Married At First Sight UK couple Sarah and Dean called time on their troubled marriage in an emotional commitment ceremony after weeks of tension, criticism, and viewer backlash over their rocky relationship
MAFS UK couple sensationally quit show in moving scenes before tear-jerking goodbye(Image: E4)
A dramatic exit rocked Married At First Sight UK as Sarah and Dean became the latest couple to quit the experiment following a tense and emotional commitment ceremony.
The pair’s relationship had been hanging by a thread for weeks, marked by awkward exchanges, lack of affection, and mounting viewer complaints over Sarah’s remarks about Dean’s weight.
During the ceremony, Sarah insisted she wanted to give their marriage “one more week,” telling the experts: “For me things have been moving positively… I want to see if romance develops. I think we’re at that point now. If I take a step back, I worry I’ll regret not trying.”
But her plea was met with firm opposition from the panel. Relationship expert Mel Schilling cut in, saying: “Sarah, I think you know how you feel. You’re clutching at straws here. We’re halfway through this experiment.”
Sex and relationships expert Charlene Douglas agreed, adding: “I think perhaps you’re making excuses. There isn’t any desire here at all. At what point do you call it quits? You’ve said the affection is too much. You’re both in denial.”
Paul C Brunson then chimed in on the whole situation, telling clashing Sarah and Dean: “We all see it.”
After a series of brutally honest interventions, Mel told the couple: “You two know what the smart thing to do is. You’re just not ready to say it.”
Initially, both Sarah and Dean wrote “stay” on their commitment cards, but changed their decisions after the confrontation.
Through tears, Sarah admitted: “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I just don’t think we’re right for each other romantically.” Dean quietly replied: “Thank you for being honest,” adding that he “just wanted to be loved.”
Their relationship had been strained since the wedding day, when Sarah admitted she wasn’t physically attracted to Dean.
In one uncomfortable exchange, Dean asked if she had ever dated someone “overweight,” to which she bluntly replied: “No, never.” When asked what he could do to change that, she said: “Get some tattoos and lose some weight.”
Dean handled the comment with grace, later revealing he had “never been the boyfriend, always the best friend.”
However, Sarah’s behaviour drew much criticism from viewers, who accused her of fat-shaming and unforgivable disrespect.
Despite brief attempts to show a lighter side of their relationship, including honeymoon photos captioned “TV gave you the drama but here’s the real Maldives… fun, drinks & a lot of laughs”, tensions only deepened between Sarah and Dean.
Sarah later told the cameras: “I don’t think I can do this anymore,” before confirming their split at the ceremony.
Their departure brings an end to one of the show’s most turbulent marriages the show has ever seen, with both Sarah and Dean leaving the experiment in tears.
The Short family decided to move their lives on Mauritius
A family have left the UK behind, moving 6,000 miles to Mauritius in a bid to “escape the rat race” and now they say it’s like being on “a permanent holiday”.
Adam Short, 44, and his wife, Tara, 38, took their two children – Spencer, nine, and Xander, four – to Mauritius for a holiday in November 2024. After returning to their Sheffield home and resuming their 8am-6pm workdays, they yearned for a “slower pace of life”.
The Short family are happy with their move, despite living costs being very similar in the two countries. They feel their new life is worth it because of Mauritius’ beautiful beaches, hot summers, friendly neighbours and increased family time.
They say they dpon’t miss the UK’s gloomy weather, long working hours and never-ending traffic jams.
Have you swapped the UK for a home abroad? We’d love to hear from you, whether you love it there or regret the move. Email [email protected]
Tara, a CEO, and Adam, a car sales business owner, decided to rent out their four-bedroom UK home and booked one-way tickets to Grand Baie in July. With nothing more than five suitcases, the parents and their sons embarked on their new adventure.
They made a pact that if they weren’t happy after two years, they’d return to the UK. However, after settling into a rented four-bedroom house with a pool, just a stone’s throw from the beach, it doesn’t look like the family will be heading back anytime soon.
The two lads are attending an international private school costing £5,000-a-year, while both the parents say they can continue running their UK businesses flexibly from Mauritius.
Adam said: “Back in the UK, we weren’t being a proper family – we were just existing together. We were desperate to get away from the rat race. We thought there had to be a better standard of life out in Mauritius – and there is.
“We work less hours because we can be more productive. The kids finish school at 2.30pm so we can go to the beach or in the pool together. We enjoy as much family time as we can. I get asked every day on social media how we managed to do this – but it’s achievable if you just commit to it.”
The parents began mulling over relocating to a different culture after realising they were barely spending time with their own children.
Adam said: “I used to say to my friends, ‘I feel like I don’t know my kids.’ I would see them every day, but it was all rushing around, getting them ready for school, tea, bed.”
Being ahead of UK time means the parents can complete several hours of work before any of the UK teams begin their day – leaving them feeling more efficient without interruptions. They’re also able to work flexible hours throughout the day, allowing them to take afternoons off to spend quality time with their sons after school.
Despite being outsiders, the Short family say they’ve been welcomed. Adam said: “Everyone is so lovely – we’ve been invited to a meal at a Mauritian family’s home this weekend. Mauritian life is very family-focused which is what we want.
“On the weekends, you go down to the beach and hundreds of families are out all having barbecues with little gazebos. When you walk past, every family will invite you to join them and share their food. All the kids play together. It’s lovely.”
Regarding expenses, Adam explained that whilst some items cost more in Mauritius – others work out cheaper.
He believes that overall, the relocation hasn’t resulted in financial savings – but they enjoy a superior quality of life for their outgoings.
Adam said that a weekly grocery shop costs £200, plus an additional £20 spent on fresh fruit and vegetables at the market. Since the majority of food and beverages are brought in from abroad, alcohol prices in tourist-orientated eateries mirror those found across the UK.
