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What you should know before you start chasing bargains at the EOFY sales

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/park-thaichon-175182">Park Thaichon</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p>What cost-of-living crisis? Millions of Australians are expected to spend <a href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9592-ara-roy-morgan-media-release-eofy-mid-year-sales-2024">A$10.1 billion</a> during the end of financial year (EOFY) sales.</p> <p>Many products, from cars and holiday packages to clothing and white goods will be available at marked down prices over the next few weeks.</p> <p>Clothing and accessories will attract the biggest spend, followed by electronics and technology, household items and decorations and then appliances and white goods.</p> <p>To put the estimated $10.1 billion EOFY spend in perspective, in 2023 Australians spent <a href="https://ecommerce-report.auspost.com.au/">$361 billion on retail goods</a>, with $63.6 billion of that spent online.</p> <p>With such high spending, consumers need to make informed decisions to maximise their savings and avoid pitfalls.</p> <h2>Buyer beware</h2> <p>It is important to understand the return and exchange policies of the different retail stores.</p> <p>Most retailers allow shoppers who change their mind up to 30 days to return and receive a refund or exchange the product. Some may have shorter return periods or may not accept returns on sale items.</p> <p>These items are sometimes referred to as final sales, non-refundable purchases, last-chance deals, no-return sales and clearance items. This means if a customer bought something on sale and later doesn’t want it, they can’t return or exchange it.</p> <p>Some retailers have specific conditions about where items can be returned. For example, in Melbourne <a href="https://www.davidjones.com/return-options">David Jones</a> requires boutique brands to be returned to specific branch locations. For example, items purchased instore from Chanel can only be returned at Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street Mall branches.</p> <p>Other conditions might include <a href="https://www.myer.com.au/content/returns-exchanges">no refunds/no exchanges</a> on large electrical items, furniture or mattresses unless faulty or damaged. Or retailers may only offer instore credit or charge a <a href="https://www.davidjones.com/return-options">25% restocking fee</a> when a customer cancels an order for a large or bulky item.</p> <p>Many retailers, such as streetwear brand <a href="https://www.culturekings.com.au/pages/shipping-returns">Culture Kings</a>, also require a payment if the return process involves shipping.</p> <p>As well as these conditions, retailers require any returned items to be in their original condition and sometimes, their original packaging. Being aware of these policies can help customers make more informed decisions and avoid being stuck with items they don’t want.</p> <h2>What to buy and where to get it</h2> <p>Certain items, such as off-season clothing, electronics and furniture are often discounted during EOFY sales, making it a good time to get them at reduced cost.</p> <p>However, some items, like the latest Playstation or newest smart phone, may not be as heavily discounted and might be better bought at other times of the year.</p> <p>Shoppers should also avoid buying items they are unlikely to use or consume before they expire including perishable goods like food, cosmetics and vitamins.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="dnC1Y" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dnC1Y/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>It’s also important to consider the value of the item and whether the discount offered during sales justifies the purchase, especially for big-ticket items that may require significant storage space or maintenance.</p> <p>Customers should also consider where to buy their items. Online retailers often have competitive prices and a wide selection, but some customers may prefer to see the item before they purchase instore.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14413582231167664">Multi-channel shopping</a> is a combination of both instore and online shopping. It gives customers the flexibility to choose how and where they want to browse and purchase.</p> <p>For example, some customers prefer to touch, feel and try a product instore but then make the purchase online for convenience, taking advantage of any free shipping offers and online discount.</p> <h2>Pressure tactics</h2> <p>It is important to be wary any deceptive tactics to persuade you to buy unwanted products.</p> <p>For example, some stores might use misleading advertising or pressure tactics to convince customers to make purchases with the feeling of fear of missing out (FOMO).</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijcs.12649?casa_token=271MN72XdP8AAAAA%3AfhYF_2yUJtM7KGv5jvFdXn5UsXQLkMcIM_F6hffYa30QaSdRivjf2mhFX-cr5C7ttCuLl1-e2OFYXBA">Our research found</a> FOMO played a role in panic buying.</p> <p>During the EOFY sales, businesses may try to create a sense of urgency by claiming that items are selling out quickly or prices will increase soon.</p> <p>For example, online sites might state a product is “low in stock”, “151 items have been sold today” or “25 people are watching this item”.</p> <p>By being aware these tactics are intended to lock them into buying, customers can take their time to consider purchases carefully and avoid being swayed into buying things they do not really want or need.</p> <p>Ultimately, the best approach for customers is to plan ahead, research prices and shop around to find the best deals for their needs.</p> <h2>Why we have EOFY sales</h2> <p>The original purpose of the EOFY is to mark the end of a 12-month accounting period for businesses and individuals. EOFY sales help businesses clear out last year’s stock and make way for new.</p> <p>Moving stock also helps to improve the bottom line by converting unsold goods into revenue.</p> <p>If consumers are savvy, they can find ways to make savings while also putting money back into the economy.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/232568/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/park-thaichon-175182"><em>Park Thaichon</em></a><em>, Associate Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-you-should-know-before-you-start-chasing-bargains-at-the-eofy-sales-232568">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

