Halo renewed for a second season before season one debuts on Paramount+

Manori Ravindran International EditorITV is setting aside £80 million ($105 million) of its commissioning budget over the next three years for a Diversity Commissioning Fund.Of the £80 million fund, at least £20 million will be reserved for shows made by Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led and disabled-led production companies. ITV has also created a new £500,000  development fund to develop ideas that will qualify for its Diversity Commissioning Fund.While at least 25% of the fund is only for productions made by Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led and disabled-led production companies, the remaining 75% of the fund can be accessed as long as productions are overseen by companies with either diverse ownership or leadership.

Renee Zellweger and Ant Anstead are still going strong and their latest selfie certainly shows it. The couple kept their relationship out of the spotlight since they were linked last year, but it appears they are now ready to put it front and center. MORE: Ant Anstead reveals surprising detail of romance with Renee Zellweger Ant surprised fans with an intimate photo of them kissing and he shared it on Instagram. The grand gesture was an unexpected surprise as he gave insight into their romance in the sweetest way. WATCH: Renee Zellweger stars in Celebrity IOU: Joyride with Ant AnsteadRenee and Ant were locking lips in the image, which was taken at Jenson Button's recent wedding in Miami. They were both glamorously dressed with Ant wearing a tuxedo and Renee in an off-the-shoulder gown. READ: Formula 1 ace Jenson Button finally marries Brittny Ward after postponing wedding twiceMORE: Christina Haack wows in white bikini during dreamy vacation He captioned the joyful image: "This lady x Ren," and accompanied his nickname for her with a red heart emoji. A post shared by ant anstead (@ant_anstead)Ant surprised fans with the intimate snapshot Even as he kissed his date, Ant couldn't keep the smile off his face and the post delighted his fans and famous friends. Octavia Spencer added more hearts and people gushed about how amazing they look together. MORE: Ant Anstead shares emotional family newsMORE: Ant Anstead makes surprising revelation after split from Christina Haack "So cute together! You are doing a good job at only sharing what you want to share! Darling mature relationship," wrote one, while another added: "MARRY HER.

Louise Redknapp has called Robert Rinder an "inspiration" after he travelled to war-torn Ukraine on a rescue mission. The Judge Rinder star headed to Ukraine despite the gravely dangerous situation in the country currently as he helped his Strictly Come Dancing partner Oksana Platero to save her family at the border.

Body positive babe and journalist Danae Mercer has taken to Instagram to expose how fellow influencers look so good in loungewear.The baggy attire often hugs in all the right places for those posing online, but in real life the cosy clothing can look far from flattering.And, it turns out that you or your body are not actually the problem.Danae has shared with her 2.4 million Instagram followers that influencers use a couple of tricks to create an hourglass figure even when wearing the loose fitting clothing.She posted a clip which demonstrated how easy it is to alter the appearance of your body thanks to posing and styling.In the caption, Danae explained in detail how social media stars master looking good – even in slouchy attire.She said: “How influencers pose in LOUNGEWEAR - AKA another reason not to compare your thousand offline moments to their one online minute.“I mentioned loungewear posing in my stories the other day. And got loads of DMs.

The Department of Work and Pensions has today announced a plan to close around 42 offices, and unions claim that "thousands" of jobs could be at risk.Thousands of benefits office staff were called to meetings at 10.30am today to be told about the changes.Thirteen of the 42 offices will be closed with "no other strategic site nearby" leaving some 1,300 workers either losing their jobs altogether or reapplying for work in another government department.Roughly another 29 offices are expected to shut with their 12,000 workers having to move to another site nearby.Many of the closures are in key parts of northern England, from Blackburn and Bradford to Washington and Stockton-on-Tees.Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey had recently described the DWP staff as 'exceptional', saying: “They are the hidden heroes for many people in this country. They should take great pride in their hard work and dedication to supporting people through these difficult times.”Shadow DWP minister Justin Madders said: "It looks as though the DWP doesn't believe in levelling up, it doesn't believe in its own rhetoric on jobs, and it doesn't believe in keeping people in work."Many of the closures are in areas of economic deprivation that can hardly afford to lose good quality, public sector jobs.

NBA veteran Kevin Durant can expect a slap on the wrist after he was caught on camera telling a fan to "shut the f*** up" during a recent game.The two-time NBA champion was clearly frustrated as the Brooklyn Nets saw their four-win streak come to an end following a 113-111 defeat at home to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. That left the franchise with a 36-34 record and sat eighth in the Atlantic Division, with the team not yet certain of a play-off place.Those frustrations spilled onto the court when a member of the crowd sat courtside at the Barclays Center addressed "Kevin" and informed him: "You've got to take this game over!" Clearly unimpressed with the tip, Durant wasted no time in firing back at the supporter: "You've got to shut the f*** up and sit down."A fine appeared to be the least of the forward's worries considering he clapped back while one metre away from a referee, who initially looked uncertain of how to handle the situation.

Harry Kane celebrated a record-breaking Premier League goal in style by volleying a Coca-Cola bottle into the stands during Tottenham's 2-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday.The Spurs ace, 28, broke Wayne Rooney's record for the most away goals in the division by netting a second-half thunderbolt under Seagulls keeper Robert Sanchez. Slipped through by Rodrigo Bentancur, the England captain steadied himself to rifle past the Spaniard and bag his 95th away Premier League goal.But Kane managed a sweeter strike just seconds later, latching onto a coke bottle thrown towards him from the travelling Spurs faithful and volleying it back into the crowd.

cancelled a series of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest against the war last month – held a live-streamed concert in Istanbul on Tuesday (March 15) in a bid to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.At one point, Oxxxymiron – real name Miron Yanovich Fyodorov – paused the performance to make a plea to those Russian people who are in favour of the action being taken by President Vladimir Putin.Jonny Tickle, an English journalist who is based in Moscow, subsequently shared a clip of the moment along with an English language translation of the rapper’s speech.“It seems to me – rather, I’m sure – that the people who are for this war are in fact against this war,” Oxxxymiron began.

