ITV has apologised after last night’s Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway featured the presenters wearing the offensive Japanese Rising Sun flags, which symbolises the slaughter of millions of people in Asia.

The broadcaster has also edited the episode to remove any imagery of the symbol, which was used as propaganda in World War II and is seen in Korea as a reminder of Japanese colonialism.

During the most recent episode of the ITV show, Ant and Dec were seen performing a martial arts skit as singer Anne Marie took to the stage, with their headbands branding the symbol.

The decision to wear the garment has been slammed on social media, with an ITV spokesperson sharing a statement of apology to Metro.co.uk.

‘We apologise for any offence caused during the End of the Show Show by the costumes worn,’ they said.

‘This was clearly unintended and we have taken steps to re-edit that part of the episode for the Hub and for repeat broadcasts.’

Anne Marie has also apologised, sharing a statement with her followers on Twitter.

‘I sincerely apologise to all those who were affected and hurt by my appearance last night on a UK TV [show],’ she penned.

‘I want you to know that i had nothing to do with the costumes on this sketch.

‘Unfortunately education on this part of the history wasn’t done and I am also hurt by the pain this signifies for so many people.

‘I am truly sorry and I promise you that this will not happen again.

‘Our team is talking to the TV station, working on taking down the footage so that it does not cause any more pain [sic].’

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway airs on Saturdays at 7pm.

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Dancing On Ice’s Hamish Gaman is putting the Caprice Bourret drama behind him for some far more happy news – he’s now engaged to long-time love, Amelia Humfress.

Hamish and artist Amelia have been together for four years, after meeting on Tinder.

Since then, he’s even referred Amelia has his ‘wife’ online, and she has proven to be an important source of support for him over this year’s Dancing On Ice and his feud with Caprice.

Announcing the joyous news on Twitter, Hamish wrote: ‘It’s finally time for some good news. We’re engaged

‘And we’ve now set a date! After so much negativity, it feels so good to talk about something positive.’

Fans were quick to congratulate the professional skater, with one writing: ‘Oh @HamishGaman what wonderful news, congratulations to both of you, I wish you both every happiness for your future together xxxxx’

Echoing a similar sentiment, another posted: ‘Congratulations to you both, such lovely news. Light at the end of the tunnel after the last few weeks, keep moving forward and hope you will both be very happy.’

The pair are now planning to get married this December.

Hamish and Caprice’s fight has become the talking point for the series as a whole, as it was announced without warning by Holly and Phil live on air they had uncoupled.

Rematched with Oscar Peter, Caprice lasted for one week before quitting completely.

Hamish continues to perform in group routines but also had to take some time off as he admitted he ‘wasn’t OK’ with what had gone on between him and Caprice.

He returned at the end of February, posting an emotional snap of his Dancing on Ice Pals thanking them for their support throughout the difficult time.

Dancing On Ice concludes next Sunday from 6pm on ITV.

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Dancing On Ice fans went wild for Libby Clegg during Sunday night’s semi-final show, after watching her skate solo on the ice.

Sunday night’s show saw the contestants perform two routines, with one requiring them to perform solo on the ice for 45 seconds.

Libby revealed her nerves ahead of her skate and explained that the skate was going to be a ‘massive challenge’ for her. The paralympian is registered blind and has a deteriorating eye condition called Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy.

Her partner Dan Whiston was seen at the edge of the rink, calling out the distance for Libby, to reassure her on the ice and fans were left seriously impressed with what they saw.

Taking to Twitter fans called Libby ‘inspirational’, with one commenting: ‘Libby is incredible, that solo skate was on point #DancingOnIce.’

Another said: ‘It’s so emotional watching Libby and with the help & support of her fantastic partner Mark just goes to show how much you can achieve with talent, but hard work & determination. Marvellous stuff #DancingOnIce.

A third added: ‘Hats off to libby for that skate the 10 was for achievement… yano for the fact that she cannot see yet solo skated yes mark was on the ice with her but she skated on her own… #bekind #dancingonice.’

Despite finding the routine ‘absolutely terrifying’, Libby, who has survived the skate off for two weeks running, won her first 10s of the series from both Jane and Chris and received a total of 39 out of 40.

While everyone is agreement that what Libby just pulled off on the ice was ‘amazing’, not everyone felt she deserved being scored higher than some of the other contestants.

There were some viewers that suggested she shouldn’t have received 10s from the judges, but fans were quick to jump to Libbys defence.

One fan hit back: ‘Anyone criticising Libby should try skating solo and blindfolded and see how well they do #dancingonice.’

‘Everyone complains about Libby getting 10s, how about you you go out with the vision she has and perform the way she just did?

‘That dance was incredible and so inspirational. If you don’t have anything nice to say just keep it to yourself,’ another fan said.

Ben Hanlin scored 37.5 for his solo skate, while Perri scored 38.5 and Joe Swash landed 38 points.

Dancing On Ice continues Sunday at 6pm on ITV.

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The UK has had the wettest February on record and Storm Jorge has battered most of the UK all weekend, so it’s the perfect time to spend a cosy Sunday evening in front of ITV’s newest drama, McDonald and Dodds.

The show is about two detectives, who according to ITV’s synopsis, are ‘thrown together with seemingly nothing in common’ who go on to ‘forge a rumbustious, entertaining and ultimately… effective partnership.’

