Reform UK wanted this year’s annual conference in Birmingham to be about “making Britain fall in love with Nigel Farage again”.

But that plan to woo voters and consolidate their base by presenting a strategy for their first 100 days in power fell apart before it had even begun.

Channel 4 News broadcast an undercover sting operation from investigative group Verbatim on Thursday evening, shortly before delegates arrived.

The footage accused Reform of taking funds from a US company to commission three supposedly independent polls at £32,500 earlier this year, research which was then shared with the media.

Reform’s head of policy James Orr and Farage’s close aide Dan Jukes organised the donation. They were unaware the donors were actually undercover reporters.

British electoral law says political donations can only be made by someone eligible to vote in the UK or a UK-registered company.

But Jukes appeared to propose a work-around so that an American businessman could donate £500,000 to the party through his British son.

Reform initially called the documentary a “hoax”, and said it was guilty of no wrongdoing.

It then launched an internal investigation and both Jukes and Orr stepped down from their roles.

Farage, who was seen in some of the footage engaging with the undercover journalists when they were presented as donors, told the BBC: “I frankly wasn’t even listening.”

The Metropolitan Police and the Electoral Commission are now assessing reports into the donations.

Unsurprisingly, the conference ended up being a far-cry from the plan to look more professional.

Here’s some of the strangest moments may have missed.

Jukes has worked with Farage for years and their relationship has been compared to father and son.

Orr was the policy brain of the party, and his attendance at a conference set to be a policy-blitz was crucial.

But Farage distanced himself significantly, calling them “contractors” who were only guilty of “loose pub talk”.

There was also significant confusion over whether they would ever be able to return, even though Reform’s internal investigation is yet to conclude.

Reform’s chair Lee Anderson told broadcasters they were not coming back, while other party officials said it was too early to say.

A small sign depicting Farage as the Monopoly Man running off with a bag of cash amid a sea of flames appeared behind the deputy party leader during his speech.

It had the caption, “Collect £5 million, burn the planet,” in reference to the ongoing parliamentary probe into the undeclared lump sum Farage received before he became an MP.

The sign, unfurled by Greenpeace, was swiftly removed.

After the banner incident, Farage’s subsequent keynote speech was delayed by more than an hour.

Reform sources claimed it was due to a warning from Counter-Terror Police who “wouldn’t let him on stage yet”.

However, West Midlands Police said: “We can confirm that Counter Terrorism Policing have had no involvement in the delivery of the Reform UK Party Conference 2026.”

Multiple demonstrators were thrown out once the keynote speech got going.

Farage tried to downplay the disruptions, telling the crowd: “We’ve got a screamer. Oh dear.”

He added: “That poor young girl, she looked like she was going to do herself an injury.”

He then said: “Boring, boring, boring.”

Activist group Climate Resistance claimed responsibility for the protest.

One woman was removed by security guards, only for members of the crowd to apparently grab at her face and hair, hitting her with a walking stick.

She told LBC: “Yesterday I was hit and grabbed by the hair and by my jaw by attendees at the Reform UK conference after calling out Nigel Farage for being a conman during his keynote speech.”

She added: “Nigel Farage himself, as well as members of the audience, are inciting this violence by celebrating assaults like the one I experienced.”

West Midlands Police said in a statement they are aware of the video circulating online. They are yet to receive a complaint from the woman involved but urged anyone with information to come forward.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf later said: “On the question of whether I condemn people punching people, yes, I condemn people punching people.”

Nadine Dorries, formerly the Conservative culture secretary under Boris Johnson, defected to Reform after stepping down as an MP in 2024.

She tried furiously to defend Farage over the documentary, accusing it of being “very heavily edited”.

Reform’s candidate to be London mayor, Laila Cunningham, admitted to BBC Newsnight she had not watched the whole documentary.

Presenter Matt Chorley was stunned, replying: “What? Laila, you are a senior member of Reform UK, standing for election to be London mayor next year.

“This is the only story coming out of the Reform UK, serious allegations, which has got the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission assessing. And you’re coming on here to tell me everything is fine, no rules have been broken, and you’re telling me you haven’t watched the footage?”

The Reform MP furiously defended his party leader after Channel 4’s documentary showed the Reform UK leader saying “thank you” to the fictitious donors.

He told Times Radio: “You can’t criticise a leader for saying thank you over lunch to someone. I know a lot of slings and arrows are thrown at Nigel Frage, but being polite is not a crime these days.”

Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesperson, announced his plan to resign as chancellor if he did not deliver on his promises to cut taxes once in power.

However, the party is not in government. It is not even the shadow cabinet, because that name belongs to the second largest party in the Commons, the Conservatives.

The party leader said his relatives urged him to quit over the summer amid safety concerns.

He told the BBC: “For the first time, really, in my political career, I haven’t got my family’s support. They would rather I packed it up and walked away. So yes it’s been difficult.”

Despite all of this chaos, the deputy party leader posted some jubilant photos on Saturday showing him jumping for joy on stage…

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After years of speculation, the race to cast the next James Bond is getting serious.

Last week, a new batch of actors was reported to be among the frontrunners to land the role of 007, including Jacob Elordi, Jack Lowden and Paul Mescal.

But one of them in particular is reportedly the new favourite to become Daniel Craig’s successor.

Jack Barton might not be a household name just yet, but he is rumoured to have impressed casting director Nina Gold so much that Page Six named him as “The One”.

With that in mind, here is everything you need to know about Jack Barton’s career – and why he could well make the perfect James Bond…

Producer Amy Pascal recently opened up to Deadline about the qualities the team behind the franchise are looking for in their next 007.

“It’s got to be something really different that is… stirring and exciting and different,” she claimed.

Despite actors like Harris Dickinson, Idris Elba and James Norton being attached to the role in recent years, long-time Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams also told The Independent in June that she believes the lead in the long-awaited 26th 007 movie should be a “total enigma”.

“I don’t want to see any of [the rumoured stars] as Bond because we now know so much about them,” Debbie told the outlet.

“We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are. We don’t need to know where he goes shopping or who his parents are, or where he lives.”

Graduating from the Oxford School of Drama in 2018, Jack’s first role was in Netflix’s coming-of-age fantasy The Letter For The King.

Adapted from the classic 1962 Dutch novel of the same name by Tonke Dragt, the show followed a young, aspiring knight embarking on a dangerous mission to deliver a secret letter to the king.

Jack played Foldo, a swordsman who travelled with Amir Wilson’s young knight on the journey through the Great Mountains.

Interestingly, until recently, Jack had only one movie credit to his name, but it was a Hollywood project made by one of the coolest filmmakers, Yorgos Lanthimos, and featuring an Oscar-winning Emma Stone performance.

Jack had a minor role in Poor Things, which follows Emma Stone’s Bella, who is brought back to life when an unorthodox scientist plants the brain of an infant into her adult body.

He is credited as Fop 1, which is another word for a gentleman concerned with his appearance. Jack can be seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, sitting down watching the scientific experiments.

The quirky drama was a huge hit, winning four Oscars, two Golden Globes and five Baftas and making numerous Best Of 2023 lists.

After making his TV debut in The Letter For The King, Jack went on to have minor roles in Grantchester and The Pursuit Of Love.

When the BBC adapted HG Wells’ science fiction epic War Of The Worlds for the small screen, Jack landed a recurring role in its third season as Hiram.

More recently, in 2025, he had a minor role in the Anne Rice adaptation Talamasca: The Secret Order, where he played law associate Osterhaus.

Jack’s breakout role came when he was cast as David Nelson, Nick’s older brother, in five episodes of the popular Netflix series, Heartstopper.

His character takes pleasure in bullying his brother, played by Kit Connor, and prying into Nick’s private business.

But the character also has hidden depths, as it is revealed that some of his nasty traits stem from seeking validation from his absent father.

He reprised this role in this year’s Netflix movie, Heartstopper Forever, and which allowed him to showcase some of his more serious acting abilities.

While he played an antagonist, Jack called the role a “real privilege” thanks to the positive feedback he received from Heartstopper fans.

“Even as the detestable older brother I received countless messages about how it had helped people and how much it meant to them,” he told The Real Magazine in January 2025.

If Jack Barton is Bond, it’s likely his appearance in BBC drama SAS: Rogue Heroes that caught the Bond’s casting team’s eye.

The actor played Lieutenant John Eliot Tonkin in season two of the Steven Knight-created and penned show – and it’s probably worth noting that Steven is also writing the new Bond film.

Based on the real-life origins of the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) during World War II, Jack’s character had to make a dramatic escape after being captured by the Nazis and receiving an execution order.

This role more than proves that Jack can handle the dramatic acting and the physical skills required to play Ian Fleming’s famous spy character.

When speaking about what he was looking forward to doing in the future as recently as January 2025, he told Numero Netherlands that he’d “go wherever the wind takes me”.