Dining at local Creole venues can prove far more budget-friendly. Adam explained: “At a local Creole place, you can get a nice meal with a bottle of South African wine for £40. Touristy spots near the beachfront, you’d pay £100-£120 for that.
“The supermarkets are expensive because things are imported, but the fresh fruit and veg at the market is so much fresher and cheaper. We have rotis for breakfast now instead of cereal – a type of flatbread-like street food – and you buy them from the street sellers for about 20p each. So when you first get here, you assume everything is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.”
On the whole, the family are besotted with their fresh start – with Adam confessing they’re currently too engrossed in the local culture to dwell on what’s going on in Britain.
Since it first premiered in 1926, F.W. Murnau’s “Faust” has been lauded as one of the greatest silent films ever made. And in the century that’s followed, striking a deal with the devil has been one of cinema’s most enduring tropes.
“Him,” the Jordan Peele-produced horror film reaching theaters Friday, is the latest testament to the fact that, in Hollywood at least, the devil’s offer never goes out of style.
It tells the story of an aspiring professional football player, Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), who gets invited to train at a secluded compound under famed quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans). But Cade eventually realizes what is meant by the question he keeps getting asked: “What are you willing to sacrifice?”
“People are so fixated with the whole selling your soul to the devil and they really think that it’s a man in a suit who’s like, ‘Sign the dotted line,’” said Julia Fox, who plays White’s wife. “I think that selling your soul to the devil is a metaphor for selling out and doing things that you don’t want to do, compromising your morals and values for a paycheck.”
Like “Him,” Faustian stories in cinema are often billed as horror. Much like the literary and artistic retellings of the German fable, from Marlowe and Goethe to the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” film adaptations span place, decade and genre — from the cult Keanu Reeves’ DC Comics adaptation, “Constantine,” to Brendan Fraser’s 2000 rom-com “Bedazzled,” a remake of the 1967 film of the same name that starred Raquel Welch.
The devil can promise money — as in “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” the 1941 post-Great Depression takedown of greed — or fame, a la Jack Black’s 2006 musical comedy, “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.”
“It’s pretty much everywhere once you start looking,” said Kirsten Thompson, a professor of film studies at Seattle University. “We all want to have eternal life or youth or power or status. And the various iterations of the myth sometimes emphasize different things.”
“Him” isn’t even the first Faustian film set against the backdrop of sports. “Damn Yankees,” the 1958 adaptation of the Bob Fosse-choreographed Broadway show, tells the story of a diehard baseball fan who makes a devilish pact to help his team.
Murnau’s ‘Faust’ legacy
Although the 1926 “Faust” isn’t the oldest cinematic retelling of the legend — French filmmaker Georges Méliès made a handful of adaptations beginning in the 1890s — Murnau’s movie has the greatest legacy.
“The film has these very striking set pieces that are, visually, enormously iconographic and influential on subsequent silent cinema, including American cinema,” Thompson said.
Speaking with the Associated Press last year to promote his adaptation of “Nosferatu” (the original vampire tale was also made by Murnau, in 1922), Robert Eggers testified to the ways in which “Faust” has influenced him as a director.
“Filmmaking — it didn’t really get better than that,” he said.
Murnau’s “Faust” follows its titular protagonist, a faithful alchemist who despairs over a deadly, seemingly unstoppable plague. He eventually meets the demon Mephisto — legend often refers to him as Mephistopheles — who convinces Faust to do a trial-run pact to renounce God in exchange for the power to help the infirm village.
But Faust’s demonic deal is found out when a crowd realizes he cannot look upon a cross. Despondent, Faust plans to kill himself, but is stopped by Mephisto, who comes back with another offer: The demon will give the elderly alchemist back his youth.
Origins of the devil’s offer
It’s unclear when exactly the idea that humans could strike a deal with the demonic materialized, according to Joseph Laycock, a professor of religion who studies Satanism and demonic belief at Texas State University.
The idea that a powerful supernatural being could grant wishes or help humans exists in pre-Islamic Arabic traditions, but most Western depictions of this kind of myth borrow from Christian theology.
“Humans and demons each have something the other wants. We want this power. We want control over the natural world. The demons have it and we don’t. But the demons want our souls,” Laycock said. “The Faust legend is kind of ready to be told as soon as this Christian demonology emerges.”
One clue into the origins of a Satanic bargain lies within the “Malleus Maleficarum,” often translated as the “Hammer of Witches,” a 15th century German Catholic theological text on demonology.
In it, God has limited Satan’s power, Laycock explained. But, “there’s this loophole. And the loophole is, if a demon makes a pact with a human, the demon gets to do all the stuff it couldn’t normally do.”
This period around the Reformation was a “golden age” for possession, exorcism and witch-hunting in Europe, Laycock said, which sets the stage for the Faust legend to materialize.
In the 1800s, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe adapted the Faust story into a two-part tragic play, converting the German legend into a literary giant that would have tremendous influence on the Western world, Thompson argues.
She compares Goethe’s cinematic influence to works from Shakespeare and stories like “Sherlock Holmes,” which have also been repeatedly retold. “Canonical works of literature in different languages are adapted over and over again,” she said.
Fauria writes for the Associated Press. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, has resigned after nearly fifty years, accusing parent company Unilever of silencing its stance on Israel’s war on Gaza. The decision follows years of tension, including a 2021 move to halt sales in the occupied West Bank.
JON Richardson’s future on Waterloo Road has been confirmed after Jason Manford quit the show after just one series.
The comedy star announced he was joining the show after an April Fools prank claiming he was retiring from comedy to become a teacher.
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Jon Richardson’s future on Waterloo Road has been revealedCredit: BBC
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The comedian split from wife Lucy Beaumont last yearCredit: Getty
He soon announced that was he was actually joining the cast of the school-set drama.
And now The Sun can exclusively reveal that he won’t be a one-series wonder like Jason who bowed out after his first year.
A source said: “There were worries by some that after Jason’s one series stint that Jon would follow suit but that’s not the case.
