This article contains major spoilers for the latest episode of House Of The Dragon.

House Of The Dragon actor James Norton has weighed in on how things played out for his character in the season three finale.

James joined the cast of the Game Of Thrones prequel as Lord Ormund Hightower in its third outing, with the character meeting his end as season three drew to a close, being first stabbed in the bum (ouchie) and then burned to a crisp by a dragon (double ouchie) during an epic battle sequence.

Speaking to Variety in an interview published after the finale aired, James insisted that it was a “lot of fun” to shoot his character’s “big, delicious death”.

“Before I read the script, there was a lot of chatter around how it was going to happen,” he claimed.I” knew it was going to be very different from the books. It happens a lot with this show where they push it to the extreme. When they realise where the boundary is, they pull it back a bit.

“So there was originally a version where Ormund gets impaled like 20 times, and then we’re like, ‘That’s probably a little too much!’.”

James praised the “odd intimacy” in Ormund and Roddy the Ruin dying together and being “preserved”, comparing their fate to “the graves when you find these couples intertwined”.

“These incongruous people end up dying in the same dragon fire and looking the same way in a strangely intimate sort of pose,” he said.

He also admitted it was “bittersweet” to be saying goodbye to House Of The Dragon after having such a “really lovely time” shooting his character’s arc, and praised the fantastic work of his colleagues across all departments.

He also claimed: “In a way, Ormund wouldn’t have been so delicious were he to have survived. I don’t think the show would have allowed me to be as brave and courageous and given me such license to be as playful because that type of character can tire, probably. There’s less places for him to go.

“It was inevitable, I imagine. The way his character was developed and allowed to be big and breathe, taking risks only happened because they knew he was not going to survive. So it was a blessing and a curse. It’ll be weird when they go back to shoot the next season and I won’t be there. But I’m so grateful that I got to come in and have this big showy moment and ludicrous memorable death…”

Besides Ormund, Phia Saban’s Helaena Targaryen also met her end in the latest House Of The Dragon finale, describing her character’s demise as an “honour”.

House Of The Dragon’s fourth and final season is likely to premiere in 2028. Before then, there’s plenty more to look forward to from the Game Of Thrones universe.

Nigel Farage has slapped down Zia Yusuf after he described a former Tory cabinet minister who served in the Army “a traitor to Britain”.

The Reform UK leader said his home affairs spokesman’s comments about Ben Wallace were “over the top”.

Farage told The Sun: “That is too strong a language. I shall give him a ticking off, don’t worry.

“I’ll speak to him today, but it’s over the top.”

His comments come after a senior Reform figure said Yusuf’s remarks were “inappropriate and counter-productive”.

Tim Montgomerie – a leading political commentator who quit the Tories to join Reform – said Yusuf’s language “isn’t acceptable”.

Yusuf hit out at Ben Wallace after he criticised Reform’s plan to fix the shortage of prison spaces by sending foreign criminals abroad.

Writing on X, he said: “Incredible that this moron was defence secretary.

“Our policy today is in direct response to your government’s failures.

“If their home countries won’t take back, their citizens that are languishing in our jails, we are renting spaces in countries like El Salvador to put them.

“They will serve their full jail terms there, and will be banned from ever coming back to Britain.

“They may well include some of the thousands of Afghans you imported, including those who had not been vetted properly and including Taliban fighters (!).

“You know, the ones you took a super injunction out to keep secret from the British people? That’s why I call you a traitor to Britain. You fit the dictionary definition.”

Yusuf’s tweet remains up on his X feed, as does a poll in which he asks if Wallace should be “prosecuted for treason”.

The row once again highlights the tensions at the top of Reform, which has seen its poll lead over Labour disappear in recent weeks.

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.

Jason Isaacs has shared his take on the controversy surrounding the source material for his film The Salt Path.

Last year, the White Lotus star shared the screen with Gillian Anderson in the big-screen adaptation of Raynor Winn’s book of the same name.

