Love Is Blind UK has returned with 30 new singletons entering the pods in the hope of finding true love.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Love Is Blind UK season two.
Love Is Blind UK fans have watched five couples get engaged but not everyone is happy with one match in particular.
A year has gone by since the first series of UK’s Love Is Blind debuted on Netflix with real-life married couple Emma and Matt Willis hosting the dating show.
Singles from across the UK and Ireland gathered to the Love Is Blind pods where they got to know potential partners without ever seeing them, in a bid to find that deep emotional connection.
By the end of the fourth episode, five couples got engaged and were able to see each other for the first time but it wasn’t smooth sailing by any means.
Katisha, 31, found herself in a love triangle with 30-year-old financial analyst Demola and 28-year-old health coach Javen while in the pods.
Love Is Blind UK fans were baffled when Katisha chose to get engaged with Javen. (Image: NETFLIX)
She initially decided to go with Demola but in an unexpected U-turn, Katisha changed her mind after another date with Javen.
Katisha ended her time with Demola, going on to only pursue her romance with Javen which resulted in the pair becoming the last couple to get engaged.
However, throughout the dating process, Javen, a former professional footballer, had shown some worrying “red flags” according to fans.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, someone wrote: “The moment Javen said it’s a game he is playing, we all saw that red flag. Katisha girl,” followed by an eye roll emoji.
A fellow fan commented: “Javen saying grand gestures is not his thing confirmed to me that he is a red flag.”
While a third agreed: “Choosing Javen is crazy I’m sorry because what do you mean you want her to propose? Red flag,” and another stated: “Javen is a huge red flag. HUGE.”
Love Is Blind UK’s Katisha ended things with Demola so she could pursue her romance with Javen. (Image: NETFLIX)
Despite fans’ concerns with Javen’s behaviour, he and Katisha did get engaged, although they soon faced criticism from within the group.
Fellow groom Kal called out Katisha for how she treated Demola but she simply said she had a change of heart and it was nothing to do with what he personally did.
A teaser for next week’s batch of episodes sees Kal bringing up this issue with Javen as he questions if she could change her mind again.
Katisha is also going to meet up with Demola in real-life so there may be a chance a romantic connection could still blossom with them.
Love Is Blind UK season two is available to watch on Netflix.
A fired-up Liam Livingstone brilliantly took down Rashid Khan to lead Birmingham Phoenix home in a thrilling and unlikely chase of 181 against defending champions Oval Invincibles in the men’s Hundred.
THOUSAND OAKS, California — Jaime Jaquez Jr., who is preparing for his third season in the NBA with the Miami Heat, and his sister Gabriela Jaquez, a standout player for the UCLA Bruins and the Mexican national basketball team, set aside their own workouts to lead others through some familiar drills.
The siblings recently hosted a summer camp for about 180 participants ages 6 to 16 at the Sports Academy facilities in Thousand Oaks. The three-hour camp aimed to promote basketball skills, discipline and a passion for the sport among children and teens. Some participants traveled from other states to attend the camp.
“It’s good to come back and give something back to the community, especially in a place where we grew up. Being able to do this is special,” said Jaime, who grew up in Camarillo, shone for four years at UCLA and has represented Mexico in international tournaments.
Gabriela Jaquez teaches camp participants how to shoot a basket.
(Nash Boorman, Courtesy of Electrolit)
During the event, Jaime recalled his childhood playing basketball “from dawn to dusk” on the local courts in his hometown.
The camp was also a source of inspiration for families.
“It’s exciting to see Latino players succeed, one in the NBA and another possibly in the WNBA,” said Armando Castillas of Oxnard, who attended the camp with his children, Logan, 6, and Emma, 10.
In addition to leading the camp, the Jaquez siblings are focused on their upcoming professional challenges.
Jaime is looking for a season of redemption after a difficult year with the Heat, having been named to the all-rookie team 2023–24.
“It has always been my goal to win championships,” said Jaime, who noted that he preferred to focus entirely on improving with the Heat before making any commitments to the Mexican national team.
For her part, Gabriela recently returned from competing in the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in Chile with the Mexican national team. In the tournament, Mexico faced the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Chile, and the Dominican Republic. Gabriela averaged 12 points per game, ranking as the 10th-best scorer in the tournament, and was recognized as the Rising Star of the competition. She had previously played for Mexico, which also helped her adapt to FIBA’s physical style of play and perform better with UCLA.
“It was an excellent opportunity. Playing at that level helped me a lot, especially physically,” said the 6-foot guard, who looks forward to her third season with the Bruins.
“I’m extremely proud to see her play for Mexico. I hope she can continue on that path and keep growing,” Jaime said of his sister.
Both players are now preparing for their respective seasons with clear goals: Jaime is looking to take the Heat further in the playoffs, while Gabriela has her sights set on a national championship with UCLA.
A group of children with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Gabriela Jaquez during the UCLA siblings’ camp.
(Nash Boorman, Courtesy of Electrolit)
“The goal is to win championships with UCLA,” Gabriela said. “We’ve already made it to the Final Four, and I think we have the talent to go even further.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’ new series had already seen four contestants quit in the first two episodes but two more were shown leaving the process in the latest episode
Two more celebrities left the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in tonight’s episode(Image: Channel 4)
Another two contestants were seen leaving Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in the latest episode. One of them became the fifth celebrity to voluntary withdraw, whilst their co-star was axed from process by the chief instructor instead.
The Channel 4 show continued with the fourth episode of its new series, which launched earlier this month, this evening. It saw the remaining contestants face yet more challenges together in Wales, which is considered the home of the first phase of SAS Selection.
Four contestants had already left the experience in previous episodes. Another two were shown departing in tonight’s episode, with the first coming during a mission described as “one of the most physically demanding tasks yet”.
Former footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa, 43, became the fifth recruit to leave. He withdrew during the mission, which saw the contestants tasked with carrying an inflatable boat through “rugged, coastal terrain” in teams.
Adebayo said he was struggling with a pre-existing knee injury towards the end of the mission and decided to voluntarily withdraw. Amid struggling with carrying the boat and concerns that he wasn’t contributing as much as others, he said to his teammates: “I’m messing you up, f***!”
After assuring instructors Billy Billingham and Chris Oliver that he doesn’t cut corners, Harry was shown footage of himself doing only 11 burpees after being tasked with doing 20 earlier in the experience.
Harry was later brought in front of the other celebrities, with him admitting to them that he had “cut corners”. Billy said: “I asked you three times about honesty and integrity, and what did you do?” Harry replied: “I lied, staff.” The reality TV star was then asked to hand in his armband, with the instructor saying “now”. Billy then shouted moments later: “Now!” Harry then left, becoming the sixth departure.
The new series of Celebrity SAS, which launched earlier this month, has already seen four contestants voluntarily withdraw. Two quit in the first episode, followed by two more celebrities who walked away during the second episode.
Former S Club member Hannah Spearritt, 44, and dancer Louie Spence, 56, quit too in the first episode. Hannah withdrew amid a mission on the show, with her having said at the time: “Sorry – I’m done. Sorry. I’ve reached a point.”
Louie later quit following a subsequent task. Sharing that he wanted to leave the process, he said: “I wanna do an immediate withdrawal.” He added: “I just don’t have the conviction and I feel as though I’m not dedicated enough.”
Viewers then saw Love Island stars Chloe Burrows, 29, and Tasha Ghouri, 27, quit in the second episode. Chloe withdrew whilst trekking up a hill, on the way to a challenge set over a ravine. After struggling, and her complaints being met with frustration from an instructor, she declared: “I’m done, I’m done.”
Tasha made the same decision shortly afterwards during the same task in the episode. After falling behind some of the other contestants whilst on the trek up the hill, she said: “I’m not mentally here. I’m not mentally here to do this.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues on Sunday night from 9pm on Channel 4.
As Big Brother prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary, we take a look back at the only couple from the show who are still together – Mickey Dalton and Grace Adam-Short
20:41, 09 Aug 2025Updated 20:41, 09 Aug 2025
Grace and Mikey fell in love on the show in 2006
The new series of Big Brother is just around the corner, as ITV prepares for its third season, 25 years after it first aired on Channel 5. There have been a number of relationships formed throughout the years, but only one couple remain together.
Mikey Dalton and Grace Adams-Short met on the show 19 years ago, and are still going strong to this day. The pair took part in the iconic seventh series of the fly on the wall reality show alongside Nikki Grahame and Pete Burns.
The pair quickly fell in love in the chaotic house, with Mikey popping the all important question just four months after leaving. They tied the knot in 2009, and are now parents to four children. They welcomed their first child Georgina in 2012, and welcomed their first son Stephen three years later. It comes after Big Brother confirms its return to ITV with a ‘new look’.