“He’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable and is really enjoying acting now.”
Read more on Waterloo Road
The star will play the school’s new media studies teacher, Darius Donovan.
The BBC blurb teases: “With tons of charm, this new teacher knows how to put on a good show, and viewers can expect his arrival to stir things up at Waterloo Road.”
Last year Jon and ex-wife Lucy Beaumont announced their split.
Jon and Lucy tied the knot in 2015 after two years of dating.
Moment Lucy Beaumount joked about divorce from Jon Richardson a year before couple revealed split
A statement shared by PA news agency said: “After 9 years of marriage, we would like to announce that we have separated.
“We have jointly and amicably made the difficult decision to divorce and go our separate ways.
“As our only priority is managing this difficult transition for our daughter, we would ask that our privacy is respected at this sensitive time to protect her well-being.
ED Sheeran has revealed he has gone through with his plan to move to the US with his family.
Speaking in an interview for the 2 Johnnies podcast last month just before heading to the States, the A Team hitmaker said he was leaving Suffolk with wife Cherry Seaborn and their two daughters, Lyra five, and Jupiter, three.
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Ed Sheeran has revealed his plan to move Stateside with his familyCredit: instagram
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The A Team singer and wife Cherry Seaborn, along with two daughters, Lyra five, and Jupiter, three, will make the big move to the USCredit: Getty
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Ed has previously given a glimpse of his £3.7million pad on social mediaCredit: Instagram
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His pad, dubbed Sheeranville, boasts its own pubCredit: Instagram
The family had spent their time living in a £3.7million pad – dubbedSheeranville– which boasts a gym and pool, as well as a tree house and even a separate bungalow.
Yet Ed, 34, has said: “I’m just about to move to America.
“I feel like I might be the only person moving to America.
“I’m going on tour there for a while and I have a family so I can’t dip in and out.
“We’re going and settling there.”
Giving a glimpse into his home life on Instagram previously, he uploaded one showing him in a cosy-looking living area complete with a telescope for stargazing.
It also captured a huge library which was the perfect space for Ed and his song writing partners to pen his smash hits.
Land Registry records show that Ed bought his main home — a detached farmhouse and surrounding land — for £895,000 in June 2012
Despite the move, the Afterglow hitmaker has understandably retained his home but he also revealed he has built a second private boozer at his studio.
Ginger-haired pop megastar Ed Sheeran ’caused earthquake’ after thousands of fans jumped to hit songs at packed concert
He said: “People always look at stuff like that in my lifestyle and think it’s a bit weird, but I think to go out and really let loose with camera phones round, you can’t really do that any more – as in like if you’re well-known.
“So it’s having a place where you can have a few pints, a dance, a sing, get a bit silly and not worry about it being on TikTok the next morning.”
OWN GOAL
Ed then admitted he will no longer be able to watch his beloved Ipswich Town, where he owns a 1.4 per cent stake and was their shirt sponsor.
Chatting just before they lost on penalties at Bromley in the Carabao cup four weeks ago, he said the match was going to be the only game he’d be seeing this season before settling in the US.
He said: “I went to almost every game last season – I think I can only make one this season because I’m moving to the States.”
ALL CHANGE
The Shape of You singer previously expressed a desire to move into country music and potentially relocate to the US.
He said earlier this year: “When you transition to country, you can’t transition back.
“Nashville is my favourite city in the States and it’s always been my end goal to move to Nashville and transition to country.”
However, he did not reveal in his more recent interview just before planning to fly out whether it was Nashville where he was now setting up home.
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He will retain his Suffolk pad, which has seen the likes of Sir Elton John visitCredit: Instagram
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The big move means he won’t be able to watch as many Ipswich Town matchesCredit: instagram/@teddysphotos
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The Afterglow hitmaker is heading on tour in America and said he can’t ‘dip in and out’ of family lifeCredit: PA:Press Association
Susan Monarez fired while four officials resign amid tensions over vaccine policies and public health directives.
Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025
The director of the United States’s top public health agency has been fired after less than one month in the job, and several top agency leaders have resigned.
Susan Monarez is not “aligned with” President Donald Trump’s agenda and refused to resign, so the White House terminated her, deputy press secretary Kush Desai said on Wednesday night.
The US Department of Health and Human Services had announced her departure in a brief social media post on Wednesday afternoon.
Her lawyers responded with a statement, saying Monarez had neither resigned nor been told she was fired.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell wrote in a statement.
“This is not about one official. It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science. The attack on Dr Monarez is a warning to every American: our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within,” they said.
Officials resign
Her departure coincided with the resignations this week of at least four top CDC officials.
The list includes Dr Debra Houry, the agency’s deputy director; Dr Daniel Jernigan, head of the agency’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Dr Demetre Daskalakis, head of its National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; and Dr Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.
In an email reported by The Associated Press, Houry lamented the effects on the agency from planned budget cuts, reorganisation and firings.
Monarez, 50, was the agency’s 21st director and the first to pass through Senate confirmation following a 2023 law. She was named acting director in January and then tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon.
She was sworn in on July 31, less than a month ago, making her the shortest-serving CDC director in the history of the 79-year-old agency.
During her Senate confirmation process, Monarez told senators that she values vaccines, public health interventions and rigorous scientific evidence.
The second episode aired tonight and within minutes, a further two celebrities ripped off their arm bands and called it quits.
The stars were tasked with trekking up a hill, before taking on the challenge of hanging from a wire over a ravine.
However, Love Island star Chloe Burrows struggled on the climb, having already told her co-stars that she was finding the demands of the show difficult.
Read More on Celebrity SAS
As she was berated by the Special Forces staff for her moaning noises, she ripped off her arm band and told them between gasps for breath: “I can’t do it.”
The DS was furious and yelled: “Can’t do what? We’ve walked 300 metres up a f***ing hill!”
