AMANDA Holden was the queen of green yesterday as she stole the show at the launch auditions for Britain’s Got Talent.
The 53-year-old TV judge wore an olive satin mini skirt and off-the-shoulder top as she walked the red carpet in front of fans at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
She was joined by fellow judges on the ITV show Alesha Dixon, and Simon Cowell as well as hosts Ant and Dec.
YouTuber and boxer KSI made his debut on the panel — temporarily filling in for ex-Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, who is filming in the US.
The new series of BGT kicks off early next year.
Last week, Amanda successfully completed her whopping 250 mile charity bike ride, and shouted “my bum is killing me” as she passed the finish line and had an emotional reunion with her husband Chris.
The star has been cycling from her mum’s house in Bude, Cornwall, to Heart HQ in London‘s Leicester Square to raise funds for Make Some Noise, which raises money for small charities across the UK.
And she looked both delighted and exhausted as she cycled up to her colleagues, fans and family members in Leicester Square this morning, as confetti flew through the air and cheers were heard from the crowds.
The challenge kicked off on Monday and has continued throughout the week as she travelled through Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Surrey, with her destination set for today – just in time for Global’s Make Some Noise Day.
PETROL and diesel prices falling an average ten per cent have seen inflation dip to the lowest level in three years.
Official figures yesterday showed consumer price inflation fell to 1.7 per cent in September — down from 2.2 per cent in August.
That is below the Bank of England’s two per cent target, lower than forecasts and way down on the 11 per cent rate in October 2022.
Myron Jobson, analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “The pace of price rises hasn’t been this low since the days of Covid lockdowns.”
The drop boosted money markets’ predictions of interest rate cuts next month — which would be a big help for businesses, borrowers and mortgage holders.
Markets have put a 91 per cent likelihood of the Bank lowering rates from five per cent to 4.75 per cent at its meeting in November.
Some economists highlighted Governor Andrew Bailey’s recent comments that the Bank could be more “aggressive” and suggested a cut to 4.5 per cent.
However the drop in inflation will deal a blow to millions of Brits on benefits.
Rises in universal credit, and disability living and carers allowance, are pegged to September’s figure.
It means the standard allowance of universal credit, for a single person under 25, is expected go up in April by just £5.30 a month to about £317.
For a couple over 25, the rise is likely to be £10.50 to £628 a month.
Danni Hewson, at investment platform AJ Bell, said: “Last year the standard allowance for a couple over the age of 25 jumped by almost £40 a month.”
The City is still nervous, with inflation set to rise above two per cent in October due to higher energy bills following the regulator raising its price cap.
And there are fears fuel duty will rise in the Budget, despite The Sun’s decade-long Keep It Down campaign.
THE fizz has gone flat at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy after around £10billion was knocked off its value yesterday amid slowing demand for luxury goods.
LVMH, which has called on Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner to be the latest face of Louis Vuitton handbags, recorded a 5 per cent slip in fashion and leather goods, the first fall since the start of the pandemic.
Shares in LVMH fell as much as 7 per cent, closing down 4.5 per cent, valuing the business at £250billion.
Champagne sales fell, knocking sales in its wine and spirits division by 8 per cent.
LVMH is counting on Beyonce’s new whisky brand, SirDavis, for an uplift.
LVMH said sales in Asia fell by 16 per cent in the past three months
SHOPS, pubs and restaurants face a £2.63billion “double whammy” hit from business rates rises, unless the Chancellor makes good on reforms.
Business rate bills are based on September’s inflation figures.
Research by property firm Altus Group forecasts the 1.7 per cent inflation rate announced yesterday means business rates will jump by £488million in England.
Some £224million will be paid by retail, hospitality and leisure.
Small firms also face the loss of the last government’s 75 per cent rates discount.
TAKEAWAY delivery firm Just Eat has posted a 6 per cent rise in sales to £1.5billion in the UK and Ireland.
The firm yesterday said a 1 per cent drop in food orders was offset by higher menu prices, bringing its best UK sales in three years.
The company recently launched a tie-up with adult retailer Lovehoney and is focusing on partnerships with retailers including Boots and Lush.
Just Eat’s US sales slumped by 12 per cent.
Boss Jitse Groen said the UK continued with “positive momentum”.
JOHN LEWIS will lend customers up to £35,000 in a partnership deal with digital lender Zopa.
The department store said loans can be approved in minutes, with no “hard searches” affecting credit scores and a “representative” 9.9 per cent interest rate.
THE boss of Vertu Motors car dealership group has called on the government to delay its 2030 net zero deadline.
It comes amid manufacturers now rationing petrol and diesel motors to avoid fines if they sell too many this year.
Vertu’s Robert Forrester said some drivers buying a car this winter may have to wait for new year when next quotas kick in.
Manufacturers have to ensure 22 per cent of all the vehicles sold this year are electric, or face a £15,000 fine for every car over the limit.
Vertu posted a 3 per cent rise in half year sales to £2.5billion.