Grace and Mickey are parents to four children(Image: Grace Adams-Short/Instagram)
The couple are also parents to six year old Allegra, and son Atticus who they welcomed in 2022. The couple often speak about how they hope to show their children their series of Big Brother one day, so they can see where their parents met and fell in love.
“I didn’t have any idea that I was going to meet my life partner, my husband, absolutely not. We just thought it was going to be a fun summer. I was 20 years old, it was kind of like a gap year!” Grace said during an interview with This Morning in 2023.
It wasn’t love at first sight for Mikey, but in fact, lust at first sight, he later admitted. “I was lusting after her, I still remember the outfit you wore going in and the boots and everything. I was lovestruck when I seen her!”
Speaking on their fast engagement to local Plymouth newspaper, The Herald at the time of their nuptials, 23-year-old Grace said: “We got engaged after four months, which may sound quick but we got to know each other so fast on the show, so it felt right for us.”
The pair tied the knot three years after meeting on the reality show(Image: Grace Adams-Short/Instagram)
The most recent romance in the civilian Big Brother house was in 2023, between Jordan Sangha and Henry Southern. Fans were rooting for the pair to get together in the house and were left absolutely gutted when they revealed they had split earlier this year.
Taking to Instagram to release a statement, Henry wrote: “After a lot of thought, Jordan and I have decided to go our separate ways. “It’s incredible sad, and we’re both hurting, but we know it’s the right step. We’re so grateful for the love and support you’ve shown us – thank you.” Henry added: “Please give us some space as we figure things out privately.”
Jordan also shared his own statement as he sadly wrote: “An unfortunate announcement. After many times, memories, and precious experience, Henry and I have parted ways.
“I want to than everyone who has supported us. We will always remain close friends. Cheers x.”
Elsewhere, earlier this year, former Love Island star Chris Hughes and JoJo Siwa formed an extremely close friendship earlier this year in the Celebrity Big Brother house. Shortly after leaving, JoJo revealed she had split with her partner Kath Ebbs, and it wasn’t long before she and Chris became official.
A long-wondered game show secret has been revealed by a TV insider, ending much speculation.
Ever wondered how some game show contestants win the jackpot and others who deserve it more don’t? Well, this could be the reason why.
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Author Richard Osman is the brain child behind many TV favouritesCredit: Getty
The TV Insider
Gameshow host Richard Osman has finally answered the question about how some shows stop contestants from winning the top prize.
The Pointlessand House of Games star revealed that certain questions are given to those taking part in the programme in a bid to keep cash prizes to a minimum.
On his podcast which hosts alongside Marina Hyde, The Rest is Entertainment, the pair often reveal the secret tricks used by the industry to ensure the success of certain shows and films.
Most day-time and evening gameshows have huge cash prizes, which can sometimes reach six or seven figures.
But most of the time, many contestants, despite showing great promise, only end up with a fraction of the maximum amount.
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Richard Osman reveals all the tv secrets on his podcastCredit: Alamy
The secret trick
The 54-year-old said: “The questions wouldn’t be weighted particularly in that way,” he said. He went on to add: “But lots of formats have ways of ensuring there isn’t a payout.”
He added: “So, you’ll do a final round where you could win or you couldn’t win the jackpot.”
He later went on to explain that the cash prize at the end of each round depends on an algorithm for players.
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There’s a reason not every can win the prize pot
Richard said: “You always have an algorithm. Daytime budgets are very small, but in your budget will be a line item for prize money.
“So, when we used to make Deal or No Deal, for example ― and it’s a good example, because it’s all about money ― you’ve got that £250,000 box all the way down to the 1p box.”
Simon Cowell’s million-dollar failure
He also explained that there have been many game show failures.
Wanna Bet? was hosted by tele rating’s safe pair of hands, Ant and Dec, and was based on the idea of the gambling game Red or Black.
However, Osman revealed that in the first four episodes in a row, the contestants ended up bagging the total pot – a jaw-dropping $1 million.
The car crash of a show therefore, only lasted six episodes before it was cancelled, becoming one of Ant and Dec’s rare failures.
He then compared this to his former show Pointless, which offers £16,500 per day.
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Pointless first aired in 2009Credit: BBC
It means that if one team walks out with the top prize fund, others will suffer in the following games.
Having hosted hundreds of episodes of Pointless since it aired in 2009, Osman knows a thing or two having tv formats.
Osman was also the brains behind some of our favourite entertainment shows such as 8 out of 10 Cats, Have You Been Watching, Only Connect, Total Wipeout, Prize Island, and 10 O’Clock Live.
Grace Harris’ brilliant 89 unbeaten off 42 balls, including six maximums, helps London Spirit begin their title defence with a 17-run win over Oval Invincibles in The Women’s Hundred.
“But we’ve also made a choice that we select domestically if the players are of equal calibre, it’s important that we invest in our premier competition in Australia.”
The Wallabies, who compete for domestic talent with Aussie Rules and rugby league clubs, have struggled for depth and consistency in recent years – sliding to sixth in the world rankings.
The two-time world champions suffered a pool-stage exit at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Until 2015, Australia had a blanket ban on overseas-based players representing the Wallabies.
However, with the likes of playmaker Matt Giteau, wing Drew Mitchell and prop Sekope Kepu lured abroad by big contracts, ‘Giteau’s Law’ was introduced to allow a set number of overseas players – who had served time in Super Rugby and the national team – to still be picked.
The law has been further relaxed in recent years, with players with a commitment to return to Australian rugby excluded from the overseas quota.
Centre Len Ikitau and prop Angus Bell’s forthcoming season-long sabbatical stints at Exeter and Ulster are such moves.
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.
The Dodgers are leading the majors in on-base-plus-slugging percentage as an offense this year. They are second in the National League in scoring, and third in team batting average.
They have the league’s top players in hitting (Will Smith batting .324 and Freddie Freeman batting .306) and OPS (Shohei Ohtani at .982 and Smith at .963).
They figure to have several players who will get MVP votes at the end of the season, including the odds-on favorite for the award in Ohtani.
And yet, as the club enters the stretch run of the season, their lineup might be the biggest question mark in their bid to defend last year’s World Series championship. Since the start of July, they have scored the third-fewest runs in the majors, have the second-lowest team batting average and the fourth-lowest OPS.
They stayed relatively quiet at the trade deadline, hopeful a number of struggling superstars would get things going over the campaign’s final two months. But to this point, only Freeman (who endured a two-month slump before heating up again on their recent nine-game trip) has shown tangible signs of a late-season revival.
“If you look at it from the offensive side, as far as our guys, they’ll be the first to tell you they’ve got to perform better and more consistently,” manager Dave Roberts said this past weekend, after utility outfielder Alex Call became the team’s only deadline addition to the lineup. “That’s something that we’re all counting on … Now it’s up to all of us to go out there and do our jobs.”
While that’s true of most hitters in the lineup, all the way down to Andy Pages and (even before his most recent ankle injury flare-up) Tommy Edman, there are three star-level players in particular the Dodgers have been waiting to round back into form.
Here’s a look at the problems plaguing each of them:
Mookie Betts
First 15 games: .304 average, .554 slugging percentage, .954 OPS
Last 87 games: .222 average, .327 slugging percentage, .616 OPS
When asked on Sunday for the umpteenth time this season if he knew what was wrong with Mookie Betts’ swing, Roberts failed to come up with an answer.
“Honestly, no,” Roberts said. “I know that he and the hitting coaches have been working diligently, consistently, intentionally. I think that the first thing, the easiest thing, to say is it’s a mechanical thing. So I guess kind of that’s where he’s at. But also, I do believe that there’s a mental part of it, too, which is sort of beating him down a little bit.”
When Betts was presented with the same question later Sunday afternoon, after running a season-long hitless streak to 17 at-bats and watching his batting average dip to .233, he was left searching for divine intervention.
“I’ve done everything I can possibly do,” he said. “It’s up to God at this point.”
Betts’ struggles are not for a lack of effort. He spends hours in the batting cage before (and sometimes after) almost every game. He has tried mechanical tweaks and mental cues and fundamental drills that in the past would get him back on track.
His approach has largely remained sound, as he ranks in the top 20% of big-leaguers in chase rate, whiff rate and strikeouts percentage, per Baseball Savant’s Statcast data.
And while his bat speed is in the 11th percentile of MLB hitters (and down almost two mph from his 39-homer season in 2023), it’s also about the same as he had last year, when he was still a .289 hitter with 19 home runs (in just 116 games) and a .863 OPS (which only trailed Shohei Ohtani for the best on the team).
