John ‘Ecstasy’ Fletcher Dies: Cofounder Of Pioneering Rappers Whodini Was 56

Dan Walker has paid a touching tribute to D-Day veteran Horace "Harry" Billinge following his tragic death aged 96.He passed away on Tuesday (April 5) after battling a short illness, his family confirmed.Mr Billinge was one of only four of his unit to survive the storming of Gold Beach on 6 June 1944.The veteran spent more than 60 years collecting for the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.He was appointed an MBE in 2020 after raising funds to build a national memorial honouring his fallen comrades.Mr Billinge dedicated it to the 22,442 service personnel killed on D-Day and during the Battle for Normandy.BBC Breakfast paid a tribute to the veteran during Wednesday's (April 6) episode.A montage celebrating Mr Billinge's life played out and hosts Dan Walker and Sally Nugent remembered the star, who regularly appeared on the show.After watching the clips of Mr Billlinge, Sally said: "What an amazing, amazing man."Her co-star Dan added: "What a beautiful piece bringing all what he did together. So many interviews and he achieved so much in his 96 years."Following the news yesterday people have reacted with great sadness.

Strictly Come Dancing star Joe Sugg has cosied up to girlfriend Dianne Buswell in a cute new snap.Joe, 30 posted a picture of the two former dance partners and YouTube stars in embrace together at the Wilderness Reserve in Suffolk on to his Instagram on Tuesday night (April 5).In the photo he can be seen kissing Dianne on the cheek with his arm around her as she smiles at the camera. They are clinking their glasses with what appears to be red wine.Dianne has her bright red dyed hair down beneath her shoulders, and is wearing a comfy red chequered flannel shirt that complements her locks.Joe, meanwhile, is sporting a white-and-black short sleeved shirt with pinstripes.

The Queen once fired her son Charles' nanny after she went against her requests regarding a "special pudding", according to an insider.Nannies have always been a key part of life for The Firm, taking care of the children while members of the Royal Family go about their official duties.But all the time they spend with the royals can also lead to bad things happening, as the Queen once discovered when she was forced to let one go, The Mirror reported.Bryan Kozlowski, a royal author, shared the shocking story in his book Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch.Bryan said that the nanny was too discerning about the eight-year-old Charles' meals for the Monarch's liking.He writes: "It's said she took pleasure in tormenting the Palace kitchen with her exacting standards."Dishes for young Charles were constantly being refused or remade based on little more than the nanny's personal whims. "The Queen eventually had enough and fired her."For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.But according to the author, it was one incident in particular that was the final straw for the Queen – and it was all around a "special pudding".Kozlowski writes: "In 1956, the Queen sent the nursery a simple request that Charles, then eight years old, be given a special pudding she thought he might like."[The nanny] refused, crossed the dessert from the menu, and incurred the Crown's wrath.

Atletico Madrid's first leg defeat to Manchester City will no doubt be extra painful after they set a new record under the Argentine.La Liga giants Atletico left the Etihad empty-handed after Kevin de Bruyne's second half strike condemned them to a 1-0 first leg defeat on Tuesday night. City controlled proceedings for the vast majority of the game, as Atleti sat deep and dug in in trademark fashion.However, while their defensive approach managed to restrict City's opportunities in front of goal, it made life extremely difficult going forwards.

Hollyoaks favourite Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin) takes a pregnancy test next week. Newcomer Eric Foster (Angus Castle-Doughty) reluctantly joins his sister Verity Hutchinson (Eva O'Hara) and her friends for a drink at the pub in upcoming scenes.The girls get to know him a bit better when a game of Never Have I Ever reveals something surprising about his romantic history.Back at the flat, Eric tips over Cleo’s yoga bag and discovers a pregnancy test that she’d rather keep a secret.Eric becomes an unlikely shoulder to lean on for Cleo when she asks him to stay whilst she awaits the results of her pregnancy test.Later, the results of her pregnancy test are revealed.Elsewhere, with the police still on the case of the missing pills at the hospital, Ethan Wiliams (Matthew James-Bailey) prepares to meet with a new supplier.

Fans are seeing a whole new side of Pete Davidson since he began dating Kim Kardashian.  In mid-March, the SKIMS mogul sent her followers into a frenzy when she made her romance with Davidson Instagram official, sharing two personal photos with the "Saturday Night Live" star. One photo showed Davidson lying back into Kardashian's lap while he looked up at the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star as she seemingly leaned in for a kiss.The other photo was a blurry selfie of the two.  Their relationship appeared to get even more serious when Davidson, 28, made his love for the reality TV star permanent in the form of a branding on his body with Kardashian even sharing Davidson's tat of "MY GIRL IS A LAWYER" on her Instagram Story.

We took it upon ourselves to test out some chocolate for you all this year, and how can we complain?

Two football hooligans have been banned from watching Manchester City play for FOUR years after they were both involved in violent disorder at TWO games. Callum Wright, 25, and Cameron Bradley, 21, were both identified on CCTV footage getting violent by throwing items or punching opposing fans.

