Author: SKYNEWS

Sean Wilson will not reprise his role as Martin Platt on Coronation Street as previously announced, ITV has confirmed.The actor, who last appeared on the cobbles six years ago, was set to reappear on screen in October as part of the departure storyline of his character’s ex-wife, Gail Platt. It comes following a previous announcement that Helen Worth was to leave the ITV soap after starring as Gail for 50 years.”Sean Wilson has stepped down from filming for personal reasons,” a spokesperson for ITV confirmed on Friday.An initial announcement said Wilson was to start filming scenes on July 24, with…

The private equity backer of Six Nations Rugby is plotting to buy a stake in one of Britain’s biggest audit firms – a deal which could have ramifications across the professional services sector.Sky News has learnt that CVC Capital Partners is among the buyout firms preparing to table bids for a controlling stake in Grant Thornton UK. The process, which is at an early stage, is expected to value the accountancy group at between £1bn and £2bn, and could result in the most significant transaction to date in the UK’s audit industry.CVC’s interest is particularly significant, however, because it already…

Fortnite is back on mobile phones for the first time in four years, after bitter legal rows got the game taken off both Android and Apple app stores. Now, developer Epic Games has launched its own app store, making it one of the first third-party stores available on iOS – although UK iPhone users will have to wait until next year to play. Android users can get flossing straight away, but they’ll need to download the new Epic Games Store, which also contains Fall Guys and Rocket League.The store’s launch marks the latest chapter in a long-running battle royale between Epic…

Police are investigating a report of a “hate incident” after two Israeli audience members were reportedly heckled out of Reginald D Hunter’s Edinburgh Fringe show.The US stand-up comedian issued a statement on Thursday following reports two people were booed out of his Fluffy Fluffy Beaver show at Assembly George Square Studios over their objection to a joke about Israel. Hunter, who regularly tours the UK and has appeared on comedy panel shows Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, described it as an “unfortunate incident”.When asked about the gig, a Police…

British retailers saw sales rise last month after a boost from Euro 2024 and summer discounting, official figures show, in a further sign of a growing economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales grew 0.5% in July, after contracting 0.9% in June. It was, however, slightly below predictions, with a consensus of economists forecasting a 0.7% increase for the month.Money blog: Fines for taking children out of school to changeThe increase was thanks to discounts in sports equipment shops and department stores as the Euros football tournament drove purchases, the ONS added. High street retailers said sales…

Kim Dotcom, who founded the globally popular file-sharing site Megaupload, will be extradited to the US from New Zealand.German-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, has been fighting extradition since 2012 following an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion. He is charged with copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering.US authorities say Dotcom – born Kim Schmitz – and three other Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500m (£388m) by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material.This generated more than $175m (£136m) in revenue for the now-defunct website, according to authorities. In a post on…

American actress Gena Rowlands has died at the age of 94, her son has said.Nick Cassavetes revealed in June that his mother, who won four Emmy awards and two Golden Globes, had Alzheimer’s disease and was “in full dementia”. Rowlands portrayed a woman suffering from the disease in 2004 film The Notebook, directed by her son.”It’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” Mr Cassavetes told Entertainment Weekly. Image: Rowlands in 1982. Pic: John Barrett/Photolink/MediaPunch/IPX Rowlands was known for playing strong, troubled women, and was often directed by her husband, John Cassavetes. Operating…

The education secretary has said private schools have themselves to blame for closures – not the government’s VAT policy.Bridget Phillipson said some private schools have failed to balance their books over a number of years as she denied they had closed because the government is making them pay 20% VAT on fees from January. Two schools in Scotland, Kilgraston and Cedars, this week became the first to close since Labour came into power, citing the uncertainty over the policy as part of their reasons.But Ms Phillipson dismissed that, telling Sky News: “I think what we’ve seen is that private schools…

Some of the biggest social media platforms are failing to detect and remove dangerous suicide and self-harm content, according to a study.The Molly Rose Foundation found that of more than 12 million content moderation decisions made by six of the biggest platforms, over 95% of them were detected and removed by only two sites – Pinterest and TikTok. The other four platforms that featured in the report were Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X, formerly Twitter.The foundation said it found the response of most platforms to such content was “inconsistent, uneven and unfit for purpose”.The charity said Meta’s Instagram and Facebook…

Footage of Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff shortly after his Top Gear crash has been shown for the first time, revealing the extent of his injuries.The TV presenter and former England cricket all-rounder sustained serious facial injuries and broken ribs after a crash while filming Top Gear at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, in December 2022. The incident happened midway through the filming of the second season of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, which aired yesterday on BBC One.The programme showed footage Flintoff filmed of himself a week-and-a-half after the accident. Image: Pic: BBC “Genuinely should not be here after what happened,” he said…