He then told Chloe she was “wasting a massive opportunity” but through her tears, she told him: “I’m done, I’m done.”
After handing over her arm band, she headed down the hill, chucking her water bottle before taking off her backpack and saying: “F*** off, this is the worst thing I have ever done in my whole life!”
But Chloe wasn’t alone for long, as within a minute she was joined by another former Love Islander.
The group continued climbing the hill, and the DS drilled number 5 – Tasha Ghouri – telling her to “dig deep” as she lagged behind.
Hannah Spearritt quits on day one of Celebrity SAS- Who Dares Wins
But an exhausted and struggling Tasha held up her arm band and told the shocked DS: “I’m not mentally here. I’m not mentally here to do this.”
After heading down the hill, the two women reunited and discussed their sudden exits from the course.
Tasha said: “You have to be so mentally strong to do this.”
Chloe replied: “And physically.”
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Hannah Spearritt (left) was the first to quit on Sunday’s episodeCredit: Pete Dadds / Channel 4
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns next week for its latest series on Channel 4 and among the line-up for the TV show is former S Club member Hannah Spearritt
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns next month for its new series(Image: Channel 4)
One of the celebrity contestants on the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, which launches next week, reportedly dropped out just hours into the experience. The news comes after the line-up was announced last week.
Fourteen celebrities were enlisted for the Channel 4 show’s latest series, which was filmed in Wales. It’s teased that the contestants will take part in “the most gruelling phase” of Special Forces selection over the eight episodes, with the upcoming series set to launch next weekend.
It’s now been reported this week that Hannah’s experience on Celebrity SAS proved to be the “final straw” before she moved abroad. It’s claimed that she quit on the first day after hoping it would “turn things around for her”.
Hannah Spearritt is said to have dropped out of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on the first day(Image: Channel 4)
A source told the Daily Mail that Hannah had “pretty much exhausted” her connections in the industry before her move to Costa Rica. They said that she no longer speaks to her bandmates and has “shut herself off” from the industry.
They added that the “final straw” came when she took part in Celebrity SAS. The source told the outlet: “Hannah truly believed that a stint on one of the hardest and most gruelling shows could turn things around for her.”
However, it’s claimed that Hannah struggled with the experience on the reality TV show. The source said: “But sadly she just couldn’t hack it and walked on the first day.” They then concluded by saying: “It was all rather embarrassing.”
She spoke about her hopes for the show in a statement released by Channel 4 last week when the line-up was announced. She said: “I hope to take out of this experience, strength. I want to feel stronger again, mentally and physically, because there’s always improvement there.”
She took part in the Channel 4 show prior to relocating to Costa Rica(Image: hannahspearrit/Instagram)
Hannah, who has two children, added: “There are always dips that happen along the way with motherhood or whatever but I think when you just experience different stuff, it changes you. I have no idea what to expect, but I do know it will be an experience and it’s something that I will have for life.”
She said: “However the experience goes, I am going to learn about myself. Maybe I’ll find out I am a bit of a mess or I might find out that I’m stronger than I think I am … it’s finding out things about yourself that you would never, ever find out. We live in this world where it’s so easy to live in our comfort zone, so this is an opportunity to get outside of that and … for me anyway, growth and expansion is one of the most important things, and that is something that hopefully I can pass on to my kids.”
Since taking part in the show, Hannah has relocated to Costa Rica with her husband Adam Thomas and their two children. Earlier this year, she teased that she was embracing a “new beginning” after having left the UK just months prior.
She’s shared updates from her new life abroad with her family in recent months(Image: hannahspearrit/Instagram)
Hannah confirmed in January that she had arrived at her new home, writing: “Well … we finally made it to paradise. Beautiful country, beautiful people.” She’s continued to share updates since then and her bio on Instagram reads: “Prepper, survivalist and creator now living the uninhibited jungle life.”
In one of her first posts after relocating, which was shared in February, Hannah said that the area had helped her “recover from a challenging year”. She made the comment alongside photos including one of her beside her kids on a walk.
She wrote in the caption: “Morning walks down to the waterfall… trying to keep up with the little legs! I’m putting together a little reel of this magical place that has really helped me recover from a challenging year and I’ll put the link in with it so you can enjoy it too if u like.”
From August 3, the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins can be streamed or watched live every Sunday and Monday from 9pm on Channel 4.
BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty is reportedly in talks to join another station amid the programme’s bullying row
22:07, 16 Jul 2025Updated 22:07, 16 Jul 2025
Naga Munchetty ‘renews talks’ for new job amid BBC Breakfast bullying row(Image: BBC)
BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty has reportedly ‘renewed talks’ with a radio station away from the corporation amid a bullying row that has plagued the morning programme. Last month, it was revealed show boss Richard Frediani was on extended leave on the flagship show after complaints about his behaviour.
Munchetty is reportedly in talks for another job(Image: BBC)
Speaking to The Sun, they said: “Her team last week renewed talks with LBC. The Global Radio station would suit her as there’s far less of the fluffy nonsense that’s involved in working at the BBC.” The Mirror have reached out to Munchetty’s reps for comment.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s annual salary was recently published and Munchetty was revealed to be earning almost double her co-host Charlie Stayt’s pay.
Stayt and Munchetty present BBC Breakfast from Thursday to Saturday morning, while Jon Kay and Sally Nugent take the helm from Monday to Wednesday.
It comes as the BBC salaries were released (Image: BBC)
Stayt, aged 63, has stayed within the £190,000 salary band, whereas Munchetty, aged 50, has enjoyed a £10,000 increase to her earnings, moving from £345,000 to £355,000.
Munchetty, who has presented on the flagship news programme since 2014, has always been paid more than Stayt. Her pay packet accounts for 180 days of presenting on BBC Breakfast, as well as her Radio 5 Live programme and election coverage.
The BBC pay comes amid a bullying row concerning the BBC Breakfast editor. Some current and former staff of the programme jumped to his defence.