The show takes place in Bath, and each episode brings viewers a new murder mystery and a slew of guest stars.

So, who is in the cast, when does the show start and how many episodes are there?  

McDonald and Dodds cast members

Jason Watkins as DS Dodds

Described as shy and unassuming, DS Dodds has been happily
working the desk life for most of his time on the force – until he’s forced to work with DCI McDonald and go out on the frontline, deciphering mysteries and murders.

He’s played by BAFTA award-winning actor Jason Watkins.

Watkins played Prime Minister Harold Wilson in season three of The Crown, as well as appearing in Line of Duty, A Very English Scandal and Being Human.

Tala Gouveia as DCI Lauren McDonald

The show’s write-up describes Lauren McDonald as a ‘tough, driven, battering ram of a cop’ who has transferred from South London to the sleepy streets of Bath.

She’s played by actress Tala Gouveia, who has previously appeared in Cold Feet, Plebs and Tracey Ullman’s Show.

James Murray as Chief Superintendent John Houseman

Chief Superintendent John Houseman is the big boss who doesn’t want newcomer McDonald rubbing up the wrong characters in Bath.

Actor James Murray, the husband to actress Sarah Parish, has previously starred in Cucumber, Cutting it and Primeval.

Robert Lindsay guest stars as Max Crockett

The first episode kicks off with a man being shot to death in Crockett’s house – and McDonald and Dodds must work out who he is, who killed him, why, and how.

Crockett is played by BAFTA, Tony and Olivier winning Robert
Lindsay, who has starred in Brit sitcom My Family as well as major Hollywood movies including Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Grace of Monaco alongside Nicole Kidman.

Rosalie Craig as Megan Wattal

Megan is one of Max Crockett’s daughters.

She is played by Rosalie Craig, who has had a successful stage career performing in Company and The Light Princess, which landed her an Olivier nomination.

Navin Chowdhry as Pete Wattal

Pete is Megan’s husband, who is keen to inherit his wife’s family’s empire.

Navin Chowdhry has formerly starred in Our Girl and Doctor Foster.

Susannah Fielding as Tamara Valentine

The second of Max Crockett’s daughters, Susannah is desperate to prove she and her husband can take over the family business.

Susannah Fielding’s previous credits include an appearance on Doctor Who and a successful stage career.

Jack Ashton as Jack Valentine

Playing Tamara’s husband, Jack Ashton has previously starred in Broadchurch and Call the Midwife – and is the real-life partner of Helen George who plays Nurse Trixie Franklin on the show.

Ellie Kendrick as Elenora Crockett

The third Crockett daughter, Elenora has gone in an independent direction to her sisters, opening her own bakery in Bath with her wife.

Ellie Kendrick is most famous for starring in Game of Thrones as Meera Reed.

Cassie Bradley as Kasha Perry

Elenora’s wife Kasha has never been accepted into the Crockett family, being the lesbian wife of one of Max’s daughters.

Cassie Bradley has starred in Coronation Street as Natalie Watkins and Casualty as Leigh-Anne Carr.  

Natalie Mendoza as Mathilde Crockett

Natalie Mendoza plays Max Crockett’s young, pregnant wife, Mathilde whom his daughters are suspicious of.

Mendoza has previously starred in Hotel Babylon, Holby City and Midsomer Murders.

When is McDonald and Dodds on?

The first two-hour episode airs tonight from 8pm on ITV.

How many episodes of McDonald and Dodds are there?

For now, there are just two episodes – but they are both two-hour long mini-movie type features.

McDonald and Dodds airs tonight on ITV at 8pm

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MORE: Caprice Bourret ‘banned from Dancing On Ice final after publicly slating ITV’

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Lady Gaga has stormed back to claim her pop crown and is on course to land a UK number one with her new single Stupid Love. 

After taking a music break to conquer the acting world, Lady Gaga finally returned to drop Stupid Love on Friday, boasting a futuristic electro-pop sound which the Little Monsters are loving so much that the track is smashing sales figures.

According to a first look update from the Official Charts, Stupid Love is currently at number two and just shy of 1,200 chart sales behind the current number one spot. 

The Weeknd is still dominating the top spot with Blinding Lights but, impressively, Gaga is catching up to him after just two days of sales. Gaga is in the lead with downloads while The Weeknd continues to clock up the streams. 

Stupid Love could become Gaga’s 13th UK top 10 single. 

Elsewhere on the first look chart, Dua Lipa’s Physical has jumped five slots to number nine which could become her eighth top 10 single. 

Rising US rapper Doja Cat could claim her first UK top 10 single with Say So, which has jumped nine places to number 10. 

Stupid Love is the lead single from Gaga’s upcoming sixth studio album, rumoured to be titled Chromatica. 

Sharing the inspiration behind her epic comeback track, Gaga told Kiss FM: ‘Stupid Love is a really special song to me. I worked on it with a few different people, Bloodpop and Tchami Being some of them as well as [producer] Max Martin. 

‘I wrote this song with a lot of love in my heart and a lot of belief that the world operates because of kindness and love. 

‘I think that for some of us, it’s easier to love and for others it’s harder to love and the more vulnerable we are, the more brave we are to open ourselves up, to really, really love each other. 

