Sandra Bullock is reflecting on the loss of her partner of eight years, Bryan Randall.

The Oscar winner and photographer began dating in 2015, and were together until he died in 2023, three years after privately being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a type of motor neurone disease.

During an appearance on an upcoming episode of the podcast SmartLess, Sandra spoke about how her partner asked her “not to share” his diagnosis publicly.

“I wasn’t allowed to speak about it,” she recalled. “That was the request and I tried – I honoured it.”

Sandra said that she understands why Bryan “asked me not” to disclose his condition publicly, but admitted that it “isolated me in the process” to carry such a “huge weight” without being able to talk to anyone outside of her family about it.

The Miss Congeniality star claimed that she “started grieving Bryan four years before he passed”, pointing out that he was “ill for half of our relationship”.

“My person left a lot earlier than the body left,” she recalled. “I don’t think I ever dealt with that until after he passed, because you’re just on this treadmill, you know?”

She also shared how caring for her parents in the past meant that illness “doesn’t scare me”, but claimed the difficult thing was her own children, as well as Bryan’s, living through the experience with them.

“I can see and be around just about anything,” she continued. “But I had two young kids that were navigating it, especially a little girl who saw [Bryan] as a father figure.”

“When the physical illness was then coupled with the mental health aspect of things – and it’s something that people don’t talk about – it was a trifecta that was pretty dark,” she then added.

After Bryan died, his family put out a joint statement which read: “Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request.

“We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.”

Back in 2021, while Bryan was privately struggling with his illness, Sandra called him the “love of my life”.

“I am someone who went through the divorce process,” she said on Red Table Talk, while discussing the fact that she and Bryan were not married. “[And then] I found the love of my life.

“We share two beautiful children, three children, he’s got his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever. I don’t want to say do it how I do it, but I don’t need a paper to be a devoted partner and a devoted mother.”

Sandra Bullock’s full interview with SmartLess will be released on 24 August.

Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray has called the environment within No.10 “unbearable” in a new interview.

Gray, once the most powerful adviser within Downing Street, has spoken out with searing honesty about what has often been described as a “boys’ club” culture at the heart of the last government.

The former Starmer aide told the Political Currency podcast: “I was thrust into the limelight in a way I had never experienced.

“It was definitely unbearable, particularly for me, and it was just affecting me and my life.”

Gray, a Labour peer, was one of the first high-profile figures to leave Starmer’s side back in 2024 following a series of leaks about her salary exceeding his own and her supposedly turbulent relationship with colleagues.

A former civil servant, she was already well-known to the public for leading the partygate enquiry into Boris Johnson’s government before she was given a top job by Starmer.

She quit in October 2024, less than three months after Labour’s landslide election victory, claiming speculation around her had become a “distraction” for government.

Gray was replaced as chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney, often described as her arch-rival in No.10. He had to resign later over his role in helping appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.

Asked about speculation she tried to get McSweeney moved further away from the PM, Gray said: “I had always taken a view as a civil servant and actually as a special adviser that you should be able to speak freely in rooms … I couldn’t recall those sort of discussions being briefed out, and yet here I found myself.

“Stories about supposedly trying to move Morgan McSweeney to the back of the building. Actually, that was a genuine … ‘I can’t believe so many of you are going to sit in this small room. Let’s find a better room for you.’ It just got to the point where you know everything you say, you feel somebody is recording it.”

Asked if Starmer understood her fears about the briefings against her, she said: “I talked to him but I was disappointed. And I really believe that advisors should not be the story.”

She added that “none of that briefing came from me”.

When asked about what she thought had gone wrong with the last prime minister, Gray said: “I think government and opposition are very different, and I’m not sure I would say they shouldn’t have survived, but I do think that we needed bigger people, people with bigger experience to be heads of, whether it was comms or policy or strategy. Government is very, very different.”

Starmer has not given an interview since leaving office last month, but he said last year that he was “wrong” to give Gray the role.