Profits slumped by 27 per cent to £22million following minimum wage increases.
Mr Forrester also took aim at the Chancellor’s proposed tax changes amid warnings it could destroy London’s junior Aim stock market, where Vertu launched in 2006.
He said he would “urge the Government to carefully consider the impact”.
PREMIER INN is turning to robot vacuum cleaners at its hotels to reduce human staff.
Boss of parent company Whitbread, Dominic Paul, did not rule out more redundancies as he ramps up cost cutting by £20million to £60million.
Whitbread has already axed 1,000 jobs in a year.
The group posted a 22 per cent tumble in half year pre-tax profits to £309million.
Savings are to be made by using tech.
SHOPPERS have been left fuming after MARKS & Spencer confirmed the exact date it will close a fan-favourite branch.
The popular fashion retailer is set to pull the shutters on the decades-old branch in just a few weeks.
Marks and Spencer has confirmed it will close the doors of a popular branch in Queensway.
Bosses have revealed the Crawley store will shut up shop for good on Saturday, November 16.
Graham Bennett, M&S regional manager, said: “After consulting with our colleagues following our proposals earlier this year, our Queensway store will close on Saturday, November 16.
“Individual conversations are continuing with our colleagues and wherever possible, we will be offering them alternative roles with M&S.
“Thank you to all our customers who have shopped at the store – we will continue to work hard serving you at our nearby Acorn Park M&S Food.”
Shoppers will now have to rely on a sister branch that is located at Acorn Park.
Mr Bennett said the management is closing the branch due to “changing shopping patterns” – but added they are looking to invest in a new location within the city centre.
He said: “We remain open to investing in a new, accessible M&S store in Crawley in the future, subject to being able to find the right type of site.”
Fans of the iconic location that has been in business for decades have expressed their rage over the shocking closure.
Michael Jones, Crawley Borough’s Council leader, slammed the closure as “a real blow for the town centre”, Sussex world reports.
One raging shopper wrote on Facebook: “Very angry and upset about this.”
Another customer wrote: “I feel sorry for [shoppers] as they love shopping in there … such sad times.”
A third user said: “This is not going to be good for our town. [It was] the only decent shop we had.”
While a fourth shopper shared: “Awful decision to close M&S.”
The news comes after M&S confirmed its Murraygate Dundee will close on July 6, with staff moving to a new superstore at Gallagher Retail Park on July 16.
Earlier this month, the exact closing date of the M&S store in the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill, Surrey, was revealed – August 17.
The retailer which runs 405 stores across the country, shut down locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.
M&S also announced the closure of its Walworth store in South London, and its home store in Kingditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham.
The site at The Broadway Shopping Centre closed its doors for the last time on May 18.
If you want to know if your local might be next, we have the full list of M&S stores that are marked for closure in 2024.
In November 2016, the high street chain said that it had marked 110 low-performing stores for closure or change as part of a big 10-year restructuring plan.
Store closures began in April 2017 when the first six stores were announced would shut.
In May 2018, M&S then announced that it was accelerating its plans with over 110 clothes stores due to close by 2022.
By May 2019, M&S revised its plans to 120 clothing store closures by April 2024.
It also added 25 food stores to the firing line, saying they face being axed or relocated.
In 2021 the 30 store closures came after a year of high street retailers battling to survive as a result of the Covid crisis.
As non-essential shops were ordered to close during several national lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, many retailers’ sales, including M&S, took a big hit.
In 2022, the changes come as it faces a tough consumer backdrop, rising inflation and a £100million hit from soaring energy costs.
The retailer has said that it is accelerating its store overhaul to save around £309million in rent costs.
M&S has previously said that it was focused on moving out of tired stores on high streets with low footfall in favour of relocating to retail parks, which continue to prove popular with shoppers.
But it wasn’t just closures that the retailer announced – the chain also said it would open 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores.
In the last 12 months, it has opened 22 sites including in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.
Cities like Leeds and Liverpool have already become home to new M&S stores.
Nine openings in November included six new stores plus three store renewals.
It also plans to open over 100 bigger Foodhall sites by 2028.
M&S plans to operate 180 full-line (which include clothing, home and food) and 400 food halls in the next five years.
The new openings will bring investment in new stores to £480million, M&S said in May last year.
Flagship M&S stores have popped up in several major UK cities this year, with more openings to come this year.
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
FORMER One Direction member Liam Payne has died in Argentina after reportedly falling from his hotel balcony.
The pop star was in Buenos Aires for pal Niall Horan’s tour when he tragically plunged from the third floor this afternoon, TMZ reports.
A source confirmed to The Sun that Liam has died.
Liam was staying at Hotel CasaSur in the neighbourhood of Palermo, local media report.
A red tent has reportedly been put up over the body as cops begin the investigation into the death.
Cops were called to an “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”, local media claim.
But when they arrived, they found Liam dead.
Witnesses said Liam smashed his laptop and had to be carried back to his room following the incident.