One source told the Mirror: “He is not a bully at all and the truth will come out. He’s a great boss and was – and is still – overwhelmingly loved by the team, who respect his drive, expertise, and journalistic ambition. He has delivered great audiences and the first ever Bafta for breakfast TV.
“He can be brash and opinionated but works so hard for his team and allows people to flourish.”
A second source said: “Yes, he is old-school and can rub people up the wrong way but it’s always in the pursuit of great television. It’s the best-rating breakfast show in the country – it’s not supposed to be a walk in the park. Some – Naga included – need to understand this. It feels like it’s a case of presenter power turfing out a brilliant journalist.”
Co-host Stayt is also said to have a strained relationship with Frediani.
Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash and travel across the world filming their exploits for their TikTok account, which is followed by 505,000 people
Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty travel the world together as Live the Dash(Image: Supplied)
A couple quit their desk jobs and now travel the world full-time after discovering what they had captured on holiday.
Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty, 30, are now known as Live The Dash, one of the biggest UK travel creators with 505,000 followers on TikTok. They live a life many dream of, getting paid to whizz around the world to intriguing destinations.
The advertising workers had not planned to become full-time TikTok content creators. In fact, it wasn’t until they returned from a big six-month trip at the turn of the Covid lockdowns that they realised what they were sitting on.
“We had all this video content when the world shut down, and we had a lot of time on our hands. So we turned to this huge stock of footage,” Ryan told the Mirror. “We set ourselves a challenge of posting a video every day for 30 days. Then when some of that did really well, it spurred us on. We continued to post every day for six months.”
The couple dream up different challenges for themselves as they travel across the world (Image: Supplied)
Jade added: “It was surprising how quickly we got through that content. On a walk in Spain, the videos were doing quite well, and we realised we were going to run out of content soon. We started joking that we’d start going on trips.”
At first, the couple juggled their desk jobs with travel, booking themselves onto the cheapest flight out after they clocked off on a Friday and returning on Sunday. Two years ago, they decided to go full time. The risk has clearly paid off, as Jade and Ryan are among the most watched travel TikTok channels and won the platform’s Travel Award for 2024.
Part of the secret to their success is putting in the research hours before they go on a trip and then only travelling when they’ve landed on a great idea. That might be heading to New York to see if the hallowed ‘dollar slice’ of pizza can still be purchased, or around the UK in search for a genuine 99p 99 whippy.
They’ve also spent the night on the fastest sleeper train in the world, which rushes snoozing passengers from Hong Kong to Shanghai. “Was it amazing? The tech is amazing, but you’re sharing with three other strangers. It reaches 270 mph, but it’s super smooth,” Ryan explained. “For TikTok specifically, we have our hooks before we go. We film all we can, we film the journey, we film two intros, two hooks. We bet on all the horses.”
The search for something new that will engage their audiences takes the pair to places they might otherwise not have visited, which often turn out to be the most enjoyable.
“Somewhere I wasn’t expecting much from was Weston-super-mare. It had a lot of cheap whippies. It is obviously a faded Victorian seaside town, but the beach is gorgeous,” Ryan said.
Jade added: “We also like to hunt out weird hotels. We stayed in a cow cabin with unlimited free milk, near Ed Sheeran’s hometown, called Easton Farm Park. We also stayed in these huge tree houses in Derby.”
The old adage of ‘if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life’ seems true in the couple’s case. They still have the travel bug and are hugely excited by their trips. Part of that means pushing themselves to engage with people they meet along the way.
“We have this rule that whenever we’re on the plane, we have to speak to the person next to us. One guy told us ‘do what excites you’. Six years later, we still tell ourselves that. We call it Conrad’s message.”
The couple also recommends running every day and practicing good communication for travelling couples who want to avoid arguments while on the road.
In terms of finding inspiration, they recommend using the adjustable ‘For You’ feed on TikTok. It is now possible to customise content preferences so you can see more or less of certain content in topics from over 10 categories – including travel, sports, nature, and food and drink
An AI-powered ‘smart keyword filter” that allows users to limit content they don’t want to see’.
“The For You feed is the heart of TikTok, a way for us to discover new content. We use the new features, manage topics, and think it’s really cool that you can filter which topics you want to see more or less of.”
Billionaire and Tesla chief Elon Musk has stepped down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in which he was charged with reducing federal spending, as he nears the maximum limit for his tenure as a special government adviser.
His departure comes just after his first major public disagreement with President Donald Trump over the administration’s much-touted tax-and-spending budget bill, which was passed by the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives on May 22 by a single vote.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk said his time with the administration had “come to an end”.
“I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” the SpaceX founder wrote.
As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.
The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
Musk, who was appointed by Trump to lead DOGE, has seen his tenure in the White House marred by controversy, in particular sparked by his attempt to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency dedicated to distributing foreign aid.
With Musk’s departure, what will become of DOGE? And what legacy does the Tesla CEO leave behind?
How long was Musk at DOGE?
Musk’s term as a “special government employee” in the Trump administration meant he was only entitled to serve for 130 days in any 365-day period, and is barred from using government roles for any monetary gain.
Musk’s term has lasted just over four months, a few days short of the maximum legal limit.
In late April, Musk said he would soon shift his focus back to his own business enterprises and that his “time allocation” at DOGE would “drop significantly” starting in May.
However, Musk did note that he would spend “a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so, as long as it is useful”.
Why does Musk disagree with Trump’s tax-and-spending bill?
In a clip from an interview with news channel CBS’s Sunday Morning programme, released on Tuesday, Musk revealed he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill”.
According to him, the wide-ranging budget bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, increases the budget deficit and undermines his work at DOGE.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion,” Musk told journalist David Pogue.
On Wednesday, Trump staunchly defended the bill. “We will be negotiating that bill, and I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “That’s the way they go.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump [File: Alex Brandon/AP Photo]
The budget bill spans more than a thousand pages and outlines various domestic policy goals favoured by the Trump administration.