Climb the stairs, lug the shopping, chase the kids. Incidental vigorous activity linked to lower cancer risks

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emmanuel-stamatakis-161783">Emmanuel Stamatakis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-ahmadi-1241767">Matthew Ahmadi</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Many people know exercise reduces the risk of <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2521826">cancers</a>, including liver, lung, breast and kidney. But structured exercise is time-consuming, requires significant commitment and often financial outlay or travel to a gym. These practicalities can make it infeasible for <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/42/11/901">most adults</a>.</p> <p>There is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02100-x">very little research</a> on the potential of incidental physical activity for reducing the risk of cancer. Incidental activities can include doing errands on foot, work-related activity or housework as part of daily routines. As such they do not require an extra time commitment, special equipment or any particular practical arrangements.</p> <p>In our <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2807734">study</a> out today, we explored the health potential of brief bursts of vigorous physical activities embedded into daily life. These could be short power walks to get to the bus or tram stop, stair climbing, carrying heavy shopping, active housework or energetic play with children.</p> <h2>How was the study done?</h2> <p>Our <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2807734">new study</a> included 22,398 <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a> participants who had never been diagnosed with cancer before and did not do any structured exercise in their leisure time. Around 55% of participants were female, with an average age of 62. Participants wore wrist activity trackers for a week. Such trackers monitor activity levels continuously and with a high level of detail throughout the day, allowing us to calculate how hard and exactly for how long people in the study were moving.</p> <p>Participants’ activity and other information was then linked to future cancer registrations and other cancer-related health records for the next 6.7 years. This meant we could estimate the overall risk of cancer by different levels of what we call “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33108651/">vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity</a>”, the incidental bursts of activity in everyday life. We also analysed separately a group of <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2521826">13 cancer sites in the body</a> with more established links to exercise, such such as breast, lung, liver, and bowel cancers.</p> <p>Our analyses took into account other factors that influence cancer risk, such as age, smoking, diet, and alcohol habits.</p> <h2>What we found out</h2> <p>Even though study participants were not doing any structured exercise, about 94% recorded short bursts of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33108651/">vigorous activity</a>. Some 92% of all bouts were done in very short bursts lasting up to one minute.</p> <p>A minimum of around 3.5 minutes each day was associated with a 17–18% reduction in total cancer risk compared with not doing any such activity.</p> <p>Half the participants did at least 4.5 minutes a day, associated with a 20–21% reduction in total cancer risk.</p> <p>For cancers such as breast, lung and bowel cancers, which we know are impacted by the amount of exercise people do, the results were stronger and the risk reduction sharper. For example, a minimum of 3.5 minutes per a day of vigorous incidental activity reduced the risk of these cancers by 28–29%. At 4.5 minutes a day, these risks were reduced by 31–32%.</p> <p>For both total cancer and those known to be linked to exercise, the results clearly show the benefits of doing day-to-day activities with gusto that makes you huff and puff.</p> <h2>Our study had its limits</h2> <p>The study is observational, meaning we looked at a group of people and their outcomes retrospectively and did not test new interventions. That means it cannot directly explore cause and effect with certainty.</p> <p>However, we took several statistical measures to minimise the possibility those with the lowest levels of activity were not the unhealthiest, and hence the most likely to get cancer – a phenomenon called “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/reverse-causation">reverse causation</a>”.</p> <p>Our study can’t explain the biological mechanisms of how vigorous intensity activity may reduce cancer risk. Previous <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2017/02000/Brief_Intense_Stair_Climbing_Improves.10.aspx">early-stage trials</a> show this type of activity leads to rapid improvements in heart and lung fitness.</p> <p>And higher fitness is linked to lower <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002934320300097">insulin resistance</a> and lower <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109704017036">chronic inflammation</a>. High levels of these are risk <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109704017036">factors for cancer</a>.</p> <p>There is very little research on incidental physical activity and cancer in general, because most of the scientific evidence on lifestyle health behaviours and cancer is based on questionnaires. This method doesn’t capture short bursts of activity and is very inaccurate for measuring the incidental activities of daily life.</p> <p>So the field of vigorous intensity activity and cancer risk is at its infancy, despite some <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/43/46/4801/6771381">very promising</a> recent findings that vigorous activity in short bouts across the week could cut health risks. In another recent study of ours, we found benefits from daily <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02100-x%22%22">vigorous intermittent lifestyle activity</a> on the risk of death overall and death from cancer or cardiovascular causes.</p> <h2>In a nutshell: get moving in your daily routine</h2> <p>Our study found 3 to 4 minutes of vigorous incidental activity each day is linked with decreased cancer risk. This is a very small amount of activity compared to <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1451">current recommendations</a> of 150–300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week.</p> <p>Vigorous incidental physical activity is a promising avenue for cancer prevention among people unable or unmotivated to exercise in their leisure time.</p> <p>Our study also highlights the potential of technology. These results are just a glimpse how wearables combined with machine learning – which our study used to identify brief bursts of vigorous activity – can reveal health benefits of unexplored aspects of our lives. The future potential impact of such technologies to prevent cancer and possibly a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02100-x">host of other</a> conditions could be very large.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210288/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emmanuel-stamatakis-161783"><em>Emmanuel Stamatakis</em></a><em>, Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Population Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-ahmadi-1241767">Matthew Ahmadi</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climb-the-stairs-lug-the-shopping-chase-the-kids-incidental-vigorous-activity-linked-to-lower-cancer-risks-210288">original article</a>.</em></p>