‘I think that love heals the world, I think it keeps us together. It’s how we survive as a planet and I wanted to make a song that really celebrated love and reminded us all how important it is.’ 

A release date for Gaga’s sixth album is yet to be confirmed. 

This week’s official singles chart top 100 UK chart will be announced on Friday (6 March).

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Anne Marie has apologised after appearing in a live sketch on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway over the weekend in which the duo wore costumes featuring the offensive Rising Sun flag.

The 28-year-old FRIENDS singer, joined the show over the weekend and performed a new track as the presenters danced dressed as Japanese martial artists.

Audiences were quick to notice that Ant and Dec’s headbands featured the Rising Sun symbol – which is considered to be the Japanese version of the  Germany’s Nazi Hakenkreuz, or Swastika,

Addressing the faux pas, Anne Marie wrote in a statement: ‘I sincerely apologise to all those who were affected and hurt by my appearance last night on a UK TV [show].

‘I want you to know that i had nothing to do with the costumes on this sketch.

‘Unfortunately education on this part of the history wasn’t done and I am also hurt by the pain this signifies for so many people.

‘I am truly sorry and I promise you that this will not happen again.

‘Our team is talking to the TV station, working on taking down the footage so that it does not cause any more pain [sic].’ 

Japan’s Rising Sun flag, a red disc from which 16 red rays emanate on a white background, is seen by some as a symbol of Japan’s imperialist past.

It was incorporated during the 19th century by the Japanese army and was the flag of its navy during World War II when the country was allied with Nazi Germany.

But the flag has been widely used as a national symbol in Japan for centuries and commonly appears on products, in adverts, and in popular culture in the East Asian island nation.

During World War II, it became the a sign of the navy and continued to gain a controversial reputation as Japanese troops occupied much of Asia and carried out atrocities on local people.

Today the flag appears on items such as clothing and product packaging and to support Japan at sporting events. However, it is still particularly offensive to those in East Asia, particularly South Korea.

ITV also released a statement regarding the scenes from Saturday’s episode.

‘We apologise for any offence caused during the End of the Show Show by the costumes worn,’ they said.

‘This was clearly unintended and we have taken steps to re-edit that part of the episode for the Hub and for repeat broadcasts.’

Ant and Dec are yet to respond to the backlash.

Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway airs Saturdays at

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MORE: ITV forced to apologise and edit Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway episode after airing offensive Japanese flag

Hollywood studios have begun assembling coronavirus strategy teams as the disease rapidly spreads across the globe.

The virus has devastated efforts to launch movies and TV shows internationally.

According to Variety, companies are asking employees to delay work trips to affected countries such as China, Japan, Italy and South Korea.

Disney’s Mulan and the new James Bond film No Time To Die have cancelled plans for the China premieres, which may cost the company millions in box office avenue.

The publication reported that most of the major studios have created advisory teams made of members of production, finance, marketing and human resources to assess the potential ramifications.

The $200 million (£156 million) film Mulan was expected to do really well in places like China, but it won’t be shown for weeks or months.  

No Time To Die, on the other hand, axed any plans to do promotions in China, South Korea and Japan.

At the time of writing, 54 countries have reported cases of coronavirus and 35 people have tested positive for the virus in the UK.

There have been over 2,900 deaths and more than 85,402 cases confirmed worldwide.

Other films affected by the fast-spreading virus include Mission: Impossible 7.

The cast and crew were meant to film scenes for the latest instalment of the action franchise in Venice, Italy over the next few weeks but the coronavirus had different plans for them.

However, Tom Cruise wasn’t in the country during the production break.

A rep told Metro.co.uk: ‘He wasn’t in Italy.’

The studio stated how it was taking the concerns of their staff seriously.

They announced: ‘During this hiatus, we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts.

‘We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.’

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Comedian Joe Lycett legally changed his name to Hugo Boss to protest the fashion house ‘targetting small companies and charities’ who use the word ‘boss’ in their names.

The 31-year-old pulled a classic Lycett move and went out of his way to prove a point.

Making the announcement on Twitter, Joe (sorry, Hugo) shared the document stating his name was changed to Hugo Boss.

He wrote: ‘So @HUGOBOSS (who turnover approx $2.7 billion a year) have sent cease & desist letters to a number of small businesses & charities who use the word ‘BOSS’ or similar, including a small brewery in Swansea costing them thousands in legal fees and rebranding.

‘It’s clear that @HUGOBOSS HATES people using their name. Unfortunately for them this week I legally changed my name by deed poll and I am now officially known as Hugo Boss. All future statements from me are not from Joe Lycett but from Hugo Boss. Enjoy.’

He even has a new signature where the Hugo looks phenomenally phallic.

Fans stood by the now Hugo’s decision, praising him for ‘fighting the good fight.’

One user commented: ‘[Clapping emoji] Fighting the good fight, You could say you are Hugo Bossing it.’

‘I didn’t think I could love you anymore AND YET HERE WE ARE,’ another posted.

A fan questioned: ‘OMG, did you really do this? Of course you did, you’re Joe, erm I mean you’re Hugo Boss!’

Joe’s protest refers to Welsh brewery Boss Brewing who fell into a legal battle with the fashion house when it applied to trademark its name.

The owners Sarah John and Roy Allkin were dragged into a four-month battle after the luxury brand wrote them a letter stating they needed to ‘stop using [the name] immediately’.