“I really don’t know what else to do,” he said. “I don’t have any answers.”
Perhaps the most confounding metric: Betts is in the 99th percentile in “squared-up” rate, a metric that effectively determines when a ball is hit off the sweet spot of the bat.
But, even when Betts does make solid contact, he simply isn’t generating as much power as he usually does — ranking among the bottom third of big-league hitters in average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage; and watching fly balls that used to leave the yard die at the warning track, if they even make it that far.
While he has been a victim of some bad luck (his expected .252 batting average is almost 20 points higher than his actual mark), he has had no choice but to “go back to the drawing board” time and time again this year — gradually grating on his confidence as answers continually fail to appear.
“I don’t know anybody in the world that would have confidence in the stretch that’s going on [for me],” he said. “It sucks when you don’t get stuff done.”
Betts can be a streaky hitter. And the Dodgers’ hope is that, at some point over these final two months, he’ll find something that unlocks more pop in his bat, and go on the kind of heater that can make him an effective producer at the top of the lineup again.
Until that happens, however, questions will persist. About whether his shortstop play is to blame for his offensive decline (a theory multiple rival evaluators have increasingly pointed to of late as a reason for his struggles). About whether age is simply catching up to the soon-to-be 33-year-old veteran. And about whether he will ever be the same hitter he was once, amid a season-long slump almost no one saw coming.
Shohei Ohtani
First 70 games (before resuming pitching): .297 average, 1.034 OPS, 24% strikeout rate
Last 40 games (since resuming pitching): .230 average, .886 OPS, 31% strikeout rate
The easy demarcation line for Ohtani this year has been before and after he returned to pitching in mid-June, with offensive production dropping even as his stuff has ticked up on the mound.
Ohtani has still been a relatively productive hitter since then, continuing to hit home runs at a league-leading pace (he is tied with Kyle Schwarber for the NL lead with 38 on the year).
But he has become a much easier out the last couple months, as well, epitomized first and foremost by his climbing strikeout rate.
An over-aggressive approach would figure to be the easy explanation here. And there have been times, Roberts noted, the slugger appears to get into a “swing mode” that prevents him from laying off bad pitches.
But on the whole this season, Ohtani is actually swinging less often than he did last year, chasing pitches at an almost identical rate and continuing to draw more walks than almost anyone in the majors (his 71 free passes are seventh-most this season).
Ohtani’s problem has been an increase in swing-and-miss, with the reigning MVP coming up empty on more than one-third of his hacks.
It might simply be a byproduct of the added physical workload he has taken on since resuming two-way duties. But he has insisted such problems remain fixable, citing a lack of balance and consistency in his swing mechanics.
Like Betts, Ohtani can also be prone to more extreme highs and lows over the course of a year. Last season, for example, he hit just .235 with an .886 OPS in August, before turning around in September and batting .393 with a 1.225 OPS.
The Dodgers could use another late-season tear like that again this term. Whether he can do it while also ramping up as a pitcher looms as one of the biggest questions facing the Dodgers down the stretch this year.
Teoscar Hernández
First 33 games (pre-groin strain): .315 average, nine home runs, .933 OPS, 18% strikeout rate
Last 57 games (post-groin strain): .211 average, seven home runs, .619 OPS, 28% strikeout rate
Hernández’s midseason drop-off is perhaps the easiest to explain of any recently scuffling Dodgers hitter.
Before suffering a groin/adductor strain in early May, he was on an All-Star (and potentially even MVP-caliber) pace after re-signing with the Dodgers in the offseason.
Since then, however, the 32-year-old simply hasn’t looked the same — both at the plate, where he hasn’t been able to drive the ball as he usually does, and in the field, where his range has been clearly limited.
To that end, a foul ball he took off his foot last month hasn’t helped matters either.
There have been some recent signs that Hernández is getting healthy again. His slugging percentage has started to tick back up since getting a week off for the All-Star break. He has had more hard contact, especially to center and the opposite field.
“At the beginning [after my injury] it was a little hard,” Hernández said after hitting home runs in consecutive games at Fenway Park last week. “First I got my groin, then I got the foul off my foot. Couldn’t put a lot of weight [on it] for like two weeks. Thank God there was the break in there. I got those four days off, going through that and getting some treatment, getting some rest. And finally feel like myself again.”
But, it still hasn’t resulted in a total reversal of fortunes, with Hernández finishing the road trip going just five-for-25 with nine strikeouts and only one extra-base hit.
Last year, Hernández’s ability to be a run-producer behind the Dodgers’ star trio of hitters was crucial to both their regular-season and postseason offensive success. Lately, though, he has been more strikeout-prone and less opportunistic at the plate, contributing to a string of frustrating recent defeats marked by squandered chances in leverage opportunities.
“He’s bearing down, and he’s not trying to give at-bats away,” Roberts said. “He’s grinding.”
Much like the Dodgers’ other scuffling stars, the team will need him to fully snap out of it, and live up once again to the expectations the club had for him and the lineup at large.
ADRIAN LEWIS loves how the fearless Luke Littler behaves on the oche – and has no issue if his records are wiped out.
Littler, 18, heads Down Under this week to take part in World Series of Darts events in Australia and New Zealand.
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Luke Littler completed the Triple Crown at the World MatchplayCredit: Getty
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Adrian Lewis could make a darts comebackCredit: Getty
His last appearance on the oche saw him lift the Betfred World Matchplay – beating James Wade 18-13 in the final in Blackpool to complete the sport’s Triple Crown.
In the semi-finals, The Nuke hit a stunning nine-darter against Josh Rock and instead of going wild at the feat, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
Almost like Lewis, 40, used to do after perfect legs, as if to say: ‘Well, what else do you expect from someone as talented as me?’
When the tournament was over, Littler had hit 64 180s across five games, eight more maximums than the previous record of 56 set by Jackpot in 2013.
Far from feeling angry or jealous, Lewis approves of the audacity of Littler’s antics, saying: “I love it. Anything like that, I think it’s great for the game, you need characters.
“I have said it for years, I do believe that, and Luke is certainly one of them.
“First of all, him reaching the world final on his first appearance at Ally Pally was unbelievable.
“To do what he has done since, becoming world champion and still maintaining his form, he’s a credit to himself, his family and the sport.
“The sport is in good hands. The two Lukes, and Josh Rock, they are all very professional, they do their jobs.
“That is what darts needs. It is becoming more and more professional as time goes on.
Luke Littler takes part in annual fishing competition
“The Matchplay was definitely up there. The standard of it throughout was brilliant.
“Luke Littler hitting a nine-darter always helped. The semis-finals and final made it a great, great tournament.”
Later this month, Lewis will mark his return to televised darts – after a near two-and-half year absence.
The two-time world champion last threw competitive darts in front of the cameras at the PDC’s UK Open in 2023 at Butlin’s Minehead.
After that tournament, he decided to walk away from the sport for family reasons and having fallen out of love with the game.
His wife Sarah has “an incurable kidney disease” and his son “has autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)”, which has meant his full-time concentration and care.
His comeback will be the MODUS Super Series in Portsmouth at 10pm on Thursday August 28 – and should it all go well, he may attend PDC Q School in January.
If he regains his professional Tour Card, he will be reunited with old sparring partner Wade, who turned back the clock to reach the Matchplay final last month against expectation
Stoke-born Lewis said: “I don’t think James dropped below a 100 average all the way through the tournament, which takes some doing itself.
“To still do that after he has been playing for 20-odd years, he’s a credit to the sport as well. I think he is very underlooked a lot of the time.
“Certainly, to me he has been the best finisher in the world over the last 20 years.
“He deserves more respect, definitely. That might put him in the Premier League next year, which he thoroughly deserves as well.
“He will just go from strength to strength and get more and more confidence.
“Obviously he reached another final and I think he can do big things again.”
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Littler hit a nine-darter in the semi-final before seeing off James Wade to clinch the Matchplay titleCredit: Getty
Dua, who has won seven Brit awards and three Grammys, said that she did not know she could sing until a teacher at the Sylvia Young Theatre School told her how good she was.
Actors who attended her classes include Keeley Hawes, Doctor Who’s Matt Smith, Nicholas Hoult, who is in the latest Superman blockbuster, and Emmy-nominated Adolescence and Top Boy star Ashley Walters.
The school was also a conveyor belt for EastEnders stars, with Nick Berry, Letitia Dean, Adam Woodyatt and Dean Gaffney all passing through its doors.
READ MORE ON DRAMA SCHOOLS
Stage fright
But there were problems along the way. In 1998 one of the drama masters was arrested for indecent assault, and the company struggled to survive the Covid shutdown.