However, months after its release, The Salt Path faced scrutiny in the media after The Observer published a piece casting doubt on some of the claims in the book, which had been marketed as a memoir.

Last week, Jason was a guest on the podcast Kermode On Film, where he was asked about the movie’s impending US release.

“It’s going to be interesting doing publicity for The Salt Path now that there’s been [renewed scrutiny],” the always-candid British actor claimed.

He went as far as questioning whether the team behind the film’s US release actually wanted him to do any promotion for it, to which they responded: “Absolutely.”

“I went, ‘OK, yeah, fine’,” he claimed, maintaining that The Salt Path is a “beautiful film” and that “much of it is still completely valid”.

“Obviously, some of the things have been questioned,” he added, conceding that promoting it will no doubt be an “interesting experience”.

Just days later, Gillian also spoke about the Salt Path backlash for the first time, calling the debacle “very unfortunate”.

“The film was doing really well in the UK – beyond my expectations,” she told Radio Times. “I think we were about to sign with Sony Classics for the United States the week when the article came out, so it sucked, and continues to suck.”

Like Jason, she claimed that the film is “special in its own right”, insisting: “I hope people are able to experience it as its own entity, separate from what may or may not be true or whatever controversy there is.”

In Raynor Winn’s first Salt Path book, she claimed that she and her husband Moth had walked the 600-mile length of the South West Coast Path after being made homeless.

She also discussed Moth’s struggles with the neurodegenerative disease corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which he was diagnosed with shortly before the couple lost their home, in her writing.

However, The Observer’s piece raised questions about a number of parts in the book, including exactly what led to the couple being made homeless, and specific parts of Moth’s illness.

At the time, the writer’s legal team provided a statement to The Observer, which read: “The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey.”

The Telegraph also published a longer version of this statement, which added: “[The] Observer article is highly misleading. We are taking legal advice and won’t be making any further comment at this time.”

Parts of the UK are right on the brink of their sixth heatwave, and brown grass carpets much of the south. (Luckily, that doesn’t mean your lawn’s died).

Still, that, alongside hosepipe bans, has had a knock-on effect on gardeners. Writing to Reddit’s r/GardeningUK forum, posters shared their “heatwave casualties” and outright deaths.

But other Redditors were surprised to see that certain species, like lavender, seemed to thrive.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how to drought- and heatwave-proof your garden for 2027.

If you’re looking for specific species, however, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) conducted an Extreme Heat Survey this July, “painting a clear picture that even established, formerly healthy plants could not cope with the searing temperatures, which reached well above 30°C.”

They received responses from over 8,000 UK gardeners who’d just been battling with weeks of unprecedented dry weather and drought.

Per the RHS’ data, the “losers” in extreme heat were:

1. Hydrangea
2. Acer
3. Fuchsia
4. Astilbe
5. Roses
6. Anemone
7. Ferns
8. Heuchera
9. Phlox
10. Crocosmia.

However, while crocosmia might show damage early on, that doesn’t mean it’ll be hurt in the long run.

Leigh Hunt, the RHS’ principal horticultural advisor, said: “As temperatures become more extreme don’t replace like for like – if a plant is struggling in your garden you can plant something better suited to the space.”

The RHS also ran a separate (unexpected) trial in their own Wisley garden.

The area went without rain for almost six weeks, and gardeners took note of what survived.

1. Persian roses
2. Baptista
3. Wild carrots
4. Crape myrtles.

Other drought-tolerant plants include lavender, rosemary, and grasses like Festuca arundinacea.

BBC Gardeners’ World said geums, hardy geraniums, bearded irises, nepeta, sea hollies, and sedums can flourish in dry weather too.

Have you ever set your alarm early to catch a flight or head to a work event, and been overwhelmed by a sicky feeling? If so, you’re certainly not alone.

People have taken to Reddit’s r/NightOwls forum to try and understand the phenomenon. One person explained how they’d wake up at 7am to shower and get ready and “feel like throwing up”.