Their ‘champion of beer’ Boss Black and supermarket best-seller Boss Boss had to be renamed – making the couple spend more time and money on individually swapping their labels.

Their drinks have been renamed to Boss Brewing Black and Bossy Bossy.

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Dancing On Ice star Perri Kiely left judge Ashley Banjo in tears as he performed a skate in tribute to their dance group Diversity.

During Sunday night’s semi-final show, the remaining celebrities – Perri, Joe Swash, Ben Hanlin and Libby Clegg – had to perform two routines.

The first saw them perform a solo skate for 45 seconds, while the second was to a song picked by them to represent something personal.

Libby danced to a cover of 500 Miles inspired by a ballet dance at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, while Ben danced to Jake Bugg’s Lightning Bolt – his wedding song.

Joe picked Simply Red track Stars, a song that reminds him of his dad who passed away when he was 12, and Perri skated to the music from the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, which is played at the end of Diversity’s shows.

He won a standing ovation for the flawless performance, along with full marks, as every judge gave Perri a 10 for his skate.

But, all eyes were on Ashley as he was visibly emotional over Perri’s skate and was initially lost for words.

Ashley pointed out that the Diversity squad were in the crowd watching and told Perri how ‘proud’ he was of the dancer.

Judge Christopher Dean added: ‘It just came from the heart, we can feel it – Ashley especially over there… it was sublime.’

When John Barrowman pointed out a move Perri did on the ice that was reminiscent of his Diversity moves, Ashley was caught wiping a tear away as he joked: ‘Yeah, I taught him that!’

But earlier on in the show, Ashley had proved to be Perri’s toughest critic as he scored him a 9 for his solo skate – the lowest score of all the judges – and said that he was ‘expecting more’.

Perri scored 38 for his first skate and adding his clean sheet of 40 from his second routine, meant he finished top of the leaderboard for the semi-finals.

Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday at 6pm on ITV.

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Ben Hanlin was given the boot in Sunday night’s semi-final live show.

The magician, 33, found himself in the skate-off with Libby Clegg, as it was revealed Joe Swash and Perri Kiely had made the Dancing On Ice final.

Joe and Libby took the ice for a third time for the skate off, and after Libby chose to sneak in the headbanger at the end of her surprise as a ‘surprise’ for those watching, the judging panel was swayed in her favour.

While Ashley Banjo and Jane Torvill voted to save Libby, while John Barrowman picked Ben, meaning that Christopher Dean had the deciding vote.

Picking the couple that he believed showed more skill and speed on the ice, he voted in favour of Libby – sending Ben and his skating partner Carlotta home.

It was an action-packed show on Sunday night, with the series’ remaining stars Joe, Perri, Libby and Ben taking to the ice with not one but two routines, including a solo skate.

The judges challenged the celebrities to each perform a solo skate for 45 seconds at the beginning of their first skate – without the comfort of their professional partner.

It was a chance for them to show off everything they’ve learned over the last nine weeks and judges were hoping for something ‘original and creative’.

Ben kicked things off and opened the semi-final with a skate to Ain’t That A Kick In The Head, after revealing he’d suffered a slight injury in training after Carlotta caught her skate on his arm.

He received his highest score of the series (37.5 out of 40), with Chris praising Ben’s ‘confidence’ and Jane telling him she ‘loved’ his solo skate.

Libby was back after surviving the skate-off for two weeks running and admitted she was feeling the nerves over skating solo. She is registered blind and has a deteriorating eye condition called Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy.

Despite finding the routine ‘absolutely terrifying’, Libby won her first 10s of the series from both Jane and Chris and received a total of 39 out of 40.

Perri was next up with his superhero themed dance and while he secured his first 10 from Chris, Ashley only scored him a 9 because he was expecting more from the Diversity dancer.

In total, Perri scored 38.5 and his score was nearly matched by Joe Swash who channelled his inner Rod Stewart to dance to Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? and landed 38 points.

Next up was the contestants’ second routines, where they each performed to a song personal to them.

Libby danced to a cover of 500 Miles inspired by a ballet dance at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, while Ben danced to Jake Bugg’s Lightning Bolt – his wedding song.

Perri skated to the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (the song is played at the end of Diversity’s shows) and won full marks and a standing ovation for his skate, that left Ashley lost for words.

Joe Swash picked Simply Red’s Stars – a song that used to be his mum and dad’s song and was played at his dad’s funeral. Joe’s dad died when he was 12.

Final scores after both routines, saw Perri top the leaderboard with 78.5 points, Libby finished with 77.5, Joe scored 76 and Ben finished in fourth with 74.5.

Dancing On Ice continues Sunday at 6pm on ITV.

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Doctor Who bosses have confirmed that the Daleks will be back and threatening the Time Lord and friends when the series returns over Christmas – and we’re scared already.

The hit BBC series will air the one-off festive episode, titled Revolution Of The Daleks, later this year following the quite frankly climactic end to series 12.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall enthused: ‘We can’t leave the Doctor there! On that cliffhanger! Well, we did. But rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended Special around Christmas and New Year.

‘I don’t know when they’re going to put it on yet, otherwise we’d tell you! There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual. See you at the end of the year.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, Charlotte Moore, director of content at the BBC, added: ‘I can’t wait for the Doctor to go into battle with the ultimate enemy in this year’s Daleks festive special.’