The pressures of fame also proved too much for some former pupils, including the late Winehouse and EastEnders’ original Mark Fowler, David Scarboro, who was found at the bottom of cliffs as Beachy Head in East Sussex in 1988.
Sylvia, though, was loved by her former pupils, many of whom paid tribute to the “backstage matriarch”.
Keeley Hawes wrote: “I wouldn’t have the career I have today without her help”.
And All Saints singer Nicole Appleton commented: “This is going to really affect us all who were lucky enough to be part of her amazing world growing up. What a time, the best memories.”
DJ Tony Blackburn added: “She was a very lovely lady who I had the privilege of knowing for many years. She will be sadly missed.”
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Actress Sadie Frost commented online: “What a woman, what a family, what a legacy! Sending everyone so much love and support. She was always so lovely to me.”
And TV and radio presenter Kate Thornton said she “meant so much to so many”.
Sylvia did not boast about the success of her students and the school’s website does not mention its incredible roster of ex-pupils.
But it is hard to imagine a single drama teacher ever having as much impact as her. Sylvia’s two daughters, Alison and Frances Ruffelle, who are directors of the theatre school, said: “Our mum was a true visionary.
“She gave young people from all walks of life the chance to pursue their performing arts skills to the highest standard.
“Her rare ability to recognise raw talent and encourage all her students contributed to the richness of today’s theatre and music world, even winning herself an Olivier Award along the way.”
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Pop star Rita Ora also attended Sylvia’s schoolCredit: Getty
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Rita Ora pictured as a student of the Sylvia Young Theatre SchoolCredit: John Clark/22five Publishing
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Denise Van Outen was a product of the prestigious schoolCredit: Getty
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A young and smiling Denise at Sylvia’s schoolCredit: YouTube
Sylvia made it to the top of the British entertainment industry the hard way.
She was the eldest of nine children born to Abraham Bakal, a tailor’s presser, and housewife Sophie in London’s East End. Born in 1939 just after the outbreak of World War Two she remembered the air raid sirens during the Blitz of the capital.
She was evacuated to a village near Barnsley during the war, only returning home once it was over.
At the local library she was gripped by reading plays and would meet up with friends to perform them.
While still at school she joined a theatre group in North London, but her dreams of treading the boards in the West End were dashed by stage fright.
She said: “I used to lose my voice before every production. When I think about it, they were sort of panic attacks.”
Instead, she married telephone engineer Norman Ruffell in 1961 and stayed at home to look after their two daughters.
When Alison and Frances attended primary school, Sylvia started teaching drama to their fellow pupils. It cost just ten pence and the kids also got a cup of orange squash and a biscuit.
Word spread and when her students got the nickname the Young-uns, Sylvia decided to adopt the surname Young for business purposes.
The first Sylvia Young Theatre School was set up in 1981 in Drury Lane in the heart of London’s theatre district.
Two years later, it moved to a former church school in Marylebone in central London, where most of its famous pupils got their start.
Even though it is fee-paying, everyone has to pass an audition — and only one in 25 applicants are successful.
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Dua Lipa, who has won seven Brit awards and three GrammysCredit: Redferns
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She did not know she could sing until a teacher at the Sylvia Young Theatre School told her how good she wasCredit: Instagram
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Emma Bunton joining the Spice Girls was thanks to Sylvia’s schoolCredit: Getty
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It was thanks to talent scouts and casting agents putting up requests on the notice board at the schoolCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
It costs up to £7,000 per term for full-time students and only has places for 250 pupils aged ten to 16.
There are bursaries and fee reductions for pupils from less well-off backgrounds, plus a Saturday school and part-time classes.
Sylvia was always keen to avoid it being a school for rich kids.
When she took an assembly she would ask pupils, “What mustn’t we be?”, and they would shout back, “Stage school brats”.
Keeping kids level-headed when stardom beckoned was also important for the teacher.
She said: “I offer good training and like to keep the students as individual as possible.
“We develop a lot of confidence and communication skills. Of course they want immediate stardom, but they’re not expecting it. You don’t find notices up here about who’s doing what. It is actually played down tremendously.”
‘Baby Spice was lovely’
A need for discipline even applied to Sylvia’s daughter Frances, who she expelled from the school.
Frances clearly got over it, going on to have a career in musical theatre and representing the United Kingdom in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing tenth.
Those genes were strong, with Frances’ daughter, stage name Eliza Doolittle, having a Top Five hit with Pack Up in 2010.
The ever-rebellious Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 aged 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning, claimed to have been kicked out, too.
She said: “I was just being a brat and being disruptive and so on. I loved it there, I didn’t have a problem, I just didn’t want to conform.
“And they didn’t like me wearing a nose piercing.”
But Sylvia did not want Amy to leave. She said: “She would upset the academic teachers, except the English teacher who thought she’d be a novelist. She seemed to be just loved. But she was naughty.”
Other singers were clearly inspired by their time at the school, which moved to new premises in Westminster in 2010.
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Billie Piper had her acting skills honed thanks to SylviaCredit: Getty
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Billie attended the Sylvia Young Theatre SchoolCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Sylvia was loved by her former pupils, many of whom paid tribute to the ‘backstage matriarch’Credit: Alamy
Dua Lipa, who went to the Saturday school from the age of nine, was asked to sing in front of other pupils shortly after joining.
She said, “I was terrified”, but that the vocal coach “was the first person to tell me I could sing”.
Talent scouts and casting agents would put up requests on the notice board at the school. One such posting led to Emma Bunton joining the Spice Girls.
Of Baby Spice, Sylvia said: “She got away with whatever she could. But she was a lovely, happy-go-lucky individual with a sweet singing voice.”
Groups were also formed by Sylvia’s ex-pupils.
All Saints singer Melanie Blatt became best friends with Nicole Appleton at Sylvia Young’s and brought her in when her band needed new singers in 1996.
But Melanie was not complimentary about the school, once saying: “I just found the whole thing really up its own arse.”
Casting agents did, however, hold the classes in very high regard.
The professionalism instilled in the students meant that producers from major British TV shows such as EastEnders and Grange Hill kept coming back for more.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of less well-known performers treading the boards of Britain’s stages also have the school’s ethos to thank for their success.
Those achievements were recognised in the 2005 Honours List when Sylvia was awarded an OBE for services to the arts.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who has produced shows including Les Miserables and Cats, said: “The show that provided the greatest showcase for the young actors she discovered and nurtured is undoubtedly Oliver! which has featured hundreds of her students over the years.
“Sylvia was a pioneer who became a caring but formidable children’s agent.”
In the sprints, Dina Asher-Smith contests the women’s 200m, with Daryll Neita and Amy Hunt doubling up by adding the 100m.
Jeremiah Azu and Zharnel Hughes are among those aiming for glory in the men’s events, with Louie Hinchliffe focusing his attention on retaining his 100m crown.
Charlie Dobson is favourite to retain his 400m title in the absence of Hudson-Smith, as is world indoor champion Amber Anning in the women’s event.
In the field events, high jumper Morgan Lake will seek to continue her good form following her London Diamond League victory, while Molly Caudery is in pole vault action.
Johnson-Thompson is entered in the 100m hurdles, javelin and shot put as she builds towards her bid for a third world title.
With the World Para Athletics Championships taking place in New Delhi, India, from 26 September, Kare Adenegan, Zachary Shaw and Sophie Hahn are among the British stars also in action.
Love Island viewers saw family and friends of the islanders enter the villa in tonight’s episode following the latest recoupling, and one parent had a message for the group
22:08, 28 Jul 2025Updated 22:36, 28 Jul 2025
A parent issued a plea to the islanders in the Love Island villa during a reunion on tonight’s episode of the reality TV show. Dejon Noel-Williams’ mother Demelza shared her thoughts on the dynamic among the islanders upon her arrival.
Meg was reunited with her mother Nathalie and older sister Paige earlier, whilst Dejon got to see his mum Demelza and his sister Gene in scenes that aired this evening. Although Meg’s family had concerns over the relationship, Dejon’s family were supportive.
Demelza even warned Meg about the other girls in the villa. She said: “I just want to say that these girls are not your friends.” After her sister agreed, Meg said: “Yeah, I’ve seen it.” Demelza appeared to then say: “Smiling assassins!”
Dejon Noel-Williams (centre) was reunited with his mother Demelza (left) and his sister Gene (right) in the villa(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
Later, as she was leaving the villa, Demelza told all the islanders to be mindful of what they say because everyone’s families are watching back home. She told the islanders: “Guys, just remember you’ve got loved ones outside.”
Demelza continued by saying that she felt that some people’s behaviours and comments had already been “quite hurtful”. She instead encouraged them to “just have fun” in the last week ahead of the upcoming final next Monday.