“This has been happening for basically my entire life. Up until today it stopped because I had a schedule that had me waking up at like 2pm. No nausea at all,” they explained.

“But suddenly it’s back and now I think it has something to do with waking up in the morning.”

Among the numerous other comments from people agreeing they struggle, too, one person added: “YES!! no matter how much sleep I get or if I eat before bed I still get nauseous waking up early, but not if I wake up at my normal time.”

Dr Zachary Rubin, a double board-certified paediatrician specialising in allergy and immunology, shared on Instagram that it’s “common” for people to experience nausea if they wake up earlier than usual and there are several reasons why this might be.

He explained: “When you wake up earlier, it can disrupt your digestive system since it has its own body clock – kind of like the circadian rhythm you have with your sleep cycle.

“That, coupled with having an empty stomach, stress hormones, and lack of sleep can make you feel quite queasy.”

According to BASS Medical Group, low blood sugar can contribute to morning nausea and lightheadedness. “If you skipped dinner or didn’t eat enough protein and carbs the night before, your body may be running on empty by morning,” reads the site.

Dehydration and anxiety can also contribute to this sensation, as can taking certain types of medication (iron tablets, antibiotics, etc) and underlying gastrointestinal conditions.

To reduce the chance of this happening, Dr Rubin suggested getting to bed earlier if you plan on having an early start.

He also suggested ensuring you have a bright light exposed to you when you first wake up “because that’ll help jump start your day from a circadian rhythm standpoint”.

Eat a bland snack, if you can, and hydrate to help your digestive system. “Avoid fatty foods or alcohol,” he also advised.

If you’re going to be travelling by car somewhere – for example, a taxi to the airport or train station – he advises staying off your phone, sitting in the front seat and having plenty of air circulating to help keep motion sickness at bay.

Lastly, the expert warned, if you suffer nausea every morning (regardless of when you wake up), you’re vomiting, losing weight, having severe abdominal pain, headaches, or it’s possible you’re pregnant, speak to your medical provider about it as an underlying issue may be at play.

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, Eve Lepage, a reproductive health specialist at Clue, said she’d noticed more women receiving ADHD diagnoses during menopause and perimenopause.

“Oestrogen plays an important role in brain function, particularly in regulating dopamine, which is key for attention, motivation, and executive function,” she explained, adding that “hormonal changes can intensify symptoms”.

And now, King’s College London and Queen Mary University of London are working on a project called the Measuring Adult ADHD and Menstruation (MAAM) study.

They pointed out that while more boys receive ADHD diagnoses than girls, by the time women reach adulthood, the figures roughly even out.

But studies still underrepresent women with ADHD, so they wanted to look at “overlooked” topics, “including whether menstrual cycle hormonal changes make symptoms worse for women with ADHD”.

This first-of-its-kind research will ask women who take medication for ADHD to fill in questionnaires about their symptoms throughout their cycles for three months.

They’ll also use a smart ring, which participants will wear on their fingers, to “sense sleep patterns and physical activity”, which might make any links between ADHD symptoms and hormonal changes clearer.

“Many women with ADHD report their ADHD gets worse, or their medication doesn’t work as well, at certain times of their menstrual cycle. However, this has not been investigated in a research study,” King’s College London’s site reads.

They added that their findings could suggest women with ADHD need a different medication dosage depending on the stage of their cycle, that they might benefit from cycle tracking, and/or could benefit from sleep or exercise interventions.

A 2025 systematic review of 11 studies found “largely suggestive” evidence that hormone changes in women, e.g., during their menstrual cycle or menopause, may be linked to changes in ADHD symptoms.

There’s even evidence that perimenopause may begin earlier in people with ADHD.

But the authors of that 2025 review pointed out that “further research is needed to understand the relationship between sex hormones and ADHD symptoms and requires investigation of a wider range of hormonal milestones in females, including menopause.”

Here’s hoping research like MAAM can help to fill in existing blanks.