This news comes after bosses revealed Doctor Who isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

‘It’s an incredibly important show for young audiences, it’s still watched by families in a world where there are fewer shows that have the power to do that,# BBC drama controller Piers Wenger said.

He continued to Deadline: ‘It will always be an important show for us and we’re a very long way from wanting to rest it.’

Jodie Whittaker, who plays the show’s first-ever female Doctor, also revealed she’s eager to continue her reign.

‘I’m doing another season,’ she spilled to Entertainment Weekly. ‘That might be a massive exclusive that I’m not supposed to say.’

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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Joe Swash, Perri Kiely, and Libby Clegg are this year’s Dancing On Ice finalists.

The three remaining stars will go head-to-head in the show’s grand final that will air next Sunday (8 March) on ITV, after successfully making it through the semi-final.

It was Ben Hanlin that narrowly missed out on a place in next week’s live final, after facing Libby Clegg in the skate off on Sunday night.

Joe was the first celebrity revealed to be going through to the final, with hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield then confirming Perri was also a finalist.

That left Ben and Libby to battle it out in the skate off and after sneaking the headbanger into her skate off routine, Libby was saved by the judging panel.

While John Barrowman had voted to save Ben and his skating partner Carlotta, Christopher Dean was given the deciding vote and instead chose Libby – meaning Ben was booted from the competition.

Sunday’s semi-final was action packed and saw the series’ remaining stars take to the ice with two routines, including a solo skate.

Judges Ashley Banjo, John Barrowman, Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean challenged the celebrities to each perform a solo skate – without the comfort of their professional partner.

Libby received the highest marks, after impressing viewers at home with her ‘inspirational’ skate, and was given a huge 39 out of 40. Perri followed with 38.5, Joe Swash landed 38 and Ben scored 37.5.

Libby danced to a cover of 500 Miles inspired by a ballet dance at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, while Ben danced to Jake Bugg’s Lightning Bolt – his wedding song.

Perri skated to the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (the song is played at the end of Diversity’s shows) and won full marks and a standing ovation for his skate, that left Ashley lost for words.

Joe Swash picked Simply Red’s Stars – a song that used to be his mum and dad’s song and was played at his dad’s funeral. Joe’s dad died when he was 12.

Final scores after both routines, saw Perri top the leaderboard with 78.5 points, Libby finished with 77.5, Joe scored 76 and Ben finished in fourth with 74.5.

Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday at 6pm on ITV.

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**Warning, spoilers for Doctor Who series 12 finale ahead!**

Doctor Who fans were left shaken after tonight’s rollercoaster series 12 finale, with the episode ending on an almighty cliffhanger.

The closing scene of the chapter saw the Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) arrive back to her TARDIS after confronting The Cybermen, only to be interrupted by the Judoon, who raided her spacecraft and zapped her into a prison cell.

‘Judoon cold case unit,’ the monster told her without catching a breath. ‘Fugitive, the Doctor. Sentence: Whole of life imprisonment. Maximum security facility.’

Before she had time to comprehend the nightmarish situation, the Time Lord was instantly transferred to her cell where panic began to set in.

‘What?’ she called out confused, before running towards a window to find herself completely trapped in the middle of space.

Unsurprisingly, fans were shocked by the dramatic scenes and raced to Twitter to comment, with one shouting: ‘Ah one thing that I never expected was this to lead to a cliffhanger where the doctor is sentenced to whole life imprisonment! Great cliffhanger and I’m so excited for the next episode.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, another posted: ‘Absolutely loved ending of the episode. What a great cliffhanger to leave it on, reminds of how they used to do it back in the days of the 10th Doctor. They ended it right as it left me hungry to see what happens next.’

Although we’ll now have to sit tight to find out just what happens to the Doctor, bosses have confirmed that the Daleks will be back when the series returns over Christmas – and we’re scared already.

The hit BBC show will air the one-off festive episode, titled Revolution Of The Daleks, later this year following the quite frankly dramatic end to series 12.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall enthused: ‘We can’t leave the Doctor there! On that cliffhanger! Well, we did. But rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended Special around Christmas and New Year.

‘I don’t know when they’re going to put it on yet, otherwise we’d tell you! There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual. See you at the end of the year.’

Doctor Who is available for catch-up on BBC iPlayer.

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Ant and Dec have been part of our lives for 32 years, presenting all our favourite shows from Saturday Night Takeaway to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of  Here!

They are often seen as the squeaky clean poster boys for Saturday night television with their quick wit and successes in television shows, but the resumes of the golden boys of British TV isn’t completely untarnished.

Although the presenting duo recently came under fire for their outdated sketch which had them wear a controversial flag, it wasn’t their first time offending a community.

Use of the Rising Sun flag

Last night’s Saturday Night Takeaway featured the two presenters wearing the offensive Japanese Rising Sun flags, which symbolises the slaughter of millions of people in Asia.

From 1870 until the end of the second world war, it was imperial Japan’s war flag and was flying during Japan’s imperialist expansion when it occupied Korea and a part of China.

During World War II, Japanese troops carried out endless atrocities against locals in Asian countries – including forced labour, rape, murder, torture, and sexual slavery – which resulted in the dark reputation of the flag.