Sharing her thoughts, Demelza said: “That’s all I want to say and some of the things you’re doing and saying is quite hurtful. So just be mindful that all of you have got loved ones watching. Take that into the last week and just have fun.”
Demelza later had a message for the entire villa, with her warning the islanders to be mindful of their behaviour in the final week(Image: ITV)
She wasn’t the only relative to feel that way. Following Demelza’s comments to the islanders, Meg’s sister Paige, who was also about to leave the villa after the reunion, added: “Just love. Positive. Everyone be nice to each other!”
As well as Meg and Dejon remaining together, the latest recoupling also saw Yasmin Pettet and Jamie Rhodes stay coupled up. It however also saw several islanders enter different couplings than they had been in previously.
Conor Phillips is now coupled-up with Megan Forte Clarke, whilst Toni Laites was chosen by Cach Mercer in the recoupling ceremony that aired on Sunday night. Ty Isherwood and Angel Swift are another new couple in the villa.
Dejon’s family also got to meet his partner Meg Moore, who reunited with her own mother and sister in the latest episode of Love Island(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
After most recently being coupled up with Helena, he told Shakira in last night’s episode that he was either leaving with her or without her. Viewers also saw Helena end things with Harry, with her telling him that she had broken her heart with his behaviour in the villa, prompting an apology.
He then had to make a choice in the episode once the recoupling arrived. Harry, who was faced with Shakira and Helena as his options, said: “I’d like to couple up with this girl because she possesses qualities I see in a long-term partner.”
Harry added: “Think I’ve sat on a lot of feelings and buried a lot of my emotions recently, and two conversations brought that all back to the surface. I think I’ve disappointed myself. Disappointed people in here. […] I want to be a better person for myself and this girl.”
He said: “The feelings were always there, I just chose to ignore them. As I said to this girl yesterday, I’m either leaving here alone or I’m leaving here with her.” He then chose Shakira, which left Blu with Helena as his only choice.
Love Island continues tomorrow night from 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
For filmmaker Scott Mann, three dozen F-bombs had the makings of a million-dollar headache.
When Mann wrapped “Fall,” a 2022 thriller about two women stranded atop a 2,000-foot radio tower, he figured the hard part was over. Shot in the Mojave Desert on a $3-million budget, the film didn’t have money to burn and seemed on course. But Lionsgate wanted a PG-13 rating and, with 35 expletives, “Fall” was headed for an R. Reshoots would cost more than $1 million — far beyond what the production could afford.
In the past, a director might have taken out a second mortgage or thrown themselves at the mercy of the ratings board. Mann instead turned to AI.
A few years earlier, he had been dismayed by how a German dub of his 2015 thriller “Heist” flattened the performances, including a key scene with Robert De Niro, to match stiff, mistranslated dialogue. That frustration led Mann to co-found Flawless, an AI startup aimed at preserving the integrity of an actor’s performance across languages. As a proof of concept, he used the company’s tech to subtly reshape De Niro’s mouth movements and restore the emotional nuance of the original scene.
On “Fall,” Mann applied that same technology to clean up the profanity without reshoots, digitally modifying the actors’ mouths to match PG-13-friendly lines like “freaking” — at a fraction of the cost.
A series on how the AI revolution is reshaping the creative foundations of Hollywood — from storytelling and performance to production, labor and power.
As AI stirs both hype and anxiety in Hollywood, Mann understands why even such subtle digital tweaks can feel like a violation. That tension came to a head during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, in which AI became the defining flash point in the fight over acting’s future.
“Ours is a rights-based industry,” says Mann, 45, who helped develop a digital rights management platform at Flawless to ensure performers approve any changes to their work. “It’s built on protecting human creativity, the contributions of actors, directors, editors, and if those rights aren’t protected, that value gets lost.”
Mann at his office in Santa Monica.
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
Still, Mann doesn’t see AI as a threat so much as a misunderstood tool — one that, used carefully, can support the artists it’s accused of replacing. Flawless’ DeepEditor, for example, lets directors transfer facial expressions from one take to another, even when the camera angle or lighting changes, helping actors preserve their strongest moments without breaking continuity.
“Plenty of actors I’ve worked with have had that moment where they see what’s possible and realize, ‘Oh my God, this is so much better,’” Mann says. “It frees them up, takes off the pressure and helps them do a better job. Shutting AI out is naive and a way to end up on the wrong side of history. Done right, this will make the industry grow and thrive.”
AI isn’t hovering at the edges of acting anymore — it’s already on soundstages and in editing bays. Studios have used digital tools to de-age Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” resurrect Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One” and clone Val Kilmer’s voice in “Top Gun: Maverick” after throat cancer left him unable to speak. The technology has reshaped faces, smoothed dialogue and fast-tracked everything from dubbing to reshoots. And its reach is growing: Studios can now revive long-dead stars, conjure stunt doubles who never get hurt and rewrite performances long after wrap.
But should they?
Actors outside Paramount Studios during a SAG-AFTRA solidarity rally in September 2023.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
As the tools grow more sophisticated, the threat to actors goes beyond creative disruption. In an industry where steady work is already elusive and the middle class of working actors is vanishing, AI raises the prospect of fewer jobs, lower pay and, in a dystopian twist, a future in which your disembodied face and voice might get work without you.
Background actors were among the first to sound the alarm during the 2023 strike, protesting studio proposals to scan them once and reuse their likenesses indefinitely. That scenario is already beginning to unfold: In China, a state-backed initiative will use AI to reimagine 100 kung fu classics, including films starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, through animation and other digital enhancements. Lee’s estate said it was unaware of the project, raising questions about how these actors’ likenesses might be used, decades after filming.
If the soul of acting is a human presence, what remains when even that can be simulated?
“You want to feel breath — you want to feel life,” said actor and director Ethan Hawke during a panel at 2023’s Telluride Film Festival, where strike-era unease over AI was palpable. “When we see a great painting, we feel a human being’s blood, sweat and tears. That’s what we’re all looking for, that connection with the present moment. And AI can’t do that.”
Who’s in control?
Justine Bateman may seem like an unlikely crusader in Hollywood’s fight against AI. Launched to fame as Mallory Keaton on the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties,” she later became a filmmaker and earned a computer science degree from UCLA. Now, as founder of the advocacy group CREDO23, Bateman has become one of the industry’s fiercest voices urging filmmakers to reject AI-generated content and defend the integrity of human-made work. Loosely modeled on Dogme 95, CREDO23 offers a certification of films made without AI, using minimal VFX and union crews. It’s a pledge backed by a council including “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner, “The Handmaid’s Tale” director Reed Morano and actor Juliette Lewis.
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA contract set new guardrails: Studios must get actors’ consent to create or use digital replicas of their likenesses, and those replicas can’t generate new performances without a separate deal. Actors must also be compensated and credited when their digital likeness is used.
But to Bateman, a former SAG-AFTRA board member and negotiating committee rep, those protections are little more than sandbags against an inevitable AI flood: hard-won but already straining to keep the technology at bay.
“The allowances in the contract are pretty astounding,” Bateman says by phone, her voice tight with exasperation. “If you can picture the Teamsters allowing self-driving trucks in their contract — that’s on par with what SAG did. If you’re not making sure human roles are played by human actors, I’m not sure what the union is for.”
Justine Bateman, photographed by The Times in 2022.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
To Bateman, the idea that AI expands access to filmmaking — a central tenet of its utopian sales pitch — is a dangerous myth, one that obscures deeper questions about authorship and the value of creative labor.
“Anyone can make a film — my last two, I shot on an iPhone,” Bateman says. “The idea that AI is ‘democratizing film’ doesn’t even make sense. What it really does is remove the barrier of skill. It lets people pretend they’re filmmakers when they’re not, by prompting software that wouldn’t even function without having stolen a hundred years of film and TV production made by real filmmakers.”
Bateman’s opposition to AI is rooted in a deep distrust of Silicon Valley’s expanding influence over the creative process and a belief that filmmaking should be driven by artists, not algorithms. “The tech bro business completely jumped the shark with generative AI,” she says. “Is it solving plastics in the ocean? Homelessness? L.A. traffic? Not that I’m aware of.”
She scoffs at the supposed efficiencies AI brings to the filmmaking process: “It’s like saying, whatever somebody enjoys — sex or an ice cream sundae — ‘Hey, now you can do it in a quarter of the time.’ OK, but then what do you think life is for?“
To Bateman, an actor’s voice, face, movements or even their choice of costume is not raw material to be reshaped but an expression of authorship. AI, in her view, erases those choices and the intent behind them. “I’m deeply against changing what the actor did,” she says. “It’s not right to have the actor doing things or saying things they didn’t do — or to alter their hair, makeup or clothes in postproduction using AI. The actor knows what they did.”
