Author: SKYNEWS

Bridgerton and Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan has teamed up with Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood for the medieval comedy Seize Them! – a film about a dethroned queen who becomes a fugitive on her own land.For these two actresses, comedy and drama tend to go hand in hand. Aimee Lou Wood first shot on to our screens as Aimee Gibbs in the hit comedy series Sex Education, with the harrowing story of her character being sexually assaulted on the way to school.In Derry Girls, Nicola Coughlan was tasked with exploring “coming out” as a lesbian in Northern Ireland in…

Employees across the country have today been granted the legal right to request flexible working from the day they enter a new job.Previously, the right was only applicable if someone had worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more. The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 gained Royal Assent in July as Kevin Hollinrake, the business and trade minister, backed the measure for “a happier workforce [which] means increased productivity”.Flexible working is a broad term but encompasses a different style of work from the conventional 9-5 in the office, and could include adaptations to where someone works, to save them…

It was 1979. I was 10 years old and gripped in the ABBA mania that was sweeping the country.I had a dream, but little did I know that it would be turned into reality, as I not only got to meet my heroes but sing with them on stage at Wembley as well. To honour UNICEF’s year of the child ABBA were on the hunt for children’s choirs to perform with them.I remember television presenters Keith Chegwin and Maggie Philben coming to my school, Wembley Manor, and interviewing us. While I can’t recall all the details I do remember being…

Disney+ will begin cracking down on password sharing within months, it has been announced.Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger said the action would start in June in “a few” countries before a full rollout across the world in September. Sky News asked the company when exactly the changes will come into force in the UK, but it declined to comment.Rival streaming platform Netflix launched its own crackdown last year.Disney+ is expected to introduce similar measures, which are designed to stop users from sharing their login details with people living in a different household, allowing them to watch the service’s films…

A total solar eclipse will dazzle people on Monday in what’s been described as “our planet’s greatest spectacle”.The perfect alignment of Earth, the sun and the moon will be seen on 8 April – meaning people in North America will experience a total solar eclipse, which will plunge much of the continent into darkness. But people in parts of the UK will be able to see a partial eclipse too.So where can you see it, why is this one so special and is there anything you need to be aware of? Here’s everything to know.In the UK Although North America…

Producers of a new Romeo and Juliet show starring Hollywood actor Tom Holland have condemned racist abuse posted online following the announcement of its cast.Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, best known for appearing in the comedy series Bad Education, will star alongside the Spider-Man actor in the West End production of the Shakespeare play, it was announced at the end of March.Since then, racist comments have been posted on social media sites for production company Jamie Lloyd.On Friday, the theatre company issued a statement condemning the “barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company”. Image: This will be…

The crisis engulfing Thames Water has deepened after its holding company announced it had been unable to meet a debt repayment.Kemble Water said it missed an interest payment that was due on Tuesday. The firm said it had asked its lenders to take no immediate action in order to “provide a stable platform while all options are explored”.The announcement paves the way for a potential restructuring of Thames Water, which serves nearly a quarter of Britain’s population.Sky News revealed last week that the company’s shareholders had decided not to proceed with a promised £500m equity injection amid an impasse with…

A company hoping to launch the first solar farm into space has passed a critical milestone with a prototype on Earth.Oxfordshire-based Space Solar plans to power more than a million homes by the 2030s with mile-wide complex of mirrors and solar panels orbiting 22,000 miles above the planet. But its super-efficient design for harvesting constant sunlight – called CASSIOPeiA – requires the system to rotate towards the sun, whatever its position, while still sending power to a fixed receiver on the ground. Image: The power generated by the solar panels would be beamed back to earth That’s now been shown…

Is ‘H’ from Steps really getting a statue near to where he grew up in South Wales?Earlier this week, the singer, whose real name is Ian Watkins, shared the news of plans for an 8ft statue in Cowbridge, saying he was “absolutely bowled over” and “super proud”. In an Instagram post, the 47-year-old star added: “It’ll be a little strange seeing myself across the street when I pop into town! If little Ian, from the Rhondda could see this, he would be blown away!” Image: Ian ‘H’ Watkins, who sits on Cowbridge Town Council, shared this on Instagram. Pic: @ianhwatkins…

Administrators to The Body Shop are drawing up plans to launch a further restructuring process in a bid to salvage a future for one of Britain’s best-known high street brands.Sky News has learnt that insolvency practitioners at FRP Advisory have outlined proposals to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that would see The Body Shop entering talks with landlords about rent cuts, as well as other creditors. According to proposals sent to The Body Shop’s creditors on Friday morning, which lay bare the depths of the financial problems inherited by the investor which bought the company less than four months…