PLAIT’S the way to do it . . . Gemma Atkinson celebrates her fine figure in a red one-piece.
The ex-Hollyoaks star, who has two kids with Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, hit 40 last month.
Gemma and Gorka welcomed baby Thiago just 17 months ago.
She told the Jan/Feb issue of Women’s Health UK: “The alternative to ageing is being dead.
“So, I’m all about embracing ageing as best as I can.
“There’s no point fighting it.
“No one’s getting out of here alive.
“You may as well make the most of it.”
Since 2023 Gemma and Gorka have fronted their own reality show on W and UKTV Play.
Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens focuses on both their personal and professional lives.
A second series launched in May and showed the adjustment to becoming a family of four.
Speaking about the potential of a third series last month, Gemma said: “We’re currently in talks to do it but we keep thinking why do people want to keep watching us doing nothing.”
“But it did really well, it was like the biggest show on their channel so possibly.”
PM Sir Keir Starmer says a £1.6billion injection to repair seven million potholes will save motorists cash and make journeys safer.
The boost for councils will reduce tyre blow-outs and buckled wheels.
Ministers say the repair programme will also speed up journey times — with figures showing drivers have to navigate past six potholes per mile.
Writing in The Sun, Sir Keir said: “I know how much this matters to people. Potholes aren’t just annoying.
“They put lives at risk and hit working people in their wallets.”
Local authorities in England will receive nearly 50 per cent more cash for road maintenance funding than last year to tackle the menace to motorists.
Ministers added that each area will be able to identify which roads need repair and deliver quicker fixes, as part of the plan to deliver growth.
The money made available is enough for town halls to repair seven million extra craters.
The public will also be encouraged to report potholes.
A survey by the RAC from earlier this year found the state of Britain’s roads was the top concern for six in ten motorists.
Damage to cars from potholes cost around £500 on average with wheel damage, punctures and a broken suspension the most common issues.
The move comes after fuel duty was frozen for another year, which will save the average car driver £59.
The Local Government Association estimates it will cost £14billion to fix the current potholes backlog.
By Keir Starmer, Prime Minister
BRITAIN’S roads are in a shocking state.
During 14 years of Tory rule, they were neglected and allowed to crumble.
Millions of drivers across the country now face a daily dodge, weaving through countless potholes and forking out hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds to repair their damaged motors.
I know how much this matters to people.
Potholes aren’t just annoying. They put lives at risk and hit working people in their wallets.
So today we’re putting in a record £1.6billion to fix them.
Councils across the UK can now fill in seven million extra potholes a year.
This is about making people better off – the number one priority in my plan for change.
That is why we froze fuel duty in the Budget, backing the Sun’s Keep It Down campaign.
And it is why we back motorists by fixing potholes in an investment that goes beyond our manifesto pledge.
It’s now over to councils to get on with the job.
This Government was elected to deliver change.
So we will do a proper job on potholes. It’s what motorists deserve.
OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died last year but her column will be kept alive by her friend and protégée Maggie Innes.
Read on to see what’s written in the stars for you today.
ARIES
March 21 to April 20
You may find it a challenge to balance learning and earning, but your chart shows you can manage smartly, and come through with success.
The key is dropping pride enough to say you need more time.
Venus stirs up your socials chart and the least likely people can give you great time or cash-saving ideas.
Get all the latest Aries horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
TAURUS
April 21 to May 21
You’re extra creative today, even if you don’t realise you’re being exceptional.
But new skills, or knowledge, can be exactly the missing piece you need to break a work barrier down.
Your chart is enriched from the inside out by Venus stamina plus Jupiter’s cash savvy – you’re ready to work, love and win.
Get all the latest Taurus horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
GEMINI
May 22 to June 21
As the moon and Mercury clash, you could find difficult words come spilling out – but you also know when to stop.
So in love and at work, you can balance plain speaking with warm support. Actions matter as much as words.
There’s strong sun togetherness in your chart, take every chance that comes to simply connect.
Get all the latest Gemini horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
CANCER
June 22 to July 22
You have a special communication moon with you today – this could take a couple forward in ways you may not expect. Just stay open and honest, and let your feelings guide you.
If you’re single, a quirky way of talking gets your attention, but it’s a gift of total listening that can keep it.