While Bateman has been public and unwavering in her stance, many actors remain unsure whether to raise their voices. In the wake of the strikes, much of the conversation around AI has moved behind closed doors, leaving those who do speak out feeling at times exposed and alone.
Scarlett Johansson, who lent her smoky, hypnotic voice to the fictional AI in Spike Jonze’s Oscar-winning 2013 film “Her,” now finds herself in a uniquely uncomfortable position: She’s both a symbol of our collective fascination with artificial performance and a real-world example of what’s at stake when that line is crossed. Last year, she accused OpenAI of using a chatbot voice that sounded “eerily similar” to hers, months after she declined to license it. OpenAI denied the claim and pulled the voice, but the incident reignited concern over consent and control.
Johansson has long spoken out against the unauthorized use of her image, including her appearance in deepfake pornography, and has pushed for stronger safeguards against digital impersonation. To date, though, she is one of the few major stars to publicly push back against the creeping mimicry enabled by AI — and she’s frustrated that more haven’t joined her. “There has to be some agreed-upon set of boundaries in order for [AI] to not be detrimental,” she told Vanity Fair in May. “I wish more people in the public eye would support and speak out about that. I don’t know why that’s not the case.”
Lights, camera, replication
Ed Ulbrich, 60, a pioneering visual effects producer and co-founder of Digital Domain, has spent his career helping actors do the impossible, one pixel at a time.
In 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” he led the team of more than 150 artists in building a fully digital version of Brad Pitt’s face so the actor could convincingly age in reverse — a two-year effort that earned Ulbrich and three colleagues an Oscar for visual effects and set a new benchmark for digital performance. (Nearly two decades later, the achievement is still impressive, although some scenes, especially those with Pitt’s aged face composited on a child’s body, now show their digital seams.) For 2010’s “Tron: Legacy,” Ulbrich helped digitally transform Jeff Bridges into his 1982 self using motion capture and CGI.
Working on last year’s “Here” — Robert Zemeckis’ technically daring drama starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as a couple whose lives play out across decades in a single New Jersey living room — showed Ulbrich just how far things have come. For someone who jokes he has “real estate in the uncanny valley,” it wasn’t just the AI-enabled realism that floored him. It was the immediacy. On set, AI wasn’t enhancing footage after the fact; it was visually reshaping the performance in real time.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in the movie “Here.”
(Sony Pictures Ent.)
“You look up and see 67-year-old Tom Hanks. You look down at the monitor — he’s 20, and it looks better than the best CGI,” Ulbrich says. “In my world, the human face is the holy grail. That is the most complicated thing you can do. And now it’s getting done in near real time before your eyes. The actor can come back and look at the monitor and get new ideas, because they’re seeing a different version of themselves: younger, older, as an alien or whatever.”
This kind of seamless AI-driven alteration marks a new frontier in postproduction. Modern AI systems can now “beautify” actors’ faces, like some would with a Instagram or Zoom filter: smooth out wrinkles, alter skin tone, sharpen jawlines, subtly nudge eye position to better match a desired gaze. What once required painstaking VFX can now be handled by fast, flexible AI tools, often with results invisible to audiences.
Once limited to only big-budget sci-fi and fantasy productions, this digital touch-up capability is expanding into rom-coms, prestige dramas, high-end TV and even some indie films. Dialogue can be rewritten and re-lipped in post. Facial expressions can be smoothed or swapped without reshoots. More and more, viewers may have no way of knowing what’s real and what’s been subtly adjusted.
“Here” was largely rejected by both audiences and critics, with some deeming its digitally de-aged performances more unsettling than moving. But Ulbrich says digitally enhanced performance is already well underway.
Talent agency CAA has built a vault of client scans, a kind of biometric asset library for future productions. Some stars now negotiate contracts that reduce their time on set, skipping hours in the makeup chair or performance-capture gear, knowing AI can fill in the gaps.
“Robert Downey, Brad Pitt, Will Smith — they’ve all been scanned many times,” says Ulbrich, who recently joined the AI-driven media company Moonvalley, which pitches itself as a more ethical, artist-centered player in the space. “If you’ve done a studio tentpole, you’ve been scanned.
“There is a lot of fear around AI and it’s founded,” he adds. “Unless you do something about it, you can just get run over. But there are people out there that are harnessing this. At this point, fighting AI is like fighting against electricity.”
While many in Hollywood wrestle with what AI means for the oldest component of moviemaking, others take a more pragmatic view, treating it as a tool to solve problems and keep productions on track. Jerry Bruckheimer, the powerhouse producer behind “Top Gun,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and this summer’s “F1,” is among those embracing its utility.
“AI is not going anywhere and it’s only going to get more useful for people in our business,” he said in a recent interview with The Times.
He recalled one such moment during post-production on his new Brad Pitt–led Formula One drama, a logistical feat filmed during actual Formula One races across Europe and the Middle East, with a budget north of $200 million.
“Brad was in the wilds of New Zealand, and we had test screenings coming up,” Bruckheimer says. “We couldn’t get his voice to do some looping, so we used an app that could mimic Brad Pitt. I’m sure the union will come after me if you write that, but it wasn’t used in the movie because he became available.”
While he’s skeptical of AI’s ability to generate truly original ideas — “We’re always going to need writers,” he says — Bruckheimer, whose films have grossed more than $16 billion worldwide, sees AI as a powerful tool for global reach.
“They can take Brad’s voice from the movie and turn it into other languages so it’s actually his voice, rather than another actor,” he says. “If it’s not available yet, it will be.”
The debate over AI in performance flared earlier this year with “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet’s award-winning drama about a Hungarian architect. After the film’s editor, Dávid Jancsó, revealed that AI voice-cloning software had been used to subtly modify the Hungarian accents of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, the backlash followed swiftly.
Some critics accused the film of using AI to smooth over performances while presenting itself as handcrafted, a move one viral post derided as trying to “cheap out without soul.” Corbet later clarified that AI was used sparingly, only to adjust vowel sounds, but the decision left some viewers uneasy — even as Brody went on to win the Oscar for lead actor.
If the controversy over “The Brutalist” struck some as a moral crisis, David Cronenberg found the whole thing overblown. Few filmmakers have probed the entanglement of flesh, identity and technology as relentlessly as the director of “Videodrome,” “The Fly” and last year’s “The Shrouds,” so he’s not particularly rattled by the rise of AI-assisted performances.
“All directors have always messed around with actors’ performances — that’s what editing is,” Cronenberg told The Times in April. “Filmmaking isn’t theater. It’s not sacred. We’ve been using versions of this for years. It’s another tool in the toolbox. And it’s not controlling you — you can choose not to use it.”
Long before digital tools, Cronenberg recalls adjusting actor John Lone’s vocal pitch in his 1993 film “M. Butterfly,” in which Lone played a Chinese opera singer and spy who presents as a woman to seduce a French diplomat. The director raised the pitch when the character appeared as a woman and lowered it when he didn’t — a subtle manipulation to reinforce the illusion.
David Cronenberg, photographed at his home in Toronto, Canada, in April.
(Kate Dockeray / For The Times)
Far from alarmed, Cronenberg is intrigued by AI’s creative potential as a way of reshaping authorship itself. With new platforms like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 3 now capable of generating increasingly photorealistic clips from simple text prompts, an entire performance could conceivably be conjured from a writer’s keyboard.
“Suddenly you can write a scene — a woman is walking down the street, she looks like this, she’s wearing that, it’s raining, whatever — and AI can create a video for you,” Cronenberg says. “To me, this is all exciting. It absolutely can threaten all kinds of jobs and that has to be dealt with, but every technological advance has done that and we just have to adapt and figure it out.”
Ghosts in the frame
In the Hollywood of the late 1970s, there was no AI to tweak an actor’s face. So when “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill fractured his nose and left cheekbone in a serious car crash between shooting the first and second films, the solution was to tweak the story. The 1980 sequel “The Empire Strikes Back” opened with Luke Skywalker being attacked by a nine-foot-tall snow beast called a wampa on the ice planet Hoth, partly to account for the change in his appearance.
Decades later, when Hamill was invited to return as a younger version of himself in the 2020 Season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian,” the chance to show Luke “at the height of his powers was irresistible,” he says.
But the reality left him feeling oddly detached from the character that made him famous. Hamill shared the role with a younger body double, and digital de-aging tools recreated his face from decades earlier. The character’s voice, meanwhile, was synthesized using Respeecher, a neural network trained on old recordings of Hamill to mimic his speech from the original trilogy era.