He said: “Not everyone thought it was a good idea when I appointed her … It was my call, my judgement, my decision, and I got that wrong. Sue wasn’t the right person for this job.”

There has been speculation that Gray might be brought back into Burnham’s administration as an advisor.

However, she told the podcast she was enjoying life outside of government, though Gray added that she was “still taking part in many aspects of public life”.

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.

Ricky Gervais has dismissed some of the scathing criticism he has come under since the release of his new show Alley Cats.

While the Office creator has long been a divisive figure in the comedy world, his animated Netflix series about a group of cynical feline friends living on the streets of London has received some of the worst reviews of his career.

In the weeks since, Ricky has made it clear that he stands by the project, and in an X post, laughed off a piece in The Spectator about Alley Cats, which pondered: “What has happened to Ricky Gervais?”

On Wednesday, he shared a graphic titled “25 years of Ricky Gervais being finished… critical headlines predicting his decline” which listed various publications’ harsher reviews of his work dating all the way back to 2001, alongside a laughing emoji.

He then shared a follow-up post insisting that “word of mouth” has “really started to kick in” when it comes to Alley Cats.

“[That’s] still the best marketing there is,” he claimed. “Give it a watch if you haven’t already and see what all the fuss is about. Oh, and post a photo of your cat watching too. I like that.”

Despite the scathing reviews, when Alley Cats premiered on Netflix at the beginning of this month, it slowly ascended the platform’s chart of most-watched series, before reaching the number one spot.

At the time of writing, it has fallen out of the top 10, which currently includes the new season of Love Is Blind UK, the Harlan Coben mystery I Will Find You, and documentaries about football icon Jose Mourinho, cult leader Charles Manson and the murder of four students at an Idaho university in 2022.

Ricky has a long-standing relationship with Netflix, with whom he’s previously collaborated on the award-winning series After Life and a number of stand-up specials.

For a long time, there’s been a misconception that BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadism, submission, and masochism) is some kind of niche sexual fantasy.

Well, folks, I’m here to tell you that that is well and truly wrong. In fact, research shows that almost half (46%) of people have ever tried it, while an additional 22% have experienced fantasies about it.

If you so happen to fall into that category, you’ve come to the right place.

While BDSM has been increasingly romanticised in media over the last decade or so (think: Pillion, Fifty Shades of Grey, I could go on…) there is no handbook for how to get into it.

But some of the acts within BDSM come with risks, so to help you embark on your journey, we’ve consulted the experts for some beginner-friendly guidance.

We’ve also rounded up the best BDSM sex toys to get started with, from handcuffs to beginner BDSM sets.

As with anything sexual, it all starts with talking to your partner about your desires. “Talk about what you’ve fantasised about, what you’re not willing to explore and what you want to try together,” advised Tim Lagman, resident expert at sex toy store, pjur.

These conversations should also include ‘housekeeping rules’ like boundaries, hard limits, words that are triggering, and what you want to gain from the experience, according to Courtney Boyer, pjur’s resident clinical sex educator.

“These kinds of conversations beforehand often create more intimacy than the activity itself because it builds trust and emotional safety,” she explained.

Communication is particularly important because two thirds of women have had non-consensual experiences with BDSM acts, so you’ll want to make sure all parties are equally game for what you’re about to try out.

If you’re not sure what kind of fantasies you’re into, but want to try something new, you might want to explore BDSM communities such as FetLife to see what people are talking about, or watch ethical porn to get some ideas.

“You don’t have to earn a place in the kink community by trying the most extreme thing you can imagine,” Boyer explained.

“Ask yourself what genuinely sparks your curiosity rather than what you think you’re supposed to enjoy. Following your own desire, instead of someone else’s expectations, makes the experience far more enjoyable.”

If you’re completely new to BDSM, you might want to start by exploring one aspect at a time. This isn’t a race – so there’s no pressure to jump into anything straight away.