Among its provisions are measures that extend tax cuts introduced during Trump’s first presidential term in 2017. The bill also boosts funding for Trump’s proposed “mass deportation” initiative and for security along the US-Mexico border.
The disagreement over the tax-and-spending bill was one of several challenges Musk has encountered during his time at the White House.
What else has Musk disagreed with the Trump administration about?
Musk ran afoul of several Trump officials during his stint at the White House, including the president’s chief trade adviser, Peter Navarro, whom he called a “moron” over Trump’s sweeping increase in trade tariffs across the globe. Musk has also stated publicly that he would be more in favour of “predictable tariff structures”, in addition to “free trade and lower tariffs”.
In April, the SpaceX founder expressed hopes for “a zero-tariff situation” between the US and Europe. Instead, Trump has threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on imported goods from the European Union unless the two sides can agree to a trade deal.
What will happen to DOGE now?
Trump established DOGE by executive order the day he was sworn into office on January 20. With Musk’s departure, it’s unclear what fate awaits the agency, as Trump has yet to appoint anyone to replace him.
Musk was given a mandate to reduce federal funding, which included downsizing the government’s workforce, terminating government contracts and attempting to close down entire agencies. In February, he and Trump both claimed they had unearthed billions of dollars worth of fraud related to diversity and climate schemes within the government. This was proved to be largely untrue or misleading.
In his post on Wednesday, Musk said: “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
However, Colleen Graffy, a former US diplomat and professor of law at Pepperdine University in California, said DOGE’s future was on shaky ground. “The power of DOGE came from the world’s richest man, Musk, having the ear of the world’s most powerful person, Trump,” she told Al Jazeera. “DOGE will likely struggle along for a while, but without Musk, and with pending court cases against it, its days are numbered. It would be a poisoned chalice appointment for anyone to take. Trump’s tax cuts will dwarf any savings.”
What will Musk’s DOGE legacy be?
Musk’s role in the Trump administration has sparked a large amount of controversy.
“Elon Musk’s DOGE was like one of his rockets exploding soon after liftoff, thereby demonstrating how not to do things,” Graffy told Al Jazeera.
“The difference is that for one, the learning experience is paid in money; for the other, the price is paid in human lives,” she added.
A major point of criticism directed at Trump and Musk centred on their decision to severely scale back USAID’s operations.
A woman protests against Elon Musk outside the US Agency for International Development (USAID) building in Washington, DC, the US [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
By late February, the main offices of the agency in Washington, DC, had been essentially shut down.
Following the dismissal of roughly 1,600 employees and the placement of approximately 4,700 more on leave, staff were given just 15 minutes to gather their belongings and exit the building.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later revealed that 83 percent of all contracts managed by USAID had been closed.
In March, a federal judge in Maryland stated that DOGE had “likely violated” the US Constitution by attempting to dismantle the agency. The judge authorised a temporary injunction to stop DOGE from proceeding with USAID-related staff reductions, building closures, contract terminations, or the destruction of USAID materials.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, described DOGE as a “mantra of destruction”.
“The legacy of Elon Musk is lost livelihoods for critical government employees, hindered American education, loss of funding for scientists and the violation of Americans’ personal privacy, all in the service of corrupt tech-bro billionaire special interests,” she told Al Jazeera.
“The carnage is even more horrifying internationally, as Musk’s chainsaw will lead to the pointless and needless deaths of likely millions of people in the developing world.”
Max Yoeli, senior research fellow in the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House, said Musk’s brief tenure has “irrevocably altered US government”.
“DOGE’s weakening of state capacity and disruption of America’s research and development ecosystem pose lasting risks to US economic prospects and resilience, even as courts still grapple with legal issues his approach raised,” Yoeli told Al Jazeera.
Deontay Wilder has looked like a shell of his old self in his last few fightsCredit: GETTY
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The American has suffered three brutal knockout losses in his last five lossesCredit: GETTY
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Former foe Tyson Fury has urged ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to hang them upCredit: AP
Wilder, 39, will enter the bout on the back of four defeats in his last five outings, with three of those losses being brutal knockouts to Tyson Fury and Zhilei Zhang.
The American has looked like a shell of the fighter who struck fear into the hearts of heavyweights during his pomp, so much so that a litany of boxing icons, Fury, included, have urged him to call it a day.
During an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with former UFC champs Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, he said: “I’d like to see poor old Deontay retire from boxing.
“When I beat Wilder, he was 44 and 0, with 43 KOs, and he KO’d the guy who went the distance with him in the rematch, so that means he knocked out every single person he ever faced. 44 people.
“Obviously, he lost the three fights to me and since that third trilogy, we took a lot of lot of years off each other’s lives.
“That war, which ended in the 11th round by knockout, that took a lot out of our tanks.
“Between me and Wilder in that trilogy there was 10 knockdowns. It takes a lot out of a fighter.
“Even when he’s come back and had a couple of fights since, he’s only a shadow of his former glory.
Deontay Wilder has vowed to return to the summit of the heavyweight divisionCredit: Getty
“The only thing left that remains the same about Deontay is his name.”
Legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas, who used to train Mike Tyson, shares the same view as Fury.
Deontay Wilder’s three-fight ‘plan’ revealed including overdue Anthony Joshua fight
Atlas told Slingo: “The last thing to go, George Foreman showed, is that the last thing to go with a fighter is power.
“As long as you have power, you’ve got a shot.
“But the way he’s looked, the punishment he took against Zhilei Zhang.
“Wilder took a lot of punishment in his last few fights.
“And the way he took it, how clean he got hit, and how he reacted to it, just as a human being.
“Forget trainer, promoter, anything, just as a human being, I’d be concerned about him fighting again.”