Lucky numbers start and end with “9”
Get all the latest Cancer horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
LEO
July 23 to August 23
Your chart mixes money and friends in ways that can create profits for everyone, so look hard at talents you can pool or items you can repurpose together.
But don’t forget that the friendships are more important than the finances.
Your love imagination is running wild, any partners will respond so well to a fantasy proposal.
Get all the latest Leo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
VIRGO
August 24 to September 22
The working week takes an intriguing new shape as influential planets connect.
Opportunities you may have assumed were not for you are coming close, and this time you’ll know exactly what to do.
In passion terms, your feelings are Venus-calm but with the hidden fire of Mars – a super-spicy mix, for any status.
Get all the latest Virgo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
LIBRA
September 23 to October 23
If you find yourself silenced in a work conversation, this changes today as the sun helps your words to reach the right ears, or in-box.
At home, too, instead of waiting, start chats on cash or health. You may not get everything right, but trying is the key.
Love is passionately present, especially in a dark green room.
Get all the latest Libra horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
The traditional dates used by Mystic Meg for each sign are below.
SCORPIO
October 24 to November 22
There is a new and better way for family or friends to be together and you can lead on this with your stable, but thoughtful, chart.
If you’re in love, stop holding back and let your feelings flow. If you are single, this can change in a card queue.
The sun’s light shines bright on a deal that can double personal profits.
Get all the latest Scorpio horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
SAGITTARIUS
November 23 to December 21
A high-expectations emotional moon connects with the resources of the sun, so don’t be surprised if outrageous ideas appear fully formed in your mind.
You can express yourself in ways that get results.
Plus you have a deep integrity that lets other people know you can be trusted. This is your way in to romance.
Get all the latest Sagittarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
CAPRICORN
December 22 to January 20
You may have more money influence than you think, and the chance is coming to prove it.
So do your research, but stay on the subject and refuse to let old grudges or regrets slow you down.
In love? Venus has a stabilising position, drawing partners closer. New love sits in a circle of plastic chairs.
Get all the latest Capricorn horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
AQUARIUS
January 21 to February 18
Resist any urge to discount secret feelings, negative or positive – accepting them is your first step to moving forward.
Reaching out to someone who’s been at a distance recently can be a big part of this process.
Mercury helps friendships reboot, but beware of going too far – be firm but fair. Love waits in a walled garden.
Get all the latest Aquarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
PISCES
February 19 to March 20
Just when you assume you’ve got finances into line, a sudden switch can happen.
This can help you move forward. But do think carefully about who you can, or should, carry with you.
Your love chart is deep and meaningful, and if you’re single, this draws you towards someone a younger, with a soulful voice.
Get all the latest Pisces horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions
IT is stomach-churning to watch water utility executives being obscenely rewarded for serial failure, then hiking our prices by an average of 36 per cent.
Your increase announced yesterday will be bad enough. But spare a thought for those relying on Southern Water.
Some 73,000 homes in Southampton and Eastleigh lost their water entirely this week due to a fault.
Schools and restaurants had to close. Bottled supplies proved a shambles.
Yet chief executive Lawrence Gosden insists his firm’s 53 per cent rise by 2030 is vital “to deliver the improved performance and infrastructure required”.
Vital, too, to fund his £764,000 pay package, we would imagine.
Six out of ten water firms handed the boss an average of £180,000 last year. That’s not salary. That’s their BONUS.
And for what?
Their sewage-spewing, leaks and supply interruptions have made the industry a byword for failure.
Yet these staggering pay deals are supposedly crucial to attract executive “talent”.
It is a scandalous racket . . . with skint families, already crippled by the highest tax burden in our history, forced to foot yet another soaring bill.
AS the 51 monsters who raped her begin jail terms, let us salute the monumental courage of Gisele Pelicot.
Over ten years she was drugged by her husband, then abused by scores of perverted strangers he met online and invited to their home.
Gisele made the trial, and the graphic details of her ordeal, public so “society could see what was happening”.
“Shame,” she said, “must change sides”. She has certainly achieved that.
How did her evil ex-husband Dominique tempt so many outwardly ordinary men living near him in France to join in those depraved assaults?
Women are asking that question. So too are the vast majority of men, who are utterly and equally horrified.
Gisele deserves all the praise she is receiving.
Many of her abusers, sadly, deserved far more prison time than they got.