Body

"Missing her already": The Chase star confirms long-rumoured romance

<p><em>The Chase</em> star Mark Labbett has confirmed his long-rumoured romance, sharing sweet snaps to Instagram of the happy couple. </p> <p>Labbett, known as The Beast on the UK quiz show, confirmed his relationship with British TV presenter and producer Hayley Palmer, who joined Labbett in Los Angeles recently, where he is filming the US version of <em>The Chase</em> and a separate game show, <em>Master Minds</em>. </p> <p>When Palmer’s short trip came to an end, Labbett shared a snap of him and his girlfriend together, confirming the romance that has long sparked rumours. </p> <p>“It was Hayley’s last day today. Missing her already,” he wrote, alongside a broken heart emoji.</p> <p>After Palmer headed home, Labbett shared an update on Twitter to tell his fans that all was well.</p> <p>A source told <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/22732613/the-chases-mark-labbett-heartbroken-emotional-goodbye-new-girlfriend/#:~:text=Mark%2C%20known%20as%20The%20Beast,message%20to%20girlfriend%20Hayley%20Palmer." target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a></em> that Palmer “caught a plane to LA on Wednesday to see Mark” for a short romantic getaway. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctg2NbPr7he/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctg2NbPr7he/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Mark Labbett (@markthebeastlabbett)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“He’s working really hard but wants to make time for her at the weekend,” the source said.</p> <p>“She’s been so busy with her own projects back in London, but they’re both determined to make this work."</p> <p>“Hayley’s even bagged herself an interview with a US radio station, a podcast appearance and she’ll be reporting from Hollywood for GB News.”</p> <p>The couple reportedly met at the National Television Awards in the UK last October, and have been spotted sporadically on each other's social media accounts ever since. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

Camilla's unexpected coronation guest

<p>As the royal family prepares for the highly-anticipated coronation of King Charles, an unexpected guest has been revealed to be attending. </p> <p>Camilla's ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, will be present for the coronation in Westminster Abbey in May, as he remains “joined at the hip” with his ex-wife.</p> <p>Andrew and Camilla were married for 22 years before they divorced in 1995. </p> <p>Andrew went on to marry Rosemary Pitman the following year, who died from breast cancer in 2010, while Camilla married the then-Prince of Wales in 2005. </p> <p>Ever since their divorce, the couple have remained close. </p> <p>A friend of Parker Bowles told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/camillas-naughty-ex-andrew-parker-bowles-is-coming-to-the-coronation-blwlqc9dv" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Sunday Times</em></a>, “He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.”</p> <p>One of Camilla’s Queen Companions, the Marchioness of Lansdowne said everyone “loves Andrew” and that he’s a “real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving”.</p> <p>She added, “Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.”</p> <p>Parker Bowles was unfaithful to Camilla during their marriage, and their friends describe the retired army officer as “a bit of a rogue” and “very naughty”.</p> <p>He remains close, however, with several members of the royal family, including Princess Anne with whom he had a brief romance.</p> <p>Parker Bowles has attended both of Charles’ weddings, including to Princess Diana in July 1981 when he accompanied the then-Prince and Princess of Wales’s carriages on horseback after the ceremony.</p> <p>Parker Bowles was also present at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005, attending the ceremony with Pitman.</p> <p>Camilla and Andrew have two children together, Tom Parker Bowles, who is King Charles' godson, and Laura Lopes, who have given the former couple five grandchildren. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Relationships