“Trying impact play, bondage, sensory deprivation, dirty talk, and power exchange all in one evening can quickly become overwhelming,” Boyer noted.

“Pick one new experience, keep it simple, and give yourselves permission to learn together.”

Low-intensity play is a great place to start, suggested Lagman. This could include removing one of your senses, such as your vision, with an eye mask, and experimenting with new sensations.

“Feathers, silky fabric, or even an ice cube can change how someone experiences touch,” Lagman said.

“Removing one sense can heighten another, making a familiar experience feel brand new. Starting slow also allows you to discover what excites you before investing in more expensive toys.

“If you’re using toys as part of the experience, pjur Toy Lube can help enhance the experience by giving your toys a slippery feel to enhance your sensation play.”

Once you’ve experimented with removing one of your senses, you might want to move on to other aspects of BDSM.

“BDSM includes an enormous range of experiences like blindfolds, temperature play, role play, and even a massage,” explained Lagman. “Sometimes the anticipation is more exciting than the intensity.”

If you are going to explore anything like rope tying, choking or impact play, it’s important to learn the safest way of engaging in these activities.

Websites like Beducated have great beginner courses for these activities. And remember: practise makes perfect, and that doesn’t mean you have to push your body to the extreme.

“Whether you’re experimenting with cuffs, sleeves, or other BDSM accessories, your body should never have to fight against the gear you’re using,” Boyer said.

Another fun way to explore BDSM is to buy a sex toy set and figure out how to use it together, using the expert tips above.

You don’t have to dive into anything extreme straight off the bat, but if you want to then at least you’ll have the option.

We’re always talking about foreplay (as we should be) but aftercare is just as important and fun – especially when exploring BDSM.

“Aftercare is intentionally reconnecting once the scene ends to help you get back to the real world slowly and gently,” Lagman explained.

“This could mean cuddling, watching TV together, spending time together quietly, being alone. Take as much time as you need to ground yourself. Some people need five minutes, others need five days. Both are okay.”

Parts of England and Wales are experiencing drought following an unbelievably dry summer and higher-than-usual water consumption.

As a result, many water suppliers have opted to enforce a temporary usage ban (TUB), also known as a hosepipe ban. This includes companies that haven’t introduced hosepipe bans in decades, like Wessex Water.

While recent temperatures have been far more forgiving, with rain and cooler air finally making their welcome way across the UK, this won’t be enough to offset the current drought conditions in place across multiple counties.

And speaking to Times Radio, Nevil Muncaster, strategic water resources director at Thames Water, has said that the hosepipe ban might last for longer than hoped.

“What we’ve seen with these heatwaves is temperatures going above 30°C and customers using 50% more water. And that’s a huge demand on top of our normal supplies, and something that we had to cope with and make sure that we deal with,” Muncaster explained.

That’s why Thames Water, along with so many water companies, have introduced TUBs.

But even when rainfall resumes, it’ll still take time to make up for the existing shortfall, never mind add to what would have been the usual reserves.

“The Environment Agency forecast is that it will be drier than normal for the next few months, but we’ll wait and see,” the expert added.

When asked how long it would be until Thames Water’s hosepipe ban let up, he answered: “I think realistically, it’s going to be towards the end of the year before that comes off. That’s something that we need to make sure we do just to protect the environment.”

The south and southeast of the UK (where Thames Water supplies millions of customers) have generally fared far worse than the north and northwest when it comes to water supplies this year.

In April, for instance, Esk Dumfries in Scotland received 103% of the long-term average rainfall, while South Essex got just 5%.

Therefore, not all of the UK is under a TUB, and some may end sooner than others.

Thames Water serves areas including all or parts of:

• Gloucestershire
• Wiltshire
• Surrey
• the Thames Valley
• Greater London and surrounding areas
• Essex.

Check with your local water supplier to see whether your area is under a TUB and what its rules are.