Ant and Dec had the symbol on their headbands when they were performing a martial arts skit as singer Anne Marie took to the stage.

The decision to wear the garment has been slammed on social media, with an ITV spokesperson sharing a statement of apology to Metro.co.uk.

‘We apologise for any offence caused during the End of the Show Show by the costumes worn,’ they said.

‘This was clearly unintended and we have taken steps to re-edit that part of the episode for the Hub and for repeat broadcasts.’

Blackface prank

Back in 2003, Ant and Dec wore blackface for one of their undercover sketches on SNT, in which they dressed as two Jamaican women and mimicked the accents.

The second series of the show, which began in January 2003, introduced Ant and Dec Undercover, where the dup would undergo extensive make-up and prosthetics to trick their TV pals.

For one prank, they chose to wear prosthetics to transform into Patty and Bernice, two Jamaican women, in an effort to prank the cast of Emmerdale.

The segment saw ‘Patty and Bernice’ act as extras in the Woolpack, as they tried to distract actresses Emily Symons and Elizabeth Estensen with their unprofessional antics.

Blackface – the practice of white people using make-up to ‘black up’ – has been a huge problem within TV and politics and Ant and Dec’s prank wasn’t any different.

They discussed the pranks 16 years on, but uncomfortably joked: ‘On the Saturday Night Takeaway DVD, Ant joked: ‘It was funny sitting in a room, learning Jamaican, picking dresses, trying on false nails, was something I didn’t think I’d ever, ever do.’

Dec then spoke in a Jamaican accent, saying: ‘We had to find who Patty and Bernice were, so we’d have to go “Well, I think Bernice probably came to England on a boat”.’

Yellowface prank

Their blackfacing wasn’t the only time Ant and Dec dressed up as a different ethnicity on the ITV show.

In 2004, the Geordie pair famously impersonated two young Japanese girls obsessed with Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw to trick the cast of the ITV soap.

To become ‘Suki and Keiko’, Ant and Dec got prosthetics to make them look Japanese, and used exaggerated Japanese accents for the skit.

While pronouncing ‘Roy’s Rolls’, they said ‘Loy’s Lolls’.

Back in the studio, former Corrie star Sally Lindsay said that she knew something was up, with Ant joking: ‘Hey, that ugly Japanese woman looks a lot like Ant.’

‘Too Ugly To Win’

Trouble brewed in 2005 during Ant and Dec’s Gameshow Marathon when it was discovered that winners of their variety show were selected based on their camera-friendly appearance.

This meant contestants that were deemed less than attractive didn’t stand a chance of appearing on screen to try to win prizes.

Rumbled by Ofcom, the lads were forced to apologise and finally, the nation’s people stood a chance of getting their 15 minutes of fame alongside the pair.

The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye.

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An ‘exceptionally rare’ guitar once owned by John Lennon and George Harrison was valued at up to a staggering £400,000 on tonight’s Antiques Roadshow.

Its current owner, a former session musician, explained to expert Jon Baddeley that he was given the guitar because he could play it better than Beatles legend himself, George.

Bartell’s of California made the prototype fretless instrument in the 1960s and it was brought to the show for this week’s episode from Battle Abbey in Sussex.

In a special moment expert, Jon said: ‘I think in 25 years it’s by far the most expensive thing I’ve ever seen.’

Valuing the guitar at between £300,000 and £400,000, Jon continued: ‘You know to a guitar collector it’s initially a very rare guitar.

‘Then to somebody who’s a Beatles fan, to own a guitar that was once owned by both John Lennon and George Harrison, can you get a better history? Two of the most important rock stars of the 20^th century.’

The owner was blown away by the value of the guitar and he still plays it regularly.

‘I never really thought about value, as George being a mate and all that,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what to say actually, I’m really taken aback by it.

‘I didn’t realise it was worth that much money. It’s lucky I don’t keep it in the house.’

The owner also revealed to audiences a photograph with George and the guitar, adding proof that it had once been in his impressive collection.

Jon added: ‘What’s really important is the provenance and there it was in the photograph, in George Harrison’s collection. Wow, you can’t do better than that.’

Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One.

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Dancing On Ice star Joe Swash broke down in tears during Sunday night’s semi-final show, while dedicating his second skate to his late dad.

The action-packed semi-final saw remaining contestants Joe, Perri Kiely, Ben Hanlin and Libby Clegg perform two routines on the night – the first, which included a 45 second solo skate and the second, which represented a personal moment to them.

Each star had to pick a song that was very personal to them, with Joe choosing Simply Red track Stars.

In an emotional VT, he explained that the song had been his mum and dad’s song, but his family now can’t listen to the track without turning it off after it was played at his dad’s funeral. Joe was 12 when his dad died.

Breaking down in tears, Joe explained that he wanted to make his family smile when they heard the song and give it back to his mum, without her feeling sad.

He said: ‘I miss my dad every day. There’s so many things that I’ve done and so many things I could have shared with him. 

‘It’s a really emotive song and hopefully we can do it justice.’

Joe said that he found the VT ‘difficult’ to watch back, but it didn’t put him off as he scored a huge 38 points from the judges for the routine.

Head judge Christopher Dean told the soap star: ‘Who would have thought right at the beginning of the series that you’d be here at the semi-final.