The 31-year-old rose to fame through the boy band and then carried on with his own solo career after the group broke up.
Liam was part of the One Direction between 2008 and 2015 and had released one solo album in 2019 – LP1.
The Sun revealed last week that Liam had parted ways with his management and had shelved plans for a second solo album.
And earlier this week Liam’s ex Maya Henry called in the lawyers after accusing Liam of repeatedly messaging her, her friends, and her mum.
Liam made his debut as a singer when he auditioned for The X Factor in 2008.
After being eliminated as a solo artist he auditioned again in 2010 and was put into a group with four other contestants to form One Direction.
Liam dated singer Cheryl Cole with the pair having a child named Bear in 2017.
They split in 2018 before he was linked to supermodel Naomi Campbell in 2019.
He had an on-off, three-year relationship with ex-fiancée Maya Henry which was said to have ended for good in May, 2022.
The singer had been open about his battles with drugs.
In 2021, he blamed a “pills and booze phase” for bloating his face to “ten times the size”, while also revealing he used to guzzle the contents of his mini bar when band chiefs checked the lads into hotels to keep fans at bay.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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SHOCKED fans have started to flood Liam Payne’s last Instagram post with tributes as news of the singer’s death emerges.
According to TMZ, he fell to his death from his hotel balcony this afternoon.
The pop star was staying at Hotel Cas Sur in the neighbourhood of Palermo when cops were called to check on “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.
A red tent has reportedly been put up over the body as police begin their investigation into the death.
After the news went public, heartbroken followers began to leave messages for Liam under a tribute he made to Morgan Spurlock 20 weeks ago.
One person wrote: “Rest in peace Liam.”
Another sobbed: “And now it’s our turn to say goodbye to you Liam, I can’t believe it.”
A third added: “Heartbreaking. RIP Liam.”
German DJ Anton Zaslavski, otherwise known as Zedd, has taken to X with a devastated statement.
The producer who worked with Liam on his 2017 hit Get Low wrote: “RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking…”
Liam was part of One Direction between 2008 and 2015 and had released one solo album in 2019 – LP1.
POTATO chip lovers will soon have a longstanding grievance resolved thanks to Tostitos and Ruffles.
Both brands are owned by parent company PepsiCo, which confirmed the change this week.
Starting this fall, PepsiCo will be adding more chips to bags after complaints over them not being filled adequately, per what a spokesperson told CNN.
Tostitos and Ruffles will specifically feature “bonus” bags with around 20% more chips added for the same price point as a standard bag.
Additionally, the brands will have two additional smaller bags added to their variety packs, bringing the count to 18 instead of 16.
Again, the same pricing will remain, and the extra chip deal will only be available at select retailers.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta assured investors that the move was perfectly timed with the football season during a recent earnings call.
“It’s the football season. There’s a lot of gatherings,” he said.
Complaints over fewer chips in bags as part of shrinkflation, an economic term referring to when companies reduce the size or quantity of an item but charge the same price, have been going on for years.
Consumer protection lawyer and founder of Consumer World, Edgar Dworsky, did a study in 2021 that uncovered shocking data about Tostitos and Ruffles.
Dworsky’s findings showed Tostitos’ Hint of Guacamole chips bag shrank by a full ounce from 12 to 11, and the Hint of Lime fell from 13 to 11.
Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion chip bag also quietly decreased by a half-ounce in 2013, per the study.
The lawyer was relieved at PepsiCo’s decision to add more chips in October.
“It’s about time,” he told CNN.
“Chip lovers have suffered through years of downsizing.”
American shoppers, in general, have been buying fewer snacks due to inflation rates and the cost of living.
The Consumer Price Index is how the federal government measures inflation.
Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shares its CPI numbers with detailed breakdowns of which items have changing prices.
The CPI shows the amount prices rose or fell over the previous 12 months.
The calculation process is complex, but measures the changes in price for urban consumers, those living or working in an American metropolitan area.
While that does not cover everyone, it measures prices for about 90% of the population.
They either have stopped purchasing them altogether or have reached for more affordable private-label chips from certain retailers.
Overall snack sales in the United States dropped by 0.5% during the most recent fiscal quarter compared to the same time last year, per data from Bank of America.
PepsiCo’s snack sales also saw a higher dip of 1%.
Not to mention, the average cost of a bag of potato chips last month was $6.46, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the same period in 2020, it was $5.02, a whole $1.44 difference.
PepsiCo also made another chip move earlier this month.
It will acquire celebrity-backed tortilla chips, taco shells, seasoning, and salsa brand Siete Foods for $1.2 billion.
Siete Foods makes health-conscious products that work with customers’ dietary restrictions.
The deal likely won’t close until the middle of 2025, but it marks another significant move for Pepsi to complete a more nutritious portfolio of brands.
“We look forward to expanding our multicultural portfolio with these incredible products and even more consumers discovering and enjoying Siete,” Laguarta noted in a press release.