THE normal advice to politicians in a hole is to stop digging. We’re glad Keir Starmer, for all his woes, isn’t following it.
We cannot recall our roads being in such a dire state — and the £1.6billion he has allocated to mend potholes next year is a hefty sum.
Cue eye-rolling among the Tube commuters of Whitehall. But outside the M25 potholes are a damaging menace to drivers, bikers and cyclists: A very visible sign of a country on its uppers.
The PM deserves credit for recognising that — and shovelling money into it.
THE number of children hospitalised due to vaping is on track for a record high, NHS figures show.
Angry health service bosses hit out at e-cig firms pushing Christmas-themed flavours like mince pie and candy cane that appeal to youngsters.
Gimmicky flavours will be banned by law next year.
Between April and October this year, 31 under-18s were admitted to hospital in England with vaping-related illnesses.
E-cigarettes can cause lung damage or pneumonia in heavy users, while too much nicotine may lead to dizziness and vomiting.
The figures put the NHS on track to treat at least 53 by March – more than 2023’s high of 51 young patients in one financial year.
Surveys suggest about seven per cent of under-18s – almost a million – are regular vapers.
NHS medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “More than 30 children and young people being admitted to hospital over seven months is simply alarming.
“Now vape companies are pumping out Christmas deals and festive flavours, like Christmas pudding, candy cane, mince pies or gingerbread.
“They are likely to be appealing to younger age groups and it is possible to purchase them with little to no checks.
“Vapes can be a useful tool to help adults quit smoking but they should not be used by children and under 18s.
“There’s nothing joyful about the serious effect they can have on young people’s health.”
Official figures show that 280 patients of all ages have needed hospital stays so far this year because of vapes, compared to 317 in 2023.
The highest recorded was 431 in 2022.
Rates of serious illness among youngsters are low but rising, from just 11 in 2020 to 51 last year.
New laws to control underage vaping will next year involve tougher penalties for shops selling to youths, and tighter restrictions on advertising, packaging and flavours.
TEMPLEGATE tackles a cracking Friday of racing confident of building the bank just in time for Christmas.
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FASOL (2.30 Ascot, nap)
Champion jockey Harry Cobden has chosen to ride this son of Galileo over stablemate Golden Move who has an each-way chance. My fancy looks ready to win over hurdles after going down in a close finish at Sandown last time out. The handicapper has been fair with a 2lb rise in the weights and this decent ground will bring out his best. A repeat of his last effort can get the job done.
IRISH HILL (12.45 Ascot, nb)
He’s got loads of experience for a six-year-old and was in winning form at Plumpton two runs ago before a tight Wincanton second. He sees out this trip strongly and has scored around Ascot before.
IBERICO LORD (1.55 Ascot, treble).
Can reign for Nicky Henderson. He was a classy handicapper over hurdles with a Greatwood and Betfair Hurdle on his CV. He showed some of that quality when scoring on chase debut at Kempton last month. He made an error or two but nothing major in running out a convincing winner. There’s a lot more to come.
DAZZLELIKETHIS (12.20 Uttoxeter, Lucky 15)
She went into my notebook after a promising second on debut at Carlisle 31 days ago. She made one error as the pace picked up before staying on well. She will have learned plenty from this and the step up in trip is another plus.
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
A TUI flight attendant was rushed to hospital after falling from the plane at a UK airport.
An investigation has been launched into the horror plunge at East Midlands Airport on December 16 at around 4.30pm.
The stewardess is understood to have opened the aircraft door as the plane was preparing to take off, as reported by Nottingham Live.
It it thought that she believed the stairs were still attached, but they had already been removed.
The flight attendant was ruched to Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham.
A probe into the incident has been launched by the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB)
A spokesperson for East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 4.31pm on 16 December to a medical emergency at East Midlands Airport.
“We sent a paramedic in a solo response car and an ambulance. The air ambulance was also in attendance.
“One patient was taken by ambulance to Queen’s Medical Centre.“
An AAIB spokesperson said: “An accident which occurred at East Midlands Airport on Monday 16th December was notified to the AAIB.
“An investigation has been launched and inspectors have visited the airport to gather evidence and make enquiries to understand more about the circumstances.”
EMA’s operations director Simon Hinchley said: “As first medical responders on site, our fire crews attended an incident on Monday when a member of TUI cabin crew sustained injuries as an aircraft was preparing to depart.
