline that he was “talking with Johnny” about getting him to play the role of Captain Jack Sparrow again.

“We’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,” he added.

HuffPost UK has contacted Johnny Depp’s team for comment.

Last year, Bruckheimer made similar claims, telling Entertainment Weekly that he’d been in contact with Depp about coming back as Jack Sparrow.

“If he likes the way the part’s written, I think he would do it,” he said, adding: “It’s a reboot, but if it was up to me, he would be in it. I love him. He’s a good friend.”

“He created Captain Jack,” Bruckheimer added at the time. “That was not on the page; that was him doing a little Pepé Le Pew and Keith Richards. That was his interpretation of Jack Sparrow.”

It should be noted, though, that after testifying in his infamous 2022 court case, Depp insisted he would not even accept an offer of “$300 million and a million alpacas” to reprise his role in a future Pirates Of The Caribbean film, after claiming Disney had dropped him from the franchise years earlier.

Depp has been a controversial figure ever since 2016, when his ex-wife Amber Heard alleged during their divorce proceedings that he had been abusive towards her in their marriage, which he denied at the time.

The two later reached a settlement and issued a joint statement, which read: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

In 2019, Depp took legal action against Heard, accusing her of defamation after she penned an opinion piece claiming that she had been a victim of domestic abuse, without mentioning anyone, including her famous ex-husband, by name.

After a very public court battle, a jury eventually found in 2022 that Heard had defamed Depp with the statements in her opinion piece.

Two years before that, Depp had also sued the publishers of The Sun newspaper over a piece describing him as a “wife-beater”.

However, the UK’s High Court Of Justice eventually ruled that the “great majority” of Heard’s allegations of abuse could be proven to the civil standard, and as a result The Sun’s description was “substantially true”.

Depp appealed this verdict, but the request was eventually denied.

While he has been largely out of the spotlight in recent history, he is due to take the lead in Ti West’s A Christmas Carol reimagining Ebeneezer later this year, co-starring Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough, Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint, Emmy winner Tramell Tillman and acting legend Sir Ian McKellen.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has ordered the Pentagon to scale back the joint military exercises with South Korea that began this week.

In a Truth Social post, the president said his decision was based on his “very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” and described North Korea as “unthreatening and respectful.” He also condemned South Korea for declining to help the US de-nuclearise Iran.

The joint exercises were expected to last 11 days and involve 18,000 South Korean soldiers, The Associated Press reported. In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea described the training as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war.”

Trump said that he sees the exercises as “hostile” to North Korea and costly for the US, but because it was too late to cancel them, he had ordered a reduction instead.

On Saturday, Trump posted a photo of himself standing next to the North Korean dictator and said the two get along well “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what scaling back the exercises would entail. South Korea’s Defense Ministry told AP that the drills had started on Monday local time as planned.

According to The New York Times, the two countries have conducted joint military exercises for over 70 years. Such exercises have been dedicated to honing the readiness of US and South Korean troops so they’re prepared to respond to North Korea’s military and weapons capabilities.

Historically, North Korean leaders have criticized the exercises while finding ways to capitalize on them. Experts told The AP that North Korea has used the exercises as a “pretext” to do its own weapons testing and curry goodwill for Kim. Just last week, North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea ahead of the start of the drills.

It’s also not the first time that Trump has sought to curtail the exercises. He suspended the exercises in 2018 as part of denuclearization talks with North Korea, BBC News reported.

Critics of Trump’s announcement on Sunday emphasized that the move essentially aligned the US president with an authoritarian leader, while undermining America’s long relationship with South Korea.

“Our ability to help defend our ally against the North Koreans is because our forces are well trained and able to coordinate with the South Koreans,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wrote on X. “Hollowing out these joint exercises is shortsighted and a mistake.”

Listen 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.

President Donald Trump shared an oddly lyrical prediction about the future of “the woke” on Friday.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams and the president were discussing a viral interview in which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat, New York) joked about political discourse in the early 2020s. In it, the progressive lawmaker quoted New York City council member Chi Ossé’s quip that “Woke 1 was crazy.”

On Friday, Trump characterised Ocasio-Cortez’s comments as an example of Democrats trying to “disavow” previously held opinions on issues like crime.

McAdams asked, “Democrats are trying to back away from those woke thoughts before the midterms. How can you remind people of that?”

“They’re going to be reminded anyway, and you don’t have to remember too much,” Trump replied. “You know, you’re talking about elections that if you win by 10%, it’s supposed to be a landslide, right? So you don’t have to remember too much.”

That’s when he delivered his wokeness prophecy.

“People know the woke,” he said. “I mean, they know the woke. And the woke will become woke again, as soon as they get elected.”

Watch McAdams’ interview with Trump below:

Though Ocasio-Cortez distanced herself from some of the “rhetoric” of the COVID-19 pandemic-era, she added that many of the period’s conversations around social issues like crime were “quite fruitful.”

“I think that when we talk about crime today, it’s fundamentally different than the way we talked about crime, and bringing crime down, right?” she said. “And I think that we all share in the goals of having as low a crime rate as possible. I think, that, you know, during lockdown of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today.”

When asked if Ocasio-Cortez was going to run for president, Trump had a swift answer.

“I think so,” he said.