Why Davina longed for Lansbury growing up: EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE
Davina McCall, 57, pictured, explains her estrangement from her French mother Florence – revealed on Who Do You Think You Are – saying: 'She was an exotic, mad risk-taker, exciting to be around, chaotic, but I just wanted Angela Lansbury. This woman was a flasher. She used to wear coats and flash people in the street. She used to do citizens arrests. It was madness. I was in the back of a car once while she drove it across a cricket pitch while the match was on.' Florence died in 2008.
Trump's insistence on remaining on stage to celebrate with Chelsea's footballers after the Fifa Club World Cup triumph in New Jersey is likely to have met with disapproval from beanpole youngest son Barron. While Donald insisted on still hogging the spotlight after presenting the trophy, Trump junior is known to be a 'huge fan' of Chelsea's London neighbour, Arsenal.
Donald Trump's second state visit will take place when Parliament is in recess, as I exclusively revealed last month. That neatly avoids a kerfuffle about whether he should be allowed to address MPs and peers. A mole whispers a private tour of the Palace of Westminster has been proposed, as well as a carriage ride. A trot through the streets has been ruled out in favour of a canter up the Long Walk to Windsor Castle to keep crowds away. The Secret Service, wary of security from the Household Cavalry – armed with swords and a few axes – is likely to veto it.
Having finished filming Three Quick Breaths, where he plays an Irish football agent, Danny Dyer reveals his part was initially offered to Gary Oldman. 'They told me he wanted £2million just to read it,' Danny tells Radio Times. 'But I was next in line, which I'm chuffed with. If you go to Gary Oldman and I'm next, it's because I'm obviously cheaper. I'm happy to be a cheaper version of Gary.'
Father Ted's Dougal McGuire, played by Ardal O' Hanlon, recalls his early career as an Aer Lingus check-in clerk, where he allocated seats by 'playing Cupid': pretty women next to nice men. 'Likewise, if you met an objectionable person, I would make sure they were in a middle seat beside a smelly passenger,' admits Ardal.
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The Guardian
18 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine awaiting details on ‘billions of dollars' worth of weapons promised by Trump
Ukraine is waiting for further details of the 'billions of dollars' worth of US military equipment promised by Donald Trump on Monday, amid confusion as to how many Patriot air defence systems will be sent to Kyiv. At a meeting at the White House with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday, Trump said an unnamed country was ready to immediately provide '17 Patriots' as he said a 'very big deal' had been agreed for European allies to buy weapons from the United States and then ship them to Ukraine. Ukraine is currently believed to have only six functioning Patriot air defence batteries, which can intercept fast-moving Russian cruise and ballistic missiles. Maj Gen Vadym Skibitskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the HUR, said it was unclear what the US president meant. 'We don't know exactly,' he said, adding that Ukraine was grateful for the assistance and had reacted 'positively' to the White House's announcement. The general also confirmed that Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, had discussed the possibility of the US providing long-range Tomahawk missiles in a call earlier in July but no agreement had been reached. Skibitskyi said Trump in his comments on Patriots could have been referring to interceptor missiles, launching stations or entire batteries comprising multiple launchers and radar and control systems, which cost more than a billion dollars each. 'Seventeen is a huge number if we are talking about batteries. If it's launchers, that's possible,' he added. Each Patriot system comes with six launchers. Germany has agreed to provide two Patriot systems, with the Netherlands donating a third, Skibitskyi said. 'That would be 18 launchers for three batteries, which is close to 17. The US administration and the Pentagon will give us further details,' he added. The possibility of the US providing long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, as discussed by Trump and Zelenskyy this month, is likely to enrage Vladimir Putin. The precision cruise missiles are capable of striking Moscow and have a range of 1,600km. Previous Ukrainian requests were rejected by the Biden administration. During a call on 4 July, Trump asked Zelenskyy if he could hit the Russian capital and St Petersburg. According to Skibitskyi, Zelenskyy replied: 'Yes, absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons'. The Trump administration has so far not agreed to send Tomahawks. If it did provide the weapons, Ukraine would struggle to deploy them, Skibitskyi said. 'They are not easy to use. The main launchers are combat ships or strategic bombers. We don't have any strategic bomber aircraft,' he recognised. But he said it was crucial Ukraine had the ability to conduct 'kinetic' strikes deep inside Russia against high-value military targets. Discussions were ongoing with Washington over lifting restrictions imposed by the last administration on the use of Atacams, US provided missiles with a 300km range – about 190 miles. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration was likely to allow Atacams to be used inside Russia at their full range, and was considering sending additional missiles. Currently, they can only be fired into Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, and not used on Russian territory. Skibitskyi said the Kremlin had already moved its strategic military bases more than 500km from its border with Ukraine. Kyiv was only able to hit them using unmanned kamikaze drones which can carry 5okg of explosives. Atacams, by contrast, have a 500kg payload and can cause greater destruction. 