Andy Burnham should call a general election by early next year “at the latest” so Labour can defeat Nigel Farage and all-but kill off the Tories, according to a Theresa May’s former pollster.

James Johnson of JL Partners said the prime minister will never have a better opportunity to capitalise on the deep splits on the right of British politics.

He said even Lib Dem and Green “would rally around” Burnham if it was a straight fight for No.10 between him and Farage, which could hand Labour a Commons majority of more than 90 seats.

Writing in The Times, Johnson, who was former Tory PM May’s senior opinion research and strategy adviser, said: “The prime minister has ruled out calling an ‘early election’.

“But I believe a combination of factors mean Andy Burnham should go for a general election this year or, at the latest, early next.”

He said Labour “could quite easily win a sizeable majority” on just 30% of the vote, which would be even less than the 34% the party received at the last general election.

“It is the left uniting behind Burnham that would get him there,” he said. “He has far higher approval ratings than Starmer did among Green and Liberal Democrat voters.

“And there is one man wavering voters on the left fear more than any Tory: Farage.”

Johnson added: “A recent YouGov poll found that while Burnham has a 12-point advantage over Badenoch for who would make the best PM, Burnham is seen as a better PM than Farage by a 26-point margin.

“Among Green voters, Burnham has a 70-point advantage, among Liberal Democrats a 72-point advantage. They would rally around Burnham come a contest for the future of the country.”

Amid speculation that Farage may stand down as Reform leader before 2029, the latest point at which an election must be held, Johnson said Burnham should go to the country now.

He said: “Farage remains Reform’s best asset and if Farage goes, Reform goes with him.

“Rather than fight a resurgent Badenoch with a more united right in such a situation in 2029, Burnham would do better to use his Goldilocks moment.

“Farage is not too strong nor too weak — he is strong enough for Burnham to engineer a two-horse race but can be beaten.”

The pollster said that in such a scenario, Reform would win more than 100 seats – way up on the five MPs they returned in 2024 – but the Tories would slump from 121 seats to fewer than 100.

“Given the circumstances, it would also be a stonking result for Labour and could lead to a majority of more than 90 seats,” he said.

“If he throws the dice nationally, there are good odds he will win a large majority of his own, escape the manifesto trap he faces and scatter his opponents.

“Given the split on the right, he faces a unique set of circumstances. He would have not only his best shot at power but could relegate the Conservatives to a state of near-extinction.

“For a man built on Labour traditions, is there any stronger temptation than that?”

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.

Anne Hathaway is shrugging off the internet’s latest wild rumour about her.

The Devil Wears Prada star is having an absolutely massive 2026, with no fewer than five films hitting cinemas in the space of a year.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, the Oscar winner also recently confirmed that she and her husband Adam Shulman are expecting another baby.

Unfortunately, social media being the way it is in 2026, the US actor has recently found herself at the centre of speculation, mostly from bored TikTok users, suggesting that she’s actually faking her pregnancy.

It seems that Anne herself may have caught wind of this conversation, which she appeared to effortlessly shut down in a new Instagram post.

Sharing behind-the-scenes footage of herself at the premiere of her new film The End Of Oak Street, she joked in the caption: “Fake hair, real bump.”

“Enjoy the [End Of Oak Street] Block Party chaos with me as my outfit literally melts in the heat!!” she quipped.

So far this year, Anne has already received praise for her work in Mother Mary and The Devil Wears Prada 2, and she can currently be seen in action in one of the year’s biggest movie events, The Odyssey, in which she stars as Penelope, opposite Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Mia Goth.

During an interview with Extra while promoting her latest project, she said with a laugh that “two of the movies have done unbelievably well”, while the other was “very well-respected”.

Before the end of the year, Anne is also due to appear in Verity, a dark thriller based on the book of the same name by Colleen Hoover.

Even then, she’s not done, as next year she’s set to star alongside Adam Driver in the military drama Alone At Dawn, which is already in the post-production phase.