Wilder and his team are hoping a win over Herndon will kick-start an unlikely run to a world title, with head coach Malik Scott saying: “He’s still got that urge to become champion, because he’s a champion at heart.
“He’s on the second half of his career, he’s filthy rich.
“He wants to make another run at the heavyweight championship of the world.”
Pep Guardiola has said he will quit as manager of Manchester City if he is given a big squad to select from after the summer transfer market.
A number of Man City’s senior players were not included in the squad for Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Bournemouth and Guardiola says he is unhappy at leaving so many players out.
Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Claudio Echeverri and Rico Lewis all missed out on Tuesday’s 20-man matchday squad as City moved to third in the Premier League and within a point of Champions League qualification.
But, despite this showing the depth Guardiola has at his disposal, the Spaniard wants to work with a smaller squad.
He said: “I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad]. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.”
Guardiola says it is “impossible for my soul” to leave players watching from the stands.
“Maybe [for] three, four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After people come back but next season it cannot be like that,” the 54-year-old added.
“As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club. I don’t want that.”
City spent more than £200m on four players in January after suffering a number of key injuries. Kevin De Bruyne is one of those players who will definitely depart in the summer, while the future of Jack Grealish is in doubt.
When asked if it meant more exits were inevitable, Guardiola – who signed a deal keeping him at the club until 2027 – said: “It is a question for the club. I don’t want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit. If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy and we do it.
Guardiola said a big squad is unstainable and that it is important for “the soul of the team” that his players “create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit”.
All Premier League clubs can have a 25-man squad, but this is not an exhaustive list of all players eligible to play. A team can also include under-21 players who are eligible over and above the 25-man squad limit.
Manchester City’s website lists 28 first-team squad members, plus four players who are on loan elsewhere.
Guardiola has explained in the past, external why he prefers to manage a smaller squad, going into the 2023/24 season with 20 senior players.
In comparison, Chelsea’s official website lists 31 players in their squad list, with 21 other players out on loan, Brighton and Tottenham list 29 players, while Wolves name 30 players on their squad list.
Clubs with smaller squads than Manchester City this season include Arsenal with just 24 players and champions Liverpool , Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest with 25 squad players.
HOLLY Hagan has hit out at Sophie Kasaei, who quit the show due to a pay dispute with MTV.
In a video uploaded to TikTok, Holly says she’ll never quit Geordie Shore because she wouldn’d be living the life she is now, were it not for the programme.
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Holly Hagan never wants to leave Geordie ShoreCredit: Eroteme
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Sophie Kasaei recently quit Geordie Shore because of a pay disputeCredit: Eroteme
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Holly (left) and Sophie (right)Credit: Splash News
It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that fellow Geordie Shore cast member Sophie, left after not being given the pay rise she’d been seeking.
Without mentioning Sophie by name, Holly said on TikTok: “Nobody’s better than anything just because they are or aren’t on something.
“Everyone’s got their reasons for doing personal things. This show is so much fun. I love being on it.
“I love being able to come away and just have a laugh, and let loose and make some good TV.”
Read More on Geordie Shore
And Holly said there’s a reason for her not previously being involved with the more controversial storylines.
She said: “Last time I wasn’t really participating as much just because I had an 11-month at home, and it made me really nervous about leaving him, and i wasn’t really involved in much of the drama.
“Guys, I literally got to have a free holiday and got paid for it. I’m never not going to do this while it’s still going. I’ll still be there unless something really dramatic happens and I need to leave.”
And the 32-year-old revealed she’d actually come close to quitting the show herself, but is so grateful she didn’t.
She added: “Right now while I’m still enjoying it, why the hell would I not do it? Regardless of what people think. A lot of people probably won’t know this but after series one I had completely quit.
“There was no way I was going back into that. I was so embarrassed, everyone made me feel so ashamed, and rightly so for some of the things I did on there.
Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan cruelly mum shamed as she shares toddler’s
“But I almost let other people’s feelings of me make me quit a really good opportunity and I’m so so glad that I ended up going back.
“Because the life I’m living right now wouldn’t be this. It would be nowhere near this.
“If I let other peoples opinions of me dictate what I’d be doing in my life then I wouldn’t be here now.”
THE REAL reason behind Sophie Kasaei’s Geordie Shore departure can be revealed after a behind the scenes fallout.
Sophie, 35, who has been a staple on the hit reality show on-and-off since its 2011 debut, walked away due to an ongoing pay dispute with MTV.
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The real reason behind Sophie Kasaei’s Geordie Shore departure can be revealedCredit: Instagram
The reality star had been in negotiations with the network for several months, hoping to secure a pay rise that reflected her longstanding contribution to the show.
However, despite numerous discussions and back-and-forths, the two sides ultimately couldn’t reach an agreement.
A source told The Sun: “Sophie had been in discussions about a pay rise with MTV for months, but in the end, they couldn’t agree on a figure.
“Sophie decided to walk away as she felt she was worth more than they were offering – she has been on the show for a long time and brings a lot to the table.
read more on Sophie Kasaei
“There was a lot of back and forth, and in the end, negotiations stalled.
“Sophie was gutted as she was really keen to come back, but she doesn’t want to undersell herself.”
Representatives for MTV and Sophie have been contacted for comment by The Sun.
An insider told us at the time: “Sophie has been in negotiations with show bosses for weeks now, but they can’t agree on the terms of her next contract.
“Sophie doesn’t really want to leave, but she feels she feels like she brings a lot to the show and has been there a long time, so she wanted her new contract to reflect that.
Geordie Shore’s Sophie Kasaei reveals her new look face after getting her filler dissolved
“Sadly, an agreement couldn’t be reached, and while there could always be a last minute bid to keep her from MTV, as it stands right now, Sophie is walking away.”
Sophie, who joined ITVBe reality show The Only Way Is Essex in 2023, also has her hands full with a number of other projects.