'It's very important for us to get approval from the US to use long-range missiles,' he said. 'We want to destroy and to disrupt, in accordance with Nato procedure.' Zelenskyy said he had a 'really good conversation' with Trump following Monday's announcement of a big weapons package. He said he discussed with the US president how to achieve 'a lasting and just peace' and to stop Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities, which have been hit in recent weeks by hundreds of drones and missiles. Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands on Tuesday said they wanted to participate in Trump's plan for Europe to buy US weapons for Ukraine. Politicians in Kyiv have broadly welcomed the improvement in relations with the US, following Zelenskyy's disastrous White House meeting with Trump in February. But there was also frustration that US tariffs and secondary sanctions on Russia have been postponed again, with Trump setting a deadline of 50 days. In an interview with the BBC, Trump said he was 'disappointed, but not done' with Putin. Russian officials have dismissed Trump's threat as 'hot air', pointing out he has changed his mind several times on sanctions and other issues. 'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences … Russia didn't care,' the former president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X. Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, is in Kyiv on a week-long visit. On Monday he met Zelenskyy and commander in chief Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, as well as Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief and Skibitskyi. Kellogg was briefed on Russian plans for a summer offensive and on the latest from the frontline in the east, where Russian troops are advancing. Skibitskyi said the US president had 'more experienced' people around him than in his first presidential term and did not behave like a 'classical' politician. 'He's more of a businessman. It isn't easy to understand Mr Trump,' Skibitskyi added.
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Peace is finally coming between Russia and Ukraine... but this is why it's NOT all good news and how it could lead to a new, far more deadly conflict we'll all be dragged into: MARK ALMOND
What a difference four months makes. At the end of February, the Ukrainian cause had never looked more hopeless after the now-notorious televised confrontation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. When the Ukrainian president said, quite rightly, that Putin could not be trusted, Trump launched a brutal verbal assault, threatening to abandon him and his country unless he went along with Washington's ceasefire plans.
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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tomatoes are set to jump in price as Trump slaps a 17% tariff on the grocery staple
Donald Trump has imposed a 17 percent tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico, leaving shoppers and business owners bracing for the price of the grocery staple to increase. The tariffs took effect on Monday after the U.S. withdrew from the Tomato Suspension Agreement, a nearly three-decade-old trade agreement between the two countries. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that American farmers had 'been crushed by unfair trade practices' and that the existing agreement had failed to protect U.S. producers like tomato growers. 'That ends today,' Lutnick continued. 'This rule change is in line with President Trump's trade policies and approach with Mexico.' The Commerce Department said that the 17 percent import tax is calculated to measure the percentage by which Mexican tomatoes have been sold in the U.S. at unfair prices. The levies mark one of the latest examples of the president's chaotic tariff policy, which analysts say contributed to inflation reaching 2.7 percent in June. As consumers battle increasing prices, the measure will likely result in higher costs at supermarkets and restaurants. 'I give it three months, and then we go bankrupt,' Teresa Razo, owner of two Argentine-Italian restaurants in Southern California, told CNN. Justin De Leon, co-owner of Apollonia's Pizza in Los Angeles, told the outlet that Trump's tariffs have created 'instability' and 'fear.' About 70 percent of tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange. In 2023, the U.S. imported approximately $2.5 billion in fresh tomatoes from Mexico. Field-grown tomatoes cost U.S. shoppers about $1.70 per pound as of May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Timothy Richards, a professor of agribusiness at Arizona State University, estimates that consumers could face about a 10 percent price rise for fresh tomatoes while demand may fall by 5 percent. The Mexican government has refuted claims that it dumped tomatoes on the U.S. market at low prices, instead insisting that their popularity was due to the quality of the product. Backers of the tariff argue that it will funnel more business to domestic tomato growers, largely in Florida. But given the volume of the fruit imported, Mexico's economy and agriculture ministry said it would be 'impossible to substitute Mexican tomatoes.' Officials in Mexico stated that they would attempt to negotiate a new agreement before its producers were affected and assist growers in finding alternative markets. The U.S. tomato industry brought a case against its Mexican competitors in 1996, arguing that American growers were being harmed. Through the Tomato Suspension Agreement, the U.S. trade court ordered tariffs to be imposed. However, on five occasions since then – in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2019 – the U.S. agreed to suspend the tariffs on the condition that Mexican growers would sell products at a level above a set minimum.