Jared Leto has said that he doesn’t believe cinemas would have survived had it not been for the success of the Marvel films.The actor, who portrays otherworldly bloodsucker Morbius in the upcoming Marvel movie of the same name, said in a new interview that cinemas most likely still operate because of the draw such comic book films have on audiences.“If it wasn’t for Marvel films, I don’t even know if theatres would exist,” he told Variety. He admitted that he is “a bit of a snob when it comes to film” but that he’s worried about the financial health of the industry, and therefore thinks that superhero blockbusters need to be appreciated for the vital lifeline they supply.“It doesn’t seem like there’s room for everyone, and that starts to become a little heartbreaking,” he added, suggesting that he’s also cognisant of Marvel’s dominance.Elsewhere in the interview, the actor and musician said that he’d continue portraying the character in potential sequels.

Brexit minister David Frost has admitted that the Brexit deal he helped negotiate presents “a whole set of problems” for touring musicians and their crew.The deal was on the receiving end of a huge backlash from across the music industry last year. The UK government has been accused of jeopardising the future of touring for UK artists due to their failure to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew, which could make future tours of the continent unaffordable for many artists.Lord Frost, who was Chief Negotiator of Task Force Europe from January 2020 until he handed in his resignation back in December, was among the chief defenders of the deal, saying in June that he “felt sorry that [creative workers] have to face this situation”.“The country took a decision to leave the European Union and to end freedom of movement, but that brings with it big change,” he told MPs.

NAKED Attraction viewers have all said the same thing after a contestant's VERY rude introduction. Wednesday night saw another episode of the hit Channel 4 show air with two people looking for love.

SUSANNA Reid choked up today as she watched the emotional moment Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was reunited with her young daughter after six years as a prisoner of Iran. Overjoyed Nazanin, 44, was filmed hugging and kissing Gabriella, seven, after touching down at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, at 1am today.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSubscription streamer Starz Play Arabia is getting a major cash injection from a consortium of Abu Dhabi-based companies that are acquiring a roughly 57% stake in the SVOD service.A group comprising E-Vision, which is a Hollywood and Bollywood content aggregator, and United Arab Emirates sovereign fund ADQ, has purchased a controlling stake in Starz Play Arabia, which has been valued at $420 million, according to a statement.“Starz and its parent company Lionsgate will maintain commercial agreements for content licensing to the venture,” the statement said. The deal still needs to clear regulatory approval and some administrative procedures. Starz Play Arabia, which was launched in 2015 as the first Starz-branded SVOD outside the U.S., is now available in 19 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.

“Wheel of Fortune” contestants have been generating a lot of online discussion.

Robert De Niro is being accused of filing a lawsuit against former employee Graham Chase Robinson in an attempt to allegedly "strike first" and "beat her to the punch." In new court documents, obtained by Fox News Digital, Robinson included text messages allegedly sent between other employees of Canal Productions, Inc. Robinson's team alleges that once De Niro found out about Robinson's impending gender discrimination lawsuit, the actor moved quickly to file his own.

Not a team player? The Below Deck Down Under premiere teased plenty of drama — starting with the tension between chef Ryan McKeown and the rest of the crew.

exciting new series based on the best-selling Xbox Game Studios first-person shooter game,, is coming to Paramount+ this year. The show, which intends to put a new spin on the central storyline, while still bringing the original feel of the video game franchise to life, takes place hundreds of years in the future, in the midst of a massive war. In, Pablo Schreiber stars as Master Chief, a super-soldier trained to battle an alien group known as the Covenant.

Yellowstone TV franchise is set to continue with 1932, as well as more of its other prequel series 1883.Yellowstone stars Kevin Costner, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, and Gil Birmingham. The show follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, and various family dramas at the ranch and the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, national park, and developers.1932 will see a new Yellowstone origin story set to follow a new generation of Duttons against the desolate backdrop of the Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression, according to Entertainment Weekly.Paramount+ has also announced more of spin-off show 1883, but did not confirm whether that would mean a renewal or more episodes.

While there have been live-action adaptations of the hit Xbox sci-fi shooter video game series, “Halo,” in the past, Paramount+ will be the home to a very ambitious show that sees various characters like Master Chief get live-action counterparts. The expensive series seems to have won over the brass at Paramount after a very long and drawn-out production in Budapest during the pandemic.

Master Chief will stay locked and loaded for Paramount+, which has renewed Halo for a second season. The renewal was unveiled during a ViacomCBS presentation on Tuesday.

Taylor Sheridan's universe is getting bigger.Paramount+ has formally greenlit , a new prequel series following the success of , it was announced Tuesday during ViacomCBS' Investor Day. Additionally, the streaming service has plans for «more» , but came short of announcing a formal season 2 pickup., according to the official synopsis, will follow «a new generation of Duttons during the time of Western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.»“The incredible storytelling and stellar performances behind have fueled phenomenal new records for Paramount+,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at ViacomCBS Streaming, in a statement. “Promoting the series through linear sampling on the Paramount Network during their latest record-breaking season of further enabled us to introduce Sheridan’s loyal audience to this fantastic new series.