Emma Thompson backs campaign to shake up politics with more women candidates

A High Court judge is due to give his ruling on a legal challenge over the UK Government's decision not to extend the £20 uplift to more than two million people on legacy benefits to help support them during the coronavirus pandemic.

EastEnders fans have been left gutted after evil killer Gray turned violent yet again.

A section of a bridge in Croftamie remains “fit for use” after it partially collapsed last year as the council attempt to carry out repairs and re-open the route.

Kate Middleton was just like anyone else when it came to her 21st birthday.

Martin Lewis hosted a special pensions edition of his weekly Money Show Live TV programme on Thursday night offering insight and advice on how to make the most of your cash for a worry-free retirement.

A disgruntled Ayrshire driver has racked up a £176 debt after council bosses say he was “parking illegally” in a disabled bay.

R Kelly’s new lawyer filed legal papers with the courts in New York yesterday seeking to have the musician acquitted or retried in relation to his conviction last year on charges of racketeering and sexual exploitation. Among the reasons given for acquittal or retrial are the failings of Kelly’s former legal team.At trial last September, Kelly was found guilty of building and running a criminal enterprise that allowed him to prolifically groom and abuse young people, often teenagers.

Rangers have been backed to win the Europa League with odds slashed on them going all the way to lift the trophy in Seville.

Lanarkshire residents are invited to take part in health walks across the county to “beat the winter blues” and take part in gentle and sociable exercise.

Kanye West has said that his upcoming album Donda 2 will only be available to listen to via his Stem Player device.

DEALSAerosmith have signed a deal with Universal Music’s merch-tastic Epic Rights for global brand management. “We are THRILLED to have Aerosmith, one of the all-time greatest rock icons, on the Epic Rights roster”, says the company’s SVP Global Licensing Lisa Streff. ”In anticipation of the upcoming 50th anniversary activities, we’re excited to be developing a global licensing programme that will celebrate and illustrate the band’s career at retail”.

told the BBC about the moment she showed the former Beatle photos of the planned memorial, saying: “He said a few rude words, but we were at a family party and I had the photos of the final clay on my phone. I showed him the photograph and he said ‘bleep, bleep, bleep Janie, that’s dead good like’.

When Ed Sheeran and Bring Me The Horizon opened the BRIT Awards last week with a metal version of ‘Bad Habits’ I think everyone watching – every single one – immediately screamed, “What about Cradle Of Filth?!”After all, the extreme metal band were the first to talk about working on a heavy collaboration with Sheeran and it looked a little like they’d been sidelined for some more chart-friendly metallers. It’s alright though, Ed Sheeran can manage more than one riff partnership. Things are still at the discussion stage regarding the Cradle Of Filth collaboration though.“Ed’s expressed a desire to be part of a song, and we’re currently looking at some options, and that’s about as far as it’s got”, the band’s frontman Dani Filth tells Heavy Consequence.“The thing that interests me [is] the juxtaposition between what we do and what he does”, he adds.

darts world champion Gerwyn Price is making his boxing debut later this year but will need to refocus quickly as he faces Peter Wright in the Premier League just a few days later.The multi-talented 36-year-old revealed on Instagram that he'll step into the ring with Rhys 'Cool Fly & Flashy' Evans in his native Wales on April 9, before returning to the oche the following week.Price admitted that he needs to drop some weight for the fight, telling followers: "Need to drop 10kg for this."Speaking to Sky Sports following his 6-3 victory over Michael Smith on night 3 of the Premier League in Belfast, Price confessed that he was worried about "looking stupid"."One of my mates was an ex-boxer and a very good pro, so I’ve got to get some training in and get myself ready otherwise I’m going to look stupid," he said.Remarkably, this isn't the first time The Iceman has switched sports.Price played rugby union and rugby league professionally and even scored a try in a cup final at the Millennium Stadium, before officially joining the darts circuit in 2014.He became the first Welshman to win the PDC World Championship in 2021, beating Scotland's Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final at Alexandra Palace, becoming World No 1 in the process.Will Gerwyn Price get battered in the ring? Let us know what you reckon in the comments section below...Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox - don't miss a thing.It only takes a matter of seconds.Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.And that's it, job done.

