Author: SKYNEWS

The BBC is selling its Elstree Centre – including the famous EastEnders set – as it continues to find ways to make millions in savings.The BBC has exchanged contracts with Axa Investment Managers for the 16-acre site in Hertfordshire, which includes seven stages as well as workshop, office and post-production facilities. However, the corporation has agreed to lease part of the studio campus for 25 years – meaning EastEnders will still be filmed on site. BBC Elstree Centre was the first of several similar complexes in the area, which are collectively known as Elstree Studios.The value of the sale has…

Astronomers have created the most sensitive radio image ever of an ancient star cluster – and discovered a radio signal at the centre of it.The image, which can be seen above, is of the second brightest globular cluster in the night sky, known as 47 Tucanae. Star clusters are an ancient relic of the early universe and “very old, giant balls of stars that we see around the Milky Way”, astronomer Dr Arash Bahramian explained.Dr Bahramian, from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia, said: “They’re incredibly dense, with tens of thousands to millions of stars packed…

Modern Family star Ed O’Neill has revealed he almost became a member of an organised crime gang – after failing to earn a place on the American football team the Pittsburgh Steelers.The 77-year-old actor, who played Jay Pritchett on the sitcom, said he was tempted to join a gang when he was “broke” in his 20s. He said he grew up around “gangsters” in Youngstown, Ohio, and was approached by a friend after he was signed but ultimately cut from the Steelers in 1969. Image: Ed O’Neill with the Modern Family cast in 2009. Pic: ABC Inc/Everett/Shutterstock “I had friends…

Directors of BP were meeting on Tuesday evening to finalise the appointment of Murray Auchincloss, the company’s acting chief executive, as its permanent boss.Sky News can reveal that the FTSE-100 oil major’s board has gathered at a central London hotel to agree the details of Mr Auchincloss’s appointment as the successor to Bernard Looney. The decision is likely to be announced later on Tuesday or before the London stock market opens on Wednesday morning.If confirmed, it will prolong BP’s record of never having appointed an outsider to its top executive job in its 116-year history.Mr Auchincloss has served on the…

A cloned rhesus monkey has survived for more than two years and has led to “valuable insights” into the scientific process, according to experts.Scientists in China used a modified version of the same technique that was used to create Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal. Out of the 113 cloned embryos, 11 were implanted into surrogate monkeys, but only one survived. It has been named ReTro.The team said that although the success rate of producing viable and healthy clones is low – less than 1% in this case – it pushes forward the understanding of primate cloning. The…

Kate Beckinsale has announced the death of her stepfather, the TV director Roy Battersby, and has said she has “no words” to describe the loss.Mr Battersby, 87, was best known for his work on detective dramas including Inspector Morse, Cracker and A Touch Of Frost. He had suffered “a massive stroke” and was being treated in hospital in Los Angeles, where the actress lives. He was also battling two forms of cancer, which were diagnosed last summer. Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission…

Rich Ricci, the former Barclays executive, is to emerge as the boss of Panmure Liberum, a new mid-market investment bank that will be created this week from the merger of two of the City’s leading brokers.Sky News has learnt that Panmure Gordon and Liberum, both of which are privately owned, will announce on Tuesday that they are to combine in an all-share deal that will create the largest adviser to London-listed companies. Sources said on Monday night that the deal would see Mr Ricci appointed as chief executive of the enlarged group, with Bidhi Bhoma, the Liberum chief, becoming deputy…

The spacecraft which attempted the first US moon landing in more than 50 years is to be allowed to “burn up” during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the company behind the mission has said.Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said it had made the “difficult decision” to maintain the craft’s trajectory and was working with NASA and the space community to take the “safe and responsible” course of action. The Peregrine lander developed a “critical” fuel leak hours after its launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on 8 January.The company said it had been “evaluating” the best and safest way to end the…

Controversial commentator Katie Hopkins has been criticised for mocking ITV presenter Kate Garraway after the death of her husband, Derek Draper.Draper was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, spending 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020, and died earlier this month.In a video posted on X, Hopkins – who has one million followers on the site – wrongly claimed ITV was set to air a documentary titled “Life after Derek”, with Garraway releasing a book to go with it.Neither claim is true, but the former Apprentice contestant added that “he’s only been…

The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes to £688bn in three years – while the wealth of the poorest 60% has fallen, according to Oxfam.It says the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade but that poverty won’t be eradicated for 229 years. The charity’s report, Inequality Inc, comes as business and political leaders meet for the World Economic Forum in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Davos.It’s traditionally used the occasion to highlight the divide between rich and poor, but this year says the gap has been “supercharged” since the pandemic.The fortunes of Tesla boss…