“I didn’t have that much dialogue: ‘Are you Luke Skywalker?’ ‘I am,’” Hamill recalled in an interview with The Times earlier this year. “I don’t know what they do when they take it away, in terms of tweaking it and making your voice go up in pitch or whatever.”
When fans speculated online that he hadn’t participated at all, Hamill declined to correct the record.
“My agent said, ‘Do you want me to put out a statement or something?’” Hamill recalls. “I said, ‘Eh, people are going to say what they want to say.’ Maybe if you deny it, they say, ‘See? That proves it — he’s denying it.’”
A digitally de-aged Mark Hamill as the young Luke Skywalker in a 2020 episode of “The Mandalorian.”
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
When Luke returned again in a 2022 episode of “The Book of Boba Fett,” the process was even more synthetic: Hamill was minimally involved on camera and the character was built almost entirely from digital parts: a de-aged face mapped onto a body double with an AI-generated voice delivering his lines. Hamill was credited and compensated, though the exact terms of the arrangement haven’t been made public.
The visual effect was notably improved from earlier efforts, thanks in part to a viral deepfake artist known as Shamook, whose YouTube video improving the VFX in “The Mandalorian” finale had racked up millions of views. He was soon hired by Industrial Light & Magic — a rare case of fan-made tech critique turning into a studio job.
“In essence, yes, I did participate,” Hamill says.
It’s one thing to be digitally altered while you’re still alive. It’s another to keep performing after you’re gone.
Before his death last year, James Earl Jones — whose resonant baritone helped define Darth Vader for generations — gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his voice using AI. In a recent collaboration with Disney, Epic Games deployed that digital voice in Fortnite, allowing players to team up with Vader and hear new lines delivered in Jones’ unmistakable tones, scripted by Google’s Gemini AI.
In May, SAG-AFTRA later filed a labor charge, saying the use of Jones’ voice hadn’t been cleared with the union.
Last year’s “Alien: Romulus” sparked similar backlash over the digital resurrection of Ian Holm’s android character Ash nearly a decade after Holm’s death. Reconstructed using a blend of AI and archival footage, the scenes were slammed by some fans as a form of “digital necromancy.” For the film’s home video release, director Fede Álvarez quietly issued an alternate cut that relied more heavily on practical effects, including an animatronic head modeled from a preexisting cast of Holm’s face.
For Hollywood, AI allows nostalgia to become a renewable resource, endlessly reprocessed and resold. Familiar faces can be altered, repurposed and inserted into entirely new stories. The audience never has to say goodbye and the industry never has to take the risk of introducing someone new.
Hamill, for his part, seems ready to let go of Luke. After his final arc in 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” he says he feels a sense of closure.
“I don’t know the full impact AI will have but I find it very ominous,“ he says. “I’m fine. I had my time. Now the spotlight should be on the current and future actors and I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.”
Actors, not avatars
Actor and AI startup Wonder Dynamics co-founder Tye Sheridan, photographed by The Times in 2021.
(Michael Nagle / For The Times)
Actor Tye Sheridan knows how dark an AI future could get. After all, he starred in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 “Ready Player One,” a sci-fi thriller set inside a corporate-controlled world of digital avatars. But Sheridan isn’t trying to escape into that world — he’s trying to shape the one ahead.
With VFX supervisor Nikola Todorovic, Sheridan co-founded Wonder Dynamics in 2017 to explore how AI can expand what’s possible on screen. Their platform uses AI to insert digital characters into live-action scenes without green screens or motion-capture suits, making high-end VFX more accessible to low-budget filmmakers. Backed by Spielberg and “Avengers” co-director Joe Russo, Wonder Dynamics was acquired last year by Autodesk, the software firm behind many animation and design tools.
“Since the advent of the camera, technology has been pushing this industry forward,” Sheridan, 28, says on a video call. “AI is just another part of that path. It can make filmmaking more accessible, help discover new voices. Maybe the next James Cameron will find their way into the industry through some AI avenue. I think that’s really exciting.”
With production costs spiraling, Todorovic sees AI as a way to lower the barrier to entry and make riskier, more ambitious projects possible. “We really see AI going in that direction, where you can get those A24-grounded stories with Marvel visuals,” he says. “That’s what younger audiences are hungry for.”
The shift, Todorovic argues, could lead to more films overall and more opportunities for actors. “Maybe instead of 10,000 people making five movies, it’ll be 1,000 people making 50,” he says.
Still, Todorovic sees a threshold approaching, one where synthetic actors could, in theory, carry a film. “I do think technically it is going to get solved,” Todorovic says. “But the question remains — is that what we really want? Do we really want the top five movies of the year to star humans who don’t exist? I sure hope not.”
For him, the boundary isn’t just about realism. It’s about human truth.
“You can’t prompt a performance,” he says. “You can’t explain certain movements of the body and it’s very hard to describe emotions. Acting is all about reacting. That’s why when you make a movie, you do five takes — or 40. Because it’s hard to communicate.”
Sheridan, who has appeared in the “X-Men” franchise as well as smaller dramas like “The Card Counter” and “The Tender Bar,” understands that instinctively and personally. “I started acting in films when I was 11 years old,” he says. “I wouldn’t ever want to build something that put me out of a job. That’s the fun part — performing, exploring, discovering the nuances. That’s why we fall in love with certain artists: their unique sensibility, the way they do what no one else can.”
He knows that may sound contradictory coming from the co-founder of an AI company. That’s exactly why he believes it’s critical that artists, not Silicon Valley CEOs, are the ones shaping how the technology is used.
“We should be skeptical of AI and its bad uses,” he says. “It’s a tool that can be used for good or bad. How are we going to apply it to create more access and opportunity in this industry and have more voices heard? We’re focused on keeping the artist as an essential part of the process, not replacing them.”
For now, Sheridan lives inside that paradox, navigating a technology that could both elevate and imperil the stories he cares most about.
His next acting gig? “The Housewife,” a psychological drama co-starring Naomi Watts and Michael Imperioli, in which he plays a 1960s New York Times reporter investigating a suspected Nazi hiding in Queens. No AI. No doubles. Just people pretending to be other people the old way, while it lasts.
Bake Off: The Professionals continues on Channel 4 tonight with chefs putting their careers on the line, while Helen, Jules and JB head to Pembrokeshire in their new Channel 5 show
Bake Off: The Professionals airs its semi-final tonight(Image: Channel 4 / Laura Palmer)
Bake Off: The Professionals continues on our screens tonight – and the chefs are set to take on the most demanding challenge yet. In tonight’s (Tuesday 22 July) episode of the Channel 4 show, the semi-final gets under way as they compete in the Bake Off spin-off.
Not only is the nation watching as their souffles sink, but if Cherish and Benoit belittle their Bakewell tarts they know their bosses will be taking notes at home too…
With their reputations on the line, four teams of pastry pros nervously approach the semi-final. Tonight’s challenges are chocolate-themed, and there will be extra scrutiny from guest judge Gabriella Cugno, who worked as the official chocolatier on the blockbuster film Wonka. Gabriella knows exactly how to make delicious choccies look magical, and that’s what will be required from the teams tonight.
Cherish and Benoit on Bake Off: The Professionals(Image: Channel 4 / Laura Palmer)
First up, they must craft two different types of chocolate bar from scratch, and with no recipe to follow they are free to unleash their imaginations. Fun as it sounds, it’s quite the test for these bakers, who usually deal in cake rather than confectionery. Then it’s onto one of the most demanding showpiece challenges in the show’s history – ‘Floating Cities’.
The judges require the teams to create an edible, ornate, sturdy vessel, that will float on water carrying 24 immaculate petit fours. Of course, the wondrous treats will need to taste spectacular too, and each dessert must be identical to its neighbour. It’s a tantalising prospect, and the results are sure to be stunning – but not everyone will make it through to next week’s final. Imagine spending hours labouring on a sugary boat of dreams, only to be sent home…
Bake Off: The Professionals airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.
Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules and JB
We’ve heard of whale watching, but tonight Jules Hudson is on the Pembrokeshire coast, trying to photograph porpoises. He’s taking part in a major conservation project run by Sea Trust Wales to protect the creatures, who prove quite difficult to spot.
Jules has definitely got the plum job this week, while poor Helen is thrown into cold waters, going surfing in Tynemouth. It turns out the North East is becoming quite the hotspot for the sport, and the quay is also home to wonderful fishing traditions, which she enjoys before tucking into a stunning seafood lunch – not such a short straw after all.
Later, JB reveals that Norfolk’s finest export, Colman’s mustard, owes its flavour to the sea air (who knew?), before setting sail from Burnham Overy Staithe. He hopes to emulate Nelson, but even with local skipper Ash giving him the best tuition, JB isn’t exactly a natural on the water…
Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules & JB airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 5.