“East Midlands Ambulance Service attended and took the injured crew member to hospital. We wish her a speedy recovery and will assist all parties with the investigation.”
HAWK Tuah girl Haliey Welch appears to have gone underground as the creators of her Memecoin project are being sued and accused of scamming many first-time investors.
Influencer Welch, who went viral for her cheeky response during a YouTube street interview, became the face of $HAWK after gaining millions of followers on social media.
It collapsed from almost $500 million to below $60 million shortly after its launch on December 4, which has been described by critics as a “one-day pump and dump.”
Welch is not named in the suit, obtained by The U.S. Sun, and she is yet to comment on it publicly.
Defendants include Tuah The Moon Foundation, which was used to handle money taken from the sale; along with the coin’s creator, OverHere Ltd.; its executive, Clinton So, and the coin’s promoter, Alex Larson Schultz.
They are yet to respond after the suit was filed on December 19.
Lawyers for 12 plaintiffs alleged in the complaint, “Defendants leveraged the extensive social media following of Hailey Welch, a
prominent social media personality known as the ‘Hawk Tuah Girl,’ to market the Token as a groundbreaking cryptocurrency project.
“Through aggressive promotional campaigns and promises of future growth, Defendants created a speculative frenzy that caused the Token’s market value to spike shortly after launch, reaching a significant market capitalization.
“Defendants leveraged Welch’s celebrity status and connections to enhance the Token’s credibility and appeal, including discussing the $HAWK project during Welch’s podcasts featuring notable guests.”
However, they explained what happened after the token launched on the Solana blockchain.
Many of the investors were first-time cryptocurrency participants.”
The lawsuit states
“The launch had rapid growth in trading activity and market capitalization,” the suit claims.
“However, the Token’s value experienced significant volatility, losing a substantial portion of its value in hours.”
The token’s market value surged to $491 million, but shortly after that, it plummeted more than 90 percent.
The complaint also alleges, “Many of the investors were first-time cryptocurrency participants drawn to the project through Welch’s involvement.
“The rapid decline in the Token’s value caused substantial damages to investors who relied on Welch’s participation and the project’s stated roadmap.”
The complaint also alleges the sale of the $HAWK token violated the Securities Act as they didn’t register with the SEC.
Welch has not been seen publicly or posted on social media for weeks amid the scandal.
Fans claim she has gone MIA as she has also not released a new episode of her weekly podcast, Talk Tuah, for a fortnight.
Her last Instagram post promoting the show was on December 3.
The suit claims that, collectively, the plaintiffs suffered damages of more than $151,000 after the collapse of the memecoin.
One investor from Brooklyn, New York, allegedly lost $70,000, while another lost $18,500.
Hailey Welch, known as Hawk Tuah Girl, shot to fame earlier this year after being interviewed for a YouTube video in the street in Nashville, Tennesse, by Tim & De TV.
She was asked, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time,” and her NSFW response resulted in the interview going viral on TikTok.
Welch admitted after, “The first week of it, I was so embarrassed. I wouldn’t come out of my house. I went to work, but that’s about it. Other than that, I didn’t go anywhere. But I went from being embarrassed to living in the moment.”
She later quit her job at a bed spring factory and went on to sell merchandise, do paid appearances, and even joined country star Zach Bryan on stage during a concert.
Welch later signed with Jake Paul’s company, Betr, for her own podcast, Talk Tuah, which premiered in September.
She has also released a dating advice app, Pookie Tools, and has been approached about many other projects.
The complaint also alleges, “Welch portrayed $HAWK as a unique project that would unite her diverse fan base, including listeners of her podcast ‘Talk Tuah,’ buyers of her merchandise, and supporters
of her philanthropic work.
“Defendants leveraged Welch’s celebrity status and connections to
enhance the Token’s credibility and appeal, notably discussing the $HAWK project during an episode of her podcast featuring entrepreneur Mark Cuban.”
Welch initially told Fortune that her memecoin was “not just a cash grab” and that she’d changed her opinion about crypto in recent months after educating herself on the topic.
At the time, her manager, Jonnie Forster, also insisted they were only giving out free tokens to social media followers who purchased her merchandise and not pushing people to simply buy them.
Forster claimed Welch would only own 10 percent of the supply but would be unable to sell it for a year.