They continued: “She’s sad about it, because the show has been a huge part of her life, but she has lots of other things going on – she’s a regular on TOWIE, she’s focusing on starting a family with her boyfriend Jordan and she has a radio show and lots of brand deals so she won’t be short of work.”
Sophie’s shock exit will come as a major blow to her fellow co-stars – including viewers of the much-loved show.
“It’s a blow for the show though as lots of the long standing cast members have departed, from Charlotte to Scotty T, and every time a much-loved Geordie departs, the show loses a bit of that magic that has allowed it to run for all these years,” they added.
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The reality star favourite failed to reach an agreement with bossesCredit: MTV
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Sophie joined boyfriend Jordan Brook on rival show Towie in 2023Credit: Getty
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Scotty T was axed from the series after his recent driving ban and cocaine scandalCredit: Peter Jordan
Coronation Street viewers are speculating about the possible exit of an actress who has starred on the ITV soap for nearly a decade.
Coronation Street actress Julia Goulding, who has played Shona Platt since 2016, has sparked concern among viewers following her latest Instagram post. Goulding uploaded a professional headshot to social media, and while the image received compliments from fellow actors and fans, some people also interpreted it as a sign that the star is eyeing up new projects.
Actors typically update their headshots when looking to pursue new roles, and fans quickly jumped to the conclusion that Julia could be preparing to leave the cobbles behind – especially given a slew of exits from the soap were already announced over the past few months.
Coronation Street fans are worried that Shona Platt might be leaving the cobbles soon(Image: ITV)
One worried follower commented: “Please don’t be leaving Corrie!” Another chimed in: “Whenever an actor gets new headshots it’s a sign that they are leaving their current role. Will be sad to see Shona leave Corrie.”
A third exclaimed: “You better not be leaving Julia!” Some of the recent high-profile departures from the show included Paddy Bever, Charlotte Jordan, and Sue Cleaver.
Earlier this year Julia opened up about how difficult it’s been to say goodbye to some of her on-screen family and friends, particularly Paddy Bever, who played her stepson Max Turner.
She shared: “I love Paddy so much and I could actually be his mother, it’s ridiculous. He’s got a very bright future ahead of him and I would love to see him come back at some point, but I don’t know where his life is going to take him. Really sad to lose him.”
Viewers raised their concerns after actress Julia Goulding posted a new headshot on Instagram(Image: Getty Images)
Julia also admitted to being heartbroken over Charlotte leaving the show, adding: “And Charlie, don’t even get me started. I’m furious with her for leaving. I’m losing all of my mates.”
The actress has played one of the main characters on Coronation Street for nearly a decade and has been part of several dramatic storylines, such as Shona suffering from memory loss after a shooting, and many others related to her rocky relationship with husband David Platt.
Julia previously stepped away from the cobbles for a few months in 2023 when she was pregnant with her second child. At the time viewers were worried that Shona might be murdered by evil serial killer Stephen Reid to explain Julia’s absence, but in the end there was a much simpler explanation for her temporarily leaving Weatherfield.
The character went to London for a six-week stint with Lily Platt as the girl trained to become a professional footballer. Julia was later praised for her incredible figure as she posted videos of herself in a bikini while on a family holiday in Santorini just eight months after giving birth.
When her baby was born, she shared a photo of her holding the newborn alongside her husband Ben Silver, telling followers: “On Saturday our little girl arrived. We’re absolutely elated and Franklin is besotted with his little sister, Emmeline Beanie Silver. She’s perfect.”
Celebs Go Dating expert Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn has spoken out after Christine McGuinness announced her sudden exit from the E4 show during filming in Ibiza
Celebs Go Dating expert Dr Tara has praised Christine for her decision to quit the show
Celebs Go Dating expert Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn has praised Christine McGuinness after her decision to quit the E4 dating show while out filming in Ibiza.
Christine, 37, had been unveiled as part of the line-up last week, and was set to appear in the fourteenth series of the show. However, last night she took to her Instagram story to reveal she had withdrawn from the process.
The mother of two said in her statement: “I joined Celebs Go Dating with great intentions but have realised that dating on a public platform and the attention that brings is just too soon for me. They’ve said the door is always open for me which I’m so grateful but for now I’m returning home to my family.”
Christine announced her departure from the show on Thursday night (Image: Channel 4)
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror about Christine’s departure, Dr Tara, who joined the show as a ‘Sexpert’ during series 12, said she “completely respects” Christine’s decision to walk away.
“As one of the dating experts on the show, I completely respect Christine’s decision to step away at this time,” she said. “It takes real self awareness and strength to recognise your emotional boundaries, especially in such a unique and public setting. We support her wholeheartedly and wish her continued healing, happiness, and love on her terms.”
Dr Tara is currently out in Ibiza filming alongside returning experts Anna Williamson and Paul C Brunson, alongside celebrity clients including Kerry Katona and Love Island star, Olivia Hawkins.
Dr Tara is currently out in Ibiza filming the new series of Celebs Go Dating (Image: Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn)
Kerry Katona first entered the agency in 2019, and a spokesperson for the show said “the door has been left open” for Christine. “We have loved having Christine on the show and completely respect her feelings and decision to return home and have told her that the door is always open for her in the future at the agency,” they said.
Christine’s involvement with the show comes three years on from the news that she had separated from Paddy McGuinness. The former couple, who have three children together, announced that they had split up back in 2022.
Speaking about joining the show, Christine previously said: “I’m really excited to be joining the agency, I’m going to have a summer of fun! Who knows what might happen? I’ve not really dated much before, so I feel like I’m doing a crash course!”
“I’m looking forward to getting to know the other celebs and I’m especially looking forward to the coaching side of things with the agents. I think that’s going to be good for me,” Christine added in a statement released last week.
A TV insider told The Sun: “This is set to be a great coup for Celebs Go Dating. “The agents will be eager to get to know the real truth about Chris and what he is looking for following his connection with JoJo.” The Mirror has reached out to Celebs Go Dating for comment.
