Angry pensioners march in last-ditch plea to save free TV licences for over-75s

CORONATION Street star Sam Aston is loved by loyal soap fans for his role as adorable Chesney Brown. The actor, 28, has graced soap screens since 2003 - at the tender age of 10.

KIRK Norcross has paid tribute to his late dad, Mick, 15 months after his sad death last year. The former Towie star, 33, smashed his way into 57-year-old Mick's home last January after reading a worrying tweet and found him dead after taking his own life in his wine cellar.

BRITAIN'S Got Talent host Ant McPartlin is seen begging an act to stop on tonight's episode of the show. The 46-year-old star, best known for mucking about in the wings during performances, asks acrobats the 'Freaks' not to continue.

Benedict Cumberbatch has criticised “repressive regimes” who ban films that include LGTBQ+ characters.It comes after Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness was banned in Saudi Arabia, allegedly over a 12-second scene where new character America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) references her “two mums”.It follows Eternals being banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar due to a same-sex kiss scene.‘It’s difficult not to become emotional about it, to be honest. But it is, I’m afraid, an expected disappointment,” Cumberbatch told the PA News Agency (via Metro).‘We’ve come to know from those repressive regimes that their lack of tolerance is exclusionary to people who deserve to be not only included but celebrated for who they are, and made to feel a part of a society and a culture and not punished for their sexuality.’He went on to say the ban ‘feels truly out of step with everything that we’ve experienced as a species, let alone where we’re at globally as a culture,” and that including Chavez (who’s gay in the comics) “isn’t tokenism”.“We’ve included her because of how awesome she is as a character.

Eurovision song of all time to Dutch singer Duncan Laurence.RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage revealed during Radio 2’s Eurovision: The Official All-Time Most-Streamed that the legendary Swedish group's classic track, which won them the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest - held in Brighton - is in second place.Laurence’s ballad Arcade won the competition in 2019, securing a first Eurovision title since 1975 for The Netherlands.Think About Things by Dadi Freyr, which was to be Iceland’s 2020 entry before the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, came third. It had been considered one of the favourites to win before the cancellation but then became a viral hit through TikTok.The group represented Iceland the following year with the song 10 Years, finishing in fourth place.The 2021 Eurovision winners – Italian rock band Maneskin – came in fifth for their hit track Zitti E Buoni.After two COVID-cancelled years, the much-anticipated 66th edition of the competition will soon be here.

EASTENDERS fans are convinced soap villain Chrissie Watts will make an Albert Square comeback after a series of cryptic tweets. Soap fans have been pleading for the return of Tracy-Ann Oberman's brutal character - who played the wife of Den Watts between 2004 and 2005 on the BBC soap - since January.

EASTENDERS legend Patsy Palmer celebrated her son's good news in a rare snap of the teenager. The 49-year-old lives in Malibu, California with husband Richard and their kids Fenton, Emilia and Bertie.

Love Island star Chloe Burrows stunned fans as she took to her Instagram stories to show off her gorgeous figure in a head-turning, satin corset top from House of CB.The JD Sports brand ambassador looked sensational in the eye-popping number which she paired with on-trend, high-waisted light blue jeans.Chloe finished her look with a pair of gold hoop earrings and an assortment of delicate gold necklaces.The influencer wore her blonde long locks down, in loose curls with a side parting.She kept her makeup natural with a palette of soft toned nude colours with a pale lipgloss. She wore natural brows, and topped the look off with a slick of black eyeliner and wispy black eyelashes.

Emmerdale, Coronation Street, EastEnders and Hollyoaks regulars found fame before they became part of the serial drama world.It is a little known fact that some Soapland favourites used to entertain millions of younger viewers back when back in the day.Several television personalities had their first taste of stardom on shows such as Grange Hill, T-Bag, The Worst Witch and Children’s Ward.Daily Star has put together a list of just a few famous faces who appeared on children's TV before becoming a soap star.Kellie is known to EastEnders fans as Walford resident Linda Carter.She first appeared in the BBC One soap back in 1986 as a bridesmaid for one episode.She later returned as the wife of Danny Dyer's character Mick Carter in 2013.However, before she stepped foot in Albert Square Kellie played Sally Simpkins in 80s kinds' show T-Bag, a TV series about an eponymous witch-like character and her sister, T-Shirt.The show was originally intended to be educational; however, this aspect was dropped after the first series in favour of simple adventure plots.As well appearing in TV shows, Kellie has appeared in her fair share of movies.In 2002, she played Julie in Ali G Indahouse and she portrayed the role of Stefania in How (Not) to Make a Short Film a year later.The actress also tried her luck on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 with professional partner Kevin Clifton.They came runners-up alongside Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice after Jay McGuinness and Aliona Vilani were crowned winners.Kellie's Strictly co-star Georgia is best known for playing Katy Armstrong in Coronation Street.She played the character from 2010 until 2015 and later went on to appear on the BBC dancing competition.In the same year, she came 98th in

Michael Jackson, but disturbing claims have emerged about the pet primate's life behind the scenes.In fact, the King of Pop's furry friend had to be saved by medics after he was rushed to hospital in 2003, where he could have lost his life.Michael bought Bubbles from an animal trainer for $65,000 (now £51,000) in the 1980s, and the pair quickly became best friends.Bubbles was no ordinary chimpanzee, because he lived a highly glamorous life in the limelight, which once saw him sport a suave tuxedo at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards.Bubbles and his famous owner seemed to become inseparable and they were often snapped out and about together.The primate even travelled with the singer on his Bad World tour and sipped tea with the mayor of Osaka in Japan.At first, the chimp stayed at Jackson's family home in Los Angeles before he was later moved into Michael's iconic Neverland home, which famously boasted an outdoor theme park.Bubbles slept in a crib in Michael's room, but it seemed Bubbles didn't always behave at home because he reportedly threw his own poo around the mansion.Sadly, worrying claims have emerged about Bubbles' life with the King of Pop, such as claims that he was abused.The world's leading primatologist, Jane Goodall, said she thought Bubbles had been punched in the face and kicked in the stomach during his time with Jackson.The expert also claimed that Michael was left fuming when she tried to talk to him about it.Speaking in 2014, Jane told TMZ: "I went to see him and we talked about Bubbles. I ticked him off."Bubbles is still alive and he’s beautiful.