Mix Tape
Mix Tape has proven to be popular with TV fans(Image: BBC)
It’s finally time for Alison and Daniel to meet up in Sydney, as they bite the bullet and meet for dinner. The electricity is still there between them, but when he broaches the subject of why she did a runner all those years ago, Alison clams up and asks for the bill.
Daniel is left confused and frustrated. At the same time his marriage is dealt another blow as Kat reacts badly to his revelation that he’s in Australia for work. Who does Dan really want to be with – and do either of the loves of his life want to be with him anymore?
As Alison deals with seeing Dan again – and her manager begs her to travel to England for publicity – she considers whether it’s time to tell him what really happened in Sheffield. Meanwhile, flashbacks give us a glimpse of the turmoil Alison was facing at home in 1989.
Mix Tape airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two.
Emmerdale
Robert and Kim are all set for a secret meeting to hand over Annie’s Field, but Robert senses something isn’t quite right. He backs out of the deal, leaving Kim exasperated. Robert does some digging.
John is frustrated that Cain is still miserable, despite the news about Owen. Struggling with his emotions, Cain grills Liam. Liam insists he can’t break patient confidentiality and the pair come to blows.
Later, John feels guilty after a conversation with Liam, and messages the helpline again.
EastEnders
Julie and Phil can’t seem to agree on what’s best for Nigel. Billy convinces Phil he needs to try harder with her, despite their differences.
Linda talks to Oscar and reveals the truth about Annie’s paternity. She panics when he wants to tell Max. Linda finds Lauren, and insists she needs to change Oscar’s mind.
Avani tries to tell Priya she’s pregnant, but holds back. Later, Suki spots Avani looking at a family planning website.
Skip Brittenham, a prominent Hollywood attorney whose clients included Harrison Ford, Henry Winkler and Eddie Murphy, has died at age 83.
Brittenham died Thursday, said Ziffren Brittenham LLP, the firm he founded in 1978.
“Everyone in our industry knew of Skip’s legal prowess,” the firm said in a statement. “But some may not have known of his quiet generosity, his ability to find humor and opportunity in the darkest moments, and his unwavering belief that media and the entertainment industry must serve people, not the other way around.”
The firm did not disclose the cause of death.
Brittenham was known in the entertainment industry as a powerful dealmaker. Beyond his starry client list, Brittenham helped to forge Pixar’s initial deal with Disney, was behind the splitting of DreamWorks and ushered Disney’s acquisition of Miramax.
“What amuses me most about Skip is he often represents everyone in the deal,” Ford, who was a client before he rose to fame with “Star Wars,” told The Times in 2005. “And, he does a really good job for everybody … I’ve always walked away from every negotiation and thought, ‘Jesus, how did he get that?’”
Ken Ziffren, one of two lawyers with whom Brittenham founded the firm, told The Times in 2005 that early in their partnership, the two discovered they were wooing the same prospective client, comedian Richard Pryor.
“Skip did not back down,” Ziffren said. “He got Pryor.”
Born Harry M. Brittenham, the eldest son of an Air Force fighter pilot, he spent much of his childhood moving from one base to another. Although he attended Air Force Academy, Brittenham got hit in the eye with a squash racket in 1963. His 20-20 vision — a requirement for pilot training — was gone.
He spent four years negotiating contracts for the Air Force before enrolling in law school at UCLA.
Outside of his professional life, Brittenham was a passionate fly-fisher with decades of experience. He competed in and won several worldwide fishing competitions and practiced the sport across six continents.
The love of nature Brittenham tended to as he pursued fly-fishing led him to serve as a longtime board member of Conservation International, a leading environmental organization that honored him with its Heroes of Conservation Award.
Brittenham was also an avid fan of science fiction, and he authored a sci-fi graphic novel titled “Anomaly” in 2012. Speaking with The Times ahead of the book’s release, Brittenham said he wanted to dabble in his creative side and tap into his childhood love for Marvel and DC Comics to show people he was more than just a negotiator.
“I don’t like to just try things out,” he said. “I like to jump all the way in and figure out how to do something unique and different.”
Although Brittenham is remembered as a tenacious lawyer, he also had a reputation as a family man, often leaving the office by 5 p.m. to be with his wife and children.
Brittenham was married to actor and screenwriter Heather Thomas, and he had three daughters: Kristina, Shauna and India. He is also survived by his brother Bud, two devoted sons-in-law Jesse Sisgold and Avi Reiter, and four grandchildren.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! All Stars is making a return and two iconic stars from the programme is said to be close to signing up for the South African series
Harry, 78, took part in the 2018 series filmed in Australia and even beat the likes of Emily Atack and John Barrowman to become King of the Jungle. Meanwhile, Diva Forever star Gemma was part of the 2014 programme but only lasted a couple of days before making a beeline for the exit.
Harry was crowned the winner of his series(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
It has been reported that Harry could earn a huge fee if he were to take part in the South African All Stars series, which is said to start filming this autumn.
It could rival Coleen Rooney and Nigel Farage’s hefty paycheck, which was reportedly around £1.5million. Meanwhile, bosses are said to have offered £150,000 to Gemma for her to take part in the competition.
An insider claimed to The Sun: “It’s going to be a real coup. Harry is TV gold and was first on the list of wannabe celebrity contestants.” The Mirror have reached out to Gemma and Harry’s representatives for comment.
While appearing on GMB, Harry spoke to Kate and Ben to discuss a celebrity football match he was leading, but the presenters couldn’t resist quizzing the football manager on why he was absent from the series.
Kate remarked: “I was quite surprised you didn’t get a phone call for the I’m a Celebrity All-Stars, did you ever fancy going back?”
“No, I didn’t get the phone call, Kate,” Harry replied. “I don’t know, maybe they lost my number. No, it didn’t happen, but I think once is, ‘You’ve done it,’ once was enough,” he added.
“It was a great experience, but I really am not desperate to get back in again.”
Meanwhile, Gemma previously shared the real reason she quit the show after only three days in the jungle. “My time was short in the jungle, and not many people know that I was robbed and physically attacked 24 hours before leaving for Australia,” she said.
The reality TV star continued: “I didn’t want to let anyone down, so I still went in. However, I was in a terrible state and shock, as you can imagine and couldn’t see it through.
“I took lots of stick over it, but if you was robbed and attacked and then sent into the jungle, I’m sure you would have struggled too. I would never let anyone destroy my dreams again.”
Two contestants on Love Island are said to have got together before the series began – but now the Islanders are acting like they haven’t met while in the villa
Love Island shock as two stars ‘acting like strangers despite hooking up before the show’(Image: ITV)
Two Love Island stars have reportedly hooked up with each other before this year’s series even began. The Casa Amor duo is said to have taken part in ITV’s unfilmed rehearsal in May, where they joined a number of fake cast members to test out camera angles and general life in the villa.
It has been reported the two, Ty Isherwood and Lauren Wood, were later invited back onto the show as the Casa Amor cast and have been acting like they don’t know each other despite a brief fling. They said: “Ty and Lauren are acting like they’ve only just met but that’s far from the case.”
Ty and Lauren reportedly hooked up before the show(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
“They hooked up during the dry run, which is where a fake cast moves into the villa to test out everything from camera angles, to kitchen appliances and run-through challenges,” they said to The Sun.
According to the insider, Ty and Lauren also ‘saw each other on the outside’ before they were invited back onto the show by ITV producers.
The Mirror have reached out to ITV for comment. Meanwhile, Lauren and Harrison narrowly avoided being dumped earlier this week after Shakira and Ty chose to dump Tommy and Lucy – saving Harrison and Lauren and Conor and Emma.
Lauren and Harrison narrowly avoided getting dumped(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
The pair seemed to celebrate their survival in the bedroom – with fans left shocked as they saw Harrison ask Harry for a condom. As the Islanders settled down for the night, Harrison was seen reaching over to Helena and Harry’s bed via the night cam, as he asked: “Do you have a condom?”
Harry and Helena could be seen in hysterics as Helena quickly pulled one out the drawer, with Harry passing it over. The couple then got under the covers, as the cameras panned to them kissing.
Fans were shocked by the move and rushed to social media to share their thoughts, with one user writing: “Did Harry just pass a condom to Lauren and Harrison???! I didn’t know I was watching too hot to handle.”
A second shocked fan said: “I have never. In all my years seen someone ask for a condom on #loveisland. Like yayyyyy for sexual safety but that is tooooooooooo raz.”
“Do you have a condom? Is going to haunt me until the day that I die #LoveIsland,” said a third.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX*