Good Morning Britain’s meteorologist Laura Tobin, 40, gave a poignant report about the effects of climate change when she flew to Svalbard, Norway, last year.The bulletin was shown live on GMB in September and Laura broke down in tears after witnessing how global warming had melted the glaciers and put polar bears in danger.In the segment, she explained that Svalbard is heating up more than anywhere else on Earth and that the ice melting will cause changes to the weather in the UK, including rising sea levels and more flooding.Laura’s voice started to break when she said her young daughter, Charlotte, five, had drawn her a picture of a polar bear.She sobbed: “If Charlotte comes here when she’s my age, there potentially won’t be polar bears.”Despite the tearful report, some viewers criticised Laura because the flight to Norway would have added emissions to the atmosphere and contributed to climate change.Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Laura revealed that she turned to Susanna for support during the tough time.She confessed: “Susanna is really supportive.“When I was in Svalbard, I phoned her and told her what we had seen, the people we had spoken to. We discussed the criticism I received and whether I should mention it [on the show].“We both agreed because we need to own what we are doing, where we are going and why.”While Laura accepts that the flight would have made a carbon footprint and emitted pollution into the atmosphere, she doesn't feel "guilty" because the benefits outweighed the negatives.She stated: "The amount of people that watched, who maybe wouldn’t have watched an Arctic documentary, was in the millions.

Britney Spears on Tuesday took to Instagram to display pages of art from a book she obtained while in Mexico, and commented on her ongoing battle with her family.'I found this art in a book in Mexico,' said the musical artist, 40, who displayed multiple images in the post. 'What do you THINK the story is about with this imagery???'I mean forget the mystery of it … the sacredness of it … the PRIVACY of it in a book … LET’S RUIN IT and rip its heart out of a book expose it to no use and PUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT!!!' The latest:Britney Spears, 40, on Tuesday took to Instagram to display pages of art from a book she obtained while in Mexico, and commented on her ongoing battle with her family.

An army veteran who won medals for his service was among three men locked up for their part in a huge cocaine dealing operation foiled by cops who hacked into their Encrochat messages.

The fourth and final season of Never Have I Ever was announced just last month.

David and Victoria Beckham have been making the most of their time in Miami ahead of their son Brooklyn Beckham's wedding to Nicola Peltz.GALLERY: Inside David and Victoria Beckham's incredible $24million Miami penthouseThe couple were pictured spending time on their £5million yacht with their children Romeo, Cruz and Harper on Monday, after having a pool day together at a luxury Miami hotel over the weekend.WATCH: Inside the Beckhams' beautiful homesDavid bought his 93.5ft vessel in 2021, and has named it Seven in homage to his football career and the number he wore on his shirts for Manchester United and England.The 46-year-old even helped to design the luxurious yacht, after reportedly being inspired by holidays with Elton John and David Furnish on their boat.MORE: David and Victoria Beckham's £31m London home robbed while they are homeThe boat will offer the family the opportunity to explore even more of Miami and the surrounding areas, with David and Victoria reportedly keen to sail around the Florida Keys on a future trip.

Jesse Williams is celebrating the opening night of his Broadway show!

Very exciting news for Twitter users!

Idris Elba had the support of his family on the blue carpet!

Katie Holmes showed off her edgy style while attending a dinner party for the launch of Santa Margherita Rosé at a townhome in New York City's West Village on Tuesday.The Batman Begins actress, 43, rocked a nose ring and donned an oversize black double-breasted blazeron top of a white T-shirt, as well as matching black pants.The ex-wife of Tom Cruise was recently spotted wearing the new piece of jewelry at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, and she seemed to have debuted it back in July 2021 in an Instagram photo. Chic: Katie Holmes looked chic as ever while attending a dinner party for the launch of Santa Margherita Rosé at a townhome in the West Village on TuesdayThe brunette beauty finalized the cool look with a pair of stylish pointed-toe zebra-stripe heels.

Jackie Goldschneider struggled with her eating disorder on Tuesday night's The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo but was able to allow herself to have ice cream for the first time in almost 20 years.Jackie, 45, took her kids for ice cream, after previously telling her eating disorder therapist that she would set a goal for the week for her to get ice cream with her kids and also revealed that she hadn't allowed herself to have ice cream for almost 20 years.At the ice cream store with her children, Jackie ordered a small cup of cake batter flavored ice cream. She took a bite and one of the kids said that they didn't think that she liked it.

John Fletcher was a rapper with the influential early rap group Whodini, who went by the name Ecstasy.Fletcher formed Whodini in the early 1980s with Jalil Hutchins, joining the growing hip-hop scene in New York City. They were one of the first hip-hop groups to receive a nationwide following, thanks to early singles including “Magic’s Wand,” the first rap song with a video.

Whodini rapper Ecstasy - real name John Fletcher - has died aged 56.Friends and family of the musician flooded social media with tributes for the star on Wednesday.The cause of his death is yet to be confirmed.Fletcher shot to fame as a member of the band Whodini.He formed the band with Jalil Hutchins in 1982, and J Grandmaster Dee (aka Drew Carter) joined the group in 1986.Their best-known hits included The Haunted House of Rock, Friends, Freaks Come Out at Night and their song Magic's Wand' was the first rap single to be accompanied by a video.They won numerous awards during their incredible career for their contribution to hip-hop.These included awards at the VH1 Hip-Hop Honours and at the Third Black Music Honours in 2018.

Whodini rapper Ecstasy - real name John Fletcher - has died.