And then he gave an answer which either meant he had an inkling about his future… or has fantastic clairvoyance powers.

“Right now, this is a lovely little wave I’m riding but who knows where life goes next. That’s all part of the adventure. But if you’re looking for a short answer – I hear Bond is up for grabs…?” he joked.

He also opened up about exactly what draws him into a project, hinting at his future in the industry.

“I think I have to read the script to really know,” he said. “It’s also about taste, I think – I love film, TV, and art, so as I grow, I get a better sense of my taste. That helps me decide on projects.”

Speaking to The Real, he admitted there was pressure now that he had started to make a name for himself.

“There’s a bit of added pressure knowing that lots of people are waiting to see what’s next… and hopefully we managed to keep them interested,” he said last year.

Producer Amy Pascal recently revealed that the role will be announced sometime in the next five months.

“I would say the end of the year is a good bet,” she hinted to Deadline last month, acknowledging that she and her team are having to be “really, really methodical” given that “Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow”.

Comments made by US President Donald Trump calling the Iran war “small potatoes” are being widely condemned by lawmakers and critics alike, largely due to the president appearing to dismiss the 18 US service members killed since the conflict began.

The remarks came after Trump was asked by ABC’s Rachel Scott in the Oval Office on Friday about Vice President JD Vance’s claim that the conflict in Iran was not a war.

“I’ll tell you what, a lot of people don’t call it a war,” Trump said. “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing. We did Venezuela, and we did this. In Venezuela, we lost nobody, and this we lost 18 people. In Vietnam you lost a 100 thousand people, and in other conflicts you lost tens of thousands of people.”

Scott quickly offered a retort to Trump, pointing out the service members killed in the war so far.

“It certainly doesn’t feel like small potatoes, Mr. President. Eighteen people have died in this,” Scott said.

Trump responded by continuing to compare Iran to the Vietnam War and asking Scott if she knew how long that conflict lasted.

“How long were we in Vietnam?” Trump said. “We’re in five months now. And you know what we did in five months? They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. That’s what we did. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did, you probably wouldn’t be standing here very long.”

Many Democratic lawmakers, including several who served in the military, sounded off on Trump’s seemingly cavalier attitude towards the service members who have been killed.

As of Friday, 18 service members have been killed and more than 750 wounded since the US and Israel launched the war in late February.

See reactions to Trump’s comments on Friday here:

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This article contains major spoilers for The Gentlemen season two.

After watching that shocking The Gentlemen season two ending, fans will no doubt be desperate to see more from the hit crime drama.

The latest season finale set up yet more stories for Theo James’ Eddie, as he continues on his dark descent into the criminal underworld, led by Kaya Scodelario’s Susie Glass and Ray Winstone’s Bobby.

But when should we expect our return to Halstead Manor? Well, here’s a quick guide to everything we know so far about what’s next for the show…

Well, the immediate good news is that Netflix has already announced season three of The Gentlemen.

The update was revealed around a week before season two’s debut, in a rare move for the streaming service, which is infamous for cancelling even the most critically-acclaimed of shows.

Creator, writer, director and executive producer Guy Ritchie said: “The ambition of The Gentlemen has accelerated, the world has expanded and the consequences carry weight. A third season felt inevitable, and I’m looking forward to pushing the boundaries of it further.”

As with the first two seasons, the third iteration will also be made up of eight episodes.

Guy Ritchie will be back to direct season three, which he will once again co-write with Matthew Read.

We should also expect to see most of the central characters returning, including Theo James’s Eddie, Kaya Scodelario’s Susie, Joely Richardson as matriarch Lady Sabrina and, of course, Daniel Ings’ Freddie after that cliffhanger.

Sadly, not everyone made it out of season two safely.

Major characters we don’t expect to see again include Tyler Conti’s Joe, Pearce Quigley’s Gospel John, Hugh Bonneville’s Lord Hawthorne and, tragically, Benedetta Porcaroli’s Bella.

Then again, in the world of Guy Ritchie, you never know who will spring back up from the dead…

Fans of The Gentlemen famously had to wait more than two years for season two after the show debuted on Netflix.

However, while there was an almost 12-month gap between season one’s debut and filming getting underway on the most recent run of episodes, Theo James gave Radio Times a promising update about the show’s third outing.

“We’re going to shoot it pretty soon,” he claimed, suggesting the third instalment could land on Netflix with much less of a break.

No conversation about season three of The Gentlemen is complete without mentioning Meghan Markle.