Georgie Parker drops big Home and Away news

<p><em>Home and Away</em> star Georgie Parker, has revealed she is leaving the show.</p> <p>According to a report on <em>Yahoo</em>, Georgie is taking a seven-week break and is set to be off-screen by August 2022.</p> <p>The actress, who first joined the show in 2010, replacing Justine Clarke as Ruth “Roo” Stewart, will perform in the play <em>Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica</em>.</p> <p>Georgie said she was lucky that production wrote her out of scripts as she took on different artistic ventures.</p> <p>“I'm lucky that with or any other TV productions I've been involved with, I've been very fortunate that I kind of put it out there if it's going to be long term, that I need time out for plays,' Georgie told Yahoo.</p> <p>“Channel Seven has always been very generous with letting me do that. I just get it written into my contract,” she added.</p> <p>She is one of Australia’s most beloved actresses, having appeared on <em>All Saints</em> and <em>A Country Practice</em>.</p> <p>The star married her husband, Steve Worland, in 1999 and gave birth to their daughter Holly in 2000.</p> <p>Georgie told <em>TV week</em> in 2022 that she struggled with juggling her career and being a new mum.</p> <p>“I got married and became a mum when I won the first Gold Logie,” she said.</p> <p>“I was split between a lot of things. It was a very stressful time.</p> <p>“The struggle I had was that I'd never chased that kind of success, so when I got it, I was doing it more because I wanted the show to succeed.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Camilla’s ex-husband carries out official duty on her behalf

<p dir="ltr">Queen Consort Camilla's ex-husband, whom she shares two kids with, has carried out an official duty on her behalf.</p> <p dir="ltr">Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles formally represented the Queen Consort at his cousin John Bowes-Lyon’s funeral at the London Oratory.</p> <p dir="ltr">This is the first official duty he has performed on behalf of his ex-wife and it is believed that it won’t be the last time the 82-year-old former Army officer would represent the Queen Consort.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Andrew is happy to do anything he is asked. He still enjoys a warm relationship with Camilla,” a source told Daily Mail. </p> <p dir="ltr">Camilla and Andrew married in 1973 before they separated in the 1980s and divorced in 1995.</p> <p dir="ltr">They share two children, Tom and Laura. </p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier this year, the Queen Consort spoke candidly about cooking for her children despite not being a great in the kitchen. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I always cooked for the children growing up, and they were good eaters, but I was never the most adventurous of cooks,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was sent on a cooking course in Sussex when I was young but, really, I learnt from my mother. I’ve never followed a recipe in my life...</p> <p dir="ltr">“I could fill a book with all my cooking disasters. I’m not a natural baker, to say the least. </p> <p dir="ltr">“As for baked potatoes… many a poor, incinerated specimen has been found in the bottom of the Aga, put in, then forgotten about.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Camilla married King Charles III in 2005 following a whirlwind romance and affairs dating back to when Charles was married to Diana. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Family & Pets

Sarah Jessica Parker's "devastating" family news

<p>Sarah Jessica Parker has shared the news that her step-father, Paul Giffin Forste, has died at age 76. </p> <p>“Our family is sad to announce that after an unexpected and rapid illness, Paul Giffin Forste passed away yesterday at age 76,” the <em>Sex and the City</em> star’s family said in a statement obtained by <a href="https://pagesix.com/2022/09/29/sarah-jessica-parkers-devastating-family-situation-revealed/?_ga=2.259786575.430144023.1664372447-2143273385.1636072101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Page Six</a>.</p> <p>“In his last moments he was surrounded with the love and gratitude of his adored wife Barbara of 54 years, and children, including Sarah Jessica Parker.”</p> <p>The statement continued, ”Paul will be remembered with the spirit of loving kindness which was his faith, his special delight in his 13 grandchildren, and his sustained belief in making the world a more charitable, tolerant, and beautiful place for all.”</p> <p>According to Page Six, Sarah Jessica Parker abruptly fled New York City Ballet’s 10th Annual Fall Fashion Gala due to a "personal matter". </p> <p>A source first told the outlet that the actress departed the David H. Koch Theatre at New York’s Lincoln Centre just moments after she arrived at the fundraiser, where she was being honoured.</p> <p>Parker is the vice chair of the NYCB Board of Directors. She was also the mastermind behind the Fall Fashion Gala, which was first celebrated a decade ago.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Family & Pets