Britain's Got Talent has been entertaining the nation since it first burst onto our screens in June 2007.Showcasing an array of talented musicians, comedians, dance acts and several more, the show has proven to be popular weekend entertainment amongst Brits, as the auditionees continue to wow audiences until the nail-biting final.Following the success of America's Got Talent which premiered the year before, BGT has gone on to create household names such as Diversity's frontman Ashely Banjo, singer Susan Boyle and dancer George Sampson.But despite the programme's ever-growing success, many viewers are completely unaware of the changes that have been made along the way with the presenters and the original judges.However, what may come as more of a surprise is the fact that Paul O'Grady was originally scheduled to host the entire show.With broadcaster bust-ups and last-minute changes at the time, Daily Star has taken a look at what happened to the original format.Britain's Got Talent producers clearly had a very different agenda when they were first presented with the idea of the new show by Simon Cowell in 2005.X Factor judge Simon wanted to make sure the programme followed a similar format to the British talent show Opportunity Knocks which aired during the 1950s.However, ITV producers feared the talent show wouldn't work unless comedian Paul O'Grady fronted it.But Paul wasn't the only major change that was later introduced to the show. A few years back, audiences became familiar with original BGT judges Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan and Simon.

Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator has been released on the Nintendo Switch, with developer Strange Scaffold confirming it will include plenty of new content.Announced and launched yesterday (April 29), Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator has arrived on the Nintendo Switch.The game is available to buy now, and creator Xalavier Nelson Jr. has revealed that the Nintendo Switch launch includes new quests.

Rangers coach Cameron Campbell went viral after his haircut caught the attention on social media.Campbell was being interviewed following his under-18 side's success in the Scottish FA Youth Cup in a clip shared to Twitter. But fans were solely focused on his barnet and not his reaction to the 2-1 final win for the Gers youth side over Hearts' youngsters on Wednesday (April 27).One replied: "Don't know whether to comb it or shoot it." Another wrote: "That's what you call a fringe!" A third commented: "I've watched this about 100 times and I still can't work out how he's done that.""How am I to believe there is a god when this man was blessed with full hairline and mine has been degrading since I was 16," joked one Twitter user.One person asked: "I don't get it.

Madeleine McCann case could prove to be difficult for Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, a former UK police officer has said.The investigation into Madeleine's disappearance took a new turn lately after Portuguese authorities named convicted child sexual abuser Christian B as a prime suspect.Christian B, who is currently in prison for other crimes, had previously been named as a prime suspect by German public prosecutors working on the case.But despite being potentially another step towards a resolution to Madeleine McCann's story, the news could present a "dreadful dilemma" to Madeleine's parents, a former police officer has said.Charlie Hedges was previously head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit at the National Crime Agency, and spoke of how a resolution to the case could also be very difficult for Kate and Gerry McCann. He told the Express: “It’s one of those massive dilemmas for parents in these situations."As long as Madeleine or whoever is missing, is not found, they can hang on to the hope that she will one day be found, because it does happen occasionally – it’s very, very rare, but it does happen.

– Jean, via emailI’ve read your stepson’s email to your husband. It contains obscenities and threats so extreme that they are completely unsuitable for sharing here.They reveal an explicitly intransigent and hostile stance. I can’t see a chink of light anywhere, I’m afraid; nothing whatsoever to work with.

Vladimir Putin is poised to declare an all-out war on Ukraine allowing for mass mobilisation of Russians to launch “payback” over a botched invasion, say Russian sources and Western officials.

Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn may have bright careers in the spotlight but when it comes to family life, they've managed to keep it shielded from the public eye. The pair - who have been married since 2007 - are raising twin girls, Dolly and Charlie, together and recent photos prove they're growing up fast. MORE: The Talk makes history with Sharon Osbourne replacement Jerry O'Connell Rebecca took to Instagram with some snapshots with the 13-year-olds and their family couldn't look happier. WATCH: The Talk announces Jerry O'Connell as it's new host Both girls are a perfect balance of their parents and while they're not identical, they each have their mother's beaming smile. The Talk host and Star Trek actress appear to revel in family time and posted photos celebrating birthdays, vacations and the start of 7th grade last year. MORE: The Talk's future revealed following Sharon Osbourne's controversial exitMORE: Carrie Ann Inaba shares heartfelt message on emotional day as fans show supportJerry opened up to Closer about his children and how he spent more time than ever with them while home during the pandemic. A post shared by Rebecca Romijn (@rebeccaromijn)Jerry and Rebecca's twins are 13 years old"I will say this – I was not expecting I would have to spend as much time with my children when I had kids," Jerry admitted."I didn’t know that this pandemic thing was going to mean that I had to be with my children all the time.

“Note to self - wear a sports bra - note to @peterandre - wear a belt.

Streaming platforms are set to be regulated like linear broadcasters for the first time, under the UK Government’s new plans, set out in a ‘White Paper’ policy document revealed this week.

Ryan Shawcross has named Sir Alex Ferguson as the most difficult manager he ever faced during his time at Stoke City and also revealed that he once brandished a sword in his direction.