Reports surfaced in late August that the Suits actor was in early talks to appear in the third season.

Variety wrote in August that she was “in talks” following her and Prince Harry’s move to the UK.

But, just one day later, it was reported that Meghan had been “dropped” from the show.

In a column published on Substack, Tina Brown, the former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, wrote: “I learned this morning that the casting of Meghan Markle in season 3 of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen has been withdrawn. The backlash in the UK was so intense, it became untenable to go forward. This does not bode well for Meghan’s acting comeback in the UK.”

Meghan is still apparently in on-going talks to appear in the series. The Sun reported that “Netflix bosses are eager to feature Meghan’s screen comeback”, even if “no formal agreement has been reached”.

Neither Netflix nor Meghan made an official statement about the numerous conflicting stories in the press.

At last week’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Netflix’s head of scripted shows in the UK, Manda Levin, was asked directly about the rumours, and she responded with a cryptic four-word response.

“All bets are off,” she said, with no further comments.

In an interview with Town & Country published on 2 September, Theo James shot down the rumours about the Duchess of Sussex joining the crime drama.

“I think that was mainly a lot of hot air,” he claimed.

Theo James has hinted at what to expect in season three of the TV series.

“We have the overarching ambition of where we’re going to go. We’re going to expand the world, go to different countries,” he told Town & Country.

“But in terms of the minutiae, I mean, it’s still very much up in the air.”

Vinnie Jones, who plays Eddie’s loyal gamekeeper, told Country and Townhouse that he hoped the upcoming run of episodes will focus more on the Horniman family lore.

“For me, there are still some unknown elements to Geoff,” Vinnie claimed, pondering: “What is his debt of loyalty to this family? What, for example, did the old man, Eddie’s dad, do for him that has kept him so close and so loyal all these years?

“And, whatever it was, that loyalty has now transferred to Eddie to the extent that I sometimes think that while Lady Sabrina is very important to him, it’s the relationship between Geoff and Eddie that really matters the most. I think all those things could be developed.”

Susie’s father, Bobby, is certain to return to continue to lead Eddie astray – but Ray Winstone doesn’t think he’ll see a world beyond his sauna.

“He’s very happy exactly where he is. Leave him alone!” he joked during the same Country and Townhouse piece.

Watch season one and two of The Gentlemen on Netflix now.

For millions of viewers, Christopher Nolan’s movie will have been their first introduction to the epic Ancient Greek story about Odysseus’ heroic journey home to his beloved wife Penelope at the end of the Trojan war.

And while The Odyssey has been adapted for the screen on numerous occasions in the past, what you might realise is that, at one point, Disney looked poised to have a go at it.

The story goes that, at the cusp of Disney’s so-called “Renaissance” towards the end of the 20th century – which saw the studio achieving renewed success thanks to films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King – execs gathered the creative team for a series of so-called “Gong Show” pitch meetings.

In these quick fire meetings, writers and animators had a short amount of time to pitch their ideas for stories, many of which would then be greenlit.

One of these meetings saw a Disney-fied version of The Odyssey being put forward as an idea, with the company going as far as announcing in 1992 that the movie was in development.

Meanwhile, following the success of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, directors John Musker and Ron Clements had hoped to pursue their passion project, a space-age reimagining of Treasure Island.

However, studio bosses at the time weren’t sold on the idea, and instead told the duo they’d need one more hit under their belts before they were allowed to put the wheels in motion on the project that would eventually become the 2002 cult classic Treasure Planet.

Instead, they were encouraged to have a look at some of the other approved ideas that were floating around, which included The Odyssey, as well as potential adaptations of Pygmillion and Don Quixote (neither of which got off the ground, either).

Ultimately, The Odyssey was dropped by Disney after they struggled to translate the source material to a family-friendly animated comedy, or settle on a cast of characters befitting of the winning streak Disney was on at that time.

However, Musker and Clements did end up helming another Ancient Greek adaptation, co-directing 1997’s Hercules.

Odysseus did end up making it into the Disney universe, too, when the character was included in an episode of the animated Hercules “midquel” TV series in the late 1990s.

Treasure Planet did eventually hit cinemas in 2002, and while it’s not exactly revered as a mainstream Disney classic (it has previously been included in round-ups of infamous box office bombs), it certainly has a loyal following all the same.

Musker and Clements went on to oversee another huge Disney hit just a decade ago, when they took on co-directing duties on 2016’s Moana, which is now one of the studio’s signature franchises.