Hollywood power couple Tom Holland and Zendaya, but fans were more enraptured in the Prince Harry 'lookalike' bodyguard in the background of one of the shots.Tom's bodyguard, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Meghan Markle's husband, stood behind the young Brit actor with his hand to the camera and a stern look on his face.He opted for an altogether more casual look than that which we're accustomed to seeing Harry where.The bodyguard donned a grey beanie hat, black puffer jacket, coordinating jeans and white trainers.Tom also opted for a casual look, donning a Prada hoodie, pulled over another burgundy hoodie, black jeans and white trainers.Instagram users came out in full force in the comments section to share their bewilderment over the doppelgänger bodyguard.One social networker remarked: "Is Prince Harry the bodyguard," followed by a laughing face emoji.While another continued: "Since when is Prince Harry doing security work?"A third added: "Why is Prince Harry behind him?"And a fourth said: "Dude, Harry is a bodyguard now? Rough times when you're no longer a royal."Zendaya also opted for a casual look, donning an oversized jumper and white skirt and black thigh-high boots.Tom and Zendaya have long been rumoured to be a couple, but it wasn't until July 2021 that the Spiderman co-stars confirmed they were an item.The pair had been friends for a long time before they became romantically involved thanks to working together on hugely popular Spiderman films – Homecoming, Far From Home – and undoubtedly their connection grew on latest film, No Way Home.In the franchise, Tom stars as Peter Parker, while Zendaya takes on the role of MJ, Parker's love interest.For more of the latest showbiz news from the Daily Star, make

London to Las Vegas and shared what it's really like stripping for a living.Both based in the UK, the best friends started their own podcast Strippers in the Attic (SITA) at the beginning of the pandemic.Now they have shared some industry secrets with the Daily Star.According to Buffy, one of the most prevalent beliefs is that strippers hate all men, which isn't the case.She said: "[Some people think] that the women are uneducated victims and that it’s a completely degrading superficial environment."While this may be some peoples experience in the industry, it’s certainly not been ours."Heaven said another misconception is that you earn loads of money every time you go to work."Often there are nights when you don’t make a penny. Another misconception is that all strippers are uneducated and have no other options," she said."Honestly some of the smartest, most inspiring, goal focussed women I have ever met have been strippers or sex workers at some point during their lives."No matter how much public opinion is changing, there are still people who judge those who choose to go into the profession.Heaven said she doesn't feel the need to defend stripping to people whose opinions she doesn't care about.That being said, Buffy shared some words of wisdom to highlight how hypocritical people's judgements are.“US professor Eric Sprankle said ‘if you think sex workers sell their bodies but coal miners don’t, your view of work is clouded by your moralistic view of sexuality',” she explained.“With actors Channing Tatum and Megan Prescott being open about the fact they have stripped at times I feel a lot less judgement than I did five or ten years ago.

drugs as a teenager believes that becoming a young mum saved her life.When she was younger Ellie Burscough embraced the party lifestyle, spending time hanging out with the wrong people and getting caught with drugs.Now 35, the Gold Coast local has managed to turn her life around as she is a successful entrepreneur, business coach and mum of three, crediting her unplanned pregnancy with changing the course of her life for the better.At 19 she narrowly avoided going to prison after being caught in the possession of pills but even her brush with the law wasn’t enough to prompt Ellie to transform her life.“When I was 18 I got into harder drugs. I would go out clubbing multiple times a week and thought I was having the time of my life,” she told Daily Star.“My friends started asking me if I knew who had pills.

tiny pockets that fit in jeans.The small pockets date all the way back to 1890, which is when they were stitched into Levi's 'waist overall' jeans.They used to be commonly used for pocket watches back then but seeing as not many people use pocket watches these days, it may seem a bit pointless they're still there.However, it's actually due to sentiment with regards to WWII. During this time the two corner rivets were removed as a way to conserve metal for the war effort and the rivets returned to the watch pocket after the war.To preserve the integrity of the early design, Levi Strauss & Co.

Guy Lodge Film CriticThat Colson Baker can act is no revelation. The rap-rocker, better known to his legions of fans as Machine Gun Kelly, has already held his own in a dozen or so roles for film and TV, demonstrating a scuzzy on-screen charisma within admittedly limited boundaries.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: Announced deal-making out of the virtual AFM has been deafeningly quiet so far, but Cornerstone Films was among sellers to clock up strong pre-sales, we can reveal.We’ve heard from buyers that two of Cornerstone’s light-hearted Brit pics were among their favourites: Emma Thompson sex therapy comedy Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, and Helena Bonham Carter-Pierce Brosnan rom-com Not Bloody Likely, exploring the story behind the 1914 West End production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.IT’S the queen of all film roles – and Emma Thompson is the latest actress to get the part.The Nanny McPhee star plays Queen Elizabeth in a new TV drama based on Michael Fagan’s Buckingham Palace break-in 30 years ago.Walking the Dogs tells how, in 1982, Fagan got into the monarch’s bedroom and sat chatting to her for 10 minutes.Fagan, 61, has hit out at the show, saying dramatising his “moment of madness” shows a “lack of respect” to the Queen in her diamond jubilee year.Thompson, 52, joins a long list of actresses who have played Queen Elizabeth.