‘Week four you came alive and suddenly you became the new Joe, you’ve become a performer, an entertainer and more importantly a skater.’

John Barrowman said: ‘Your confidence has grown and I can tell you right now that is a happy song to your family and your dad would be smiling.’

Ashley Banjo added: ‘You’ve taken something and turned it into something else.

‘You didn’t sacrifice content, it was real and it was heartfelt but you never lost Joe,’ while Jane Torvill said both of Joe’s routines had been ‘absolutely brilliant’.

Earlier on in the night, Joe had channelled his inner Rod Stewart and viewers saw him take to the ice on his own, before his partner Alex Murphy then joined him, to dance to song Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?.

The judges joked that they no longer felt ‘nervous’ watching Joe on the ice, with Joe landing 76 points in total on the night.

Perri topped the leaderboard with 78.5 points, Libby finished with 77.5 and Ben scored 74.5 overall.

Fans will now see Joe go head-to-head with Perri and Libby in the Dancing On Ice grand final, as Ben was sent home on Sunday night.

He had been in the skate off with Libby, but after she pulled out the headbanger in her skate off routine, judges voted in her favour and sent her through to the final.

Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday at 6pm on ITV.

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*Warning – this article contains spoilers for The Timeless Children*

Doctor Who series 12 has given us more twists and turns than any other since the show’s return in 2005 – and the pay-off has been worth it.

The Timeless Children gave series 12 a more-than-fitting send off, and fulfilled the hype that surrounded a plot thread that was written before Jodie Whittaker was installed as The Doctor following Peter Capaldi’s turn.

It had everything – action, humour, emotional moments, huge surprises, and plenty of callbacks – and, despite some ropey episodes throughout series 12, showrunner Chris Chibnall will be toasting a job well done tonight.

Make no mistake, the revelation that The Doctor is the Timeless Child is the biggest twist in the show’s modern history – perhaps even its entire history. It completely changes the dynamic of the show – The Doctor’s regenerations are practically limitless now – and alters the Time Lords’ own origins.

It’s a brave move for Chibnall to make, but one that reignites Doctor Who’s format and could put a halt to those dwindling viewing figures.

It remains to be seen if we’ll ever see the Time Lords again given that they’ve been written back into the show before but, one thing’s for certain, The Master certainly will return. This isn’t the last we’ll see of The Doctor’s chief nemesis and, hopefully, Sacha Dhawan’s sinister turn as this particular Time Lord.

And what of Dhawan’s performance? He was the glue binding this episode together. 

Sure, The Timeless Children was about The Doctor, the Time Lords’ origins, and the creation of a hybrid Cyberman-Time Lord race that could very well have conquered the universe but for Ko Sharmus’ bomb detonation. Dhawan’s menacing Master, just like he did in the two-parter Spyfall, stole the show though. 

His intense, emotionally raw scenes with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor were some of the best since the show’s reboot, and it was pleasing to see Whittaker finally unleash some of The Doctor’s pent up anger. Her emotional gravity has been lacking at times since her casting, so it was great to see some of that fire erupt from within.

Even so, it was Dhawan’s delightful display that made an excellent episode even better. It was hard not to empathise with The Master as he revealed that it’s partly The Doctor’s fault that he is who he is – an added philosophical undercurrent to the main plot that thematically provided extra weight to the episode.

The rest of the cast had their moments too. The heart-to-heart between Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) is the emotional backbone that Doctor Who is built on, while Ryan (Tosin Cole) and the remaining humans got their chance to shine as they proved their worth against the Cyberman threat.

Jo Martin’s brief reprisal of her incarnation of The Doctor was a nice nod to Fugitive of the Judoon too, and helped to bridge the gap between one series 12 revelation and another. It would be pleasing to see her reappear in future series but, even if she doesn’t, there are bound to be physical books or audio series based around her spell as The Doctor.

The Timeless Children wasn’t a perfect episode. The pay-off from the Ireland-based portion of Ascension of the Cybermen, despite being a key portion of the Timeless Child storyline, felt lacking. The teasing of The Division may help expand upon this in future series but, with so much to tie up in The Timeless Children, the amount of screen time afforded to ‘Brendan’ -a.k.a The Doctor – here compared to last week felt squeezed in for the sake of it.

Underutilising the Cybermen was a missed opportunity too. Yes, The Timeless Children was ultimately about Gallifrey and who The Doctor actually is. Reducing one of The Doctor’s most feared foes to a bit-part role, especially after The Haunting of Villa Diodati and Ascension of the Cybermen made them scary again, was disappointing.

The final few scenes of The Timeless Children sets up the next episodic special, so we’ll have to wait and see how The Doctor gets out of her latest predicament onboard a Judoon prison. Given what The Doctor has gone through in series 12, though, it should be a breeze.

Verdict

The Timeless Children gives series 12 the send-off it deserves. It provides the answers to plenty of fan theories, turns the tables on the Time Lords’ history, and offers up the biggest seismic shift in Doctor Who’s history.

If Chibnall can keep up this form of storytelling, and Whittaker can dig deep and continue to produce the goods, Doctor Who could be set for a new lease of life that it hasn’t experienced since its 2005 return.

Doctor Who is available for catch-up on BBC iPlayer.

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Little Mix has left us impatiently waiting for their new show The Search when they shared a cute behind-the-scenes snap on set.

The singers posed for the camera as they teased fans about their new talent competition, set to be aired on BBC One and iPlayer later in 2020.

Their caption read: ‘We’ve been a bit busy… [side eye emoji].’

Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock will become mentors to a wave of new talent, in a bid to find a new boy, girl or mixed-sex band.

The new bands will be doing what the girls have been doing for years and perform live and collaborate with songwriters, producers and stylists.

‘We want to create lots of incredible groups who really gel,’ Little Mix said in a statement. ‘As we have been there and done it ourselves, we know what it takes to make a group successful, and will be there to mentor them every step of the way.

‘We want solo-artists to audition as well as groups and every type of genre is welcome too. It’s going to be really exciting and people can apply right now!’

Fans couldn’t help but share their excitement for the forthcoming show.

‘CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IT SO PROUD OF YOU GIRLS,’ one user commented.

One fan said what we’re all thinking: ‘Give us some sneak peeks!’

‘PROUD IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT,’ another posted.

The girls previously told Metro.co.uk we can expect a much more ‘authentic’ talent show than any we’ve seen before, as they take a new band under their Swarovski crystal-encrusted wing.

Perrie explained: ‘We start filming the audition process in January, it’s going to be fun because it’s something different for us.

‘We’ve never done that before and obviously, we’ve been on the other end of it and now being able to mentor people and find the next big thing, it’s just going to be crazy.

‘And then the winner gets to support us on the tour which will throw them in the deep end, like Hyde Park, 65,000 people, having a lotta laughs.

‘But I just think that’s sick because it’s an experience that they’re going to have forever and it’s going to be wicked, but crushing people’s dreams isn’t going to be that much fun!’

The Search is set to launch on the BBC later this year.

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Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Fiona Phillips has claimed that her dance partner Brendan Cole ‘wasn’t very nice‘ and has branded his axe from the series ‘karma’.

The 59-year-old broadcaster, who appeared on the third edition of the BBC show back in 2005 where she was eliminated in the fourth week, slammed the professional and also alleged that he was ‘naughty’.

 ‘Brendan was a real b****r, actually,’ Fiona told the Daily Star. ‘He wasn’t very nice. He was really naughty.’

She continued to the publication: ‘He’s not on the show now. Karma indeed. It works its way every time.’

Brendan didn’t have his Strictly contract renewed in 2018 and announced the news on Lorraine that year.

‘This is quite hard to talk about,’ he said. ‘The BBC haven’t renewed my contract – we get renewed year on year – and they made an editorial decision not to have me back on the show.

‘I’ve had 15 incredible series on the show – they’re a great team and it’s still a bit hard to talk about. I’ve always known this day would come.’

He added: ‘I’ve always said as long as I’ve got a passion for it I want to be there, and my passion is still very much there. I’ll miss being a part of the team, I’ll miss being a Strictly dancer. So very odd to say this out loud, it feels very raw.’

Strictly Come Dancing is set to return to the BBC later this year.

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***Warning: Spoilers for McDonald & Dodds ahead***

ITV’s new crime drama McDonald & Dodds has been dubbed as ‘King Lear with a twist’ by captivated fans.

The new series premiered on 1 March and follows an entertaining double-act negotiating the quirks and stresses of modern-day Britain while solving crimes all while getting a few laughs.

Taking place in the scenic city of Bath, it has Jason Watkins playing as shy and unassuming DS Dodds who’s back on the frontline after working the desk for the past 10 years.

DCI Lauren McDonald – who’s a tough, driven and a battering ram of a cop – is played by Tala Gouveia who, shocker, doesn’t take to working with Dodds too well.

The first episode saw a man get shot to death in a very wealthy Max Crockett’s (played by Robert Lindsay) house.

While figuring out who could be behind the murder, McDonald and Dodds discover the deeper, darker secrets of Max’s odd family.

Proven impossible to find the real killer of the crime, fans quickly learn that Mr Crockett’s three children have spent their entire adult lives trying to impress their father and inherit his fortune.

Sound familiar?

Megan Wattal (played by Rosalie Craig) had a successful stage career performing in Company and The Light Princess, which landed her an Olivier nomination.

Her success had her assuming Max’s £30 million fortune would go to her.

Tamara Valentine (played by Susannah Fielding) is also desperate to prove she and her husband can take over the family business but, unfortunately, wasn’t doing too well due to her artwork not selling.

Max’s last daughter Elenora Crockett (played by Ellie Kendrick) decided to be independent at a young age and was considered the ‘odd one out’.

During a special dinner, Max was ready to make his announcement.

With Megan, Tamara and Elenora impatiently waiting, Max shocked them all when he finally chose who got to continue the family business.

Fans immediately compared the fight for their father’s inheritance to the classic Shakespeare story of King Lear.

‘It’s all gone a bit King Lear…’ one viewer pointed out.

Another said: ‘Ooh, it’s gone all King Lear with a twist.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, a third posted: ‘This has quickly won me over – I assume it’s meant to be this OTT and funny? The plot is like King Lear with laughs. Perfect Sunday night fare.’

Modern Shakespeare with modern jokes? We’ll take it.

McDonald & Dodds continues on Sunday at 8pm on ITV.

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