Furious parents respond to damning footage of child cruelty at preschool

<p dir="ltr">Two preschool teachers have been charged with child cruelty after a parent saw them allegedly abuse their students. </p> <p dir="ltr">Zeina Alostwani, 40, and Soriana Briceno, 19, have been fired from their jobs at Parker-Chase Preschool in Roswell, Georgia and charged with first-degree child cruelty. </p> <p dir="ltr">The classroom has a parent monitoring livestream which allegedly showed Alostwani and Briceno stepping on children’s hands, kneeing them and poking their foreheads. </p> <p dir="ltr">“That parent reported logging onto the camera system and seeing concerning physical contact between Alostwani and Briceno against several children in the classroom,” police said in a statement.</p> <p><iframe style="overflow: hidden; border: initial none initial;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRoswellGAPolice%2Fposts%2F393926096107257&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="632" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">Footage shows the students between the ages of two and three sitting in a circle on a rug when one of the teachers allegedly steps on a child’s hand for several seconds before allegedly kneeing a second child in the back.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then one of the teachers is on all fours and gets extremely close to one of the kids and allegedly pokes them repeatedly in the forehead with her finger.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is alleged that the child who was poked in the forehead was the same one who was allegedly kneed in the back. </p> <p dir="ltr">Alostwani and Briceno were arrested and charged with first-degree child cruelty when the parent made a complaint. </p> <p dir="ltr">The preschool released a statement expressing their shock and disappointment of the “inappropriate disciplinary actions with children”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The teachers in question were immediately removed from the classroom and have been dismissed. We reported this matter to our licensing agency and Children’s Protective Services and are co-operating fully with the authorities, who have informed us that criminal charges are being pursued,” the statement read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“While we are extremely grateful that the children are well, we take this matter seriously, and our investigation is ongoing. We expect our staff to adhere to the highest standards of care, and any failure to do so will not be tolerated.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Roswell Police</em></p>

Family & Pets

Fans go wild over Georgie Parker’s gravity-defying gown

<p dir="ltr">A staple of most women’s wardrobes, the little black dress Seven presenter and former Olympic hockey player Georgie Parker <a href="https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/seven-presenter-georgie-parker-aflw-gravity-defying-dress-075404317.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wore</a> has proved why it’s a fashion must-have.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ebf1a38f-7fff-e387-6952-64811052ba2b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Parker stunned fans with the strapless, form-fitting dress she wore to the AFLW Awards in Melbourne in April.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_xS7wPyzb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_xS7wPyzb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Georgie Parker (@georgie_parker19)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The $316 dress from Maison Femalien features a cut-scalloped neckline, dramatic thigh-high split on one side, and goes from cinching in at Parker’s waist to grazing her ankle as a pencil skirt.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a5d0ce55-7fff-0455-8d82-579ffd186594"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Parker shared her look on Instagram in a mirror selfie, joking that she was “sponsored by Hollywood tape” and receiving a flood of compliments from fans.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_sI5mFUxt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_sI5mFUxt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Georgie Parker (@georgie_parker19)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Looking gorgeous babe xx,” one fan gushed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“STUNNING 🔥😍,” another wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-154308c6-7fff-227a-7d8b-f4c9a3013b51"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Omggggg how hot are u 🔥🔥🔥,” a third said.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbyARYeB6jo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbyARYeB6jo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Fitzy & Wippa on Nova (@fitzyandwippa)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The sister version of Parker’s dress was spotted just a week earlier, when <em>Married At First Sight</em> favourite Ella Ding wore the frock to the Fitzy and Wippa <em>Married At First Sight</em> dinner party.</p> <p dir="ltr">Appropriately called the ‘Ella’, Ding’s dress differed in that it was considerably shorter than Parker’s and made of a ruched fabric, but shared the same eye-catching neckline.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1e991872-7fff-3940-abe1-47f6a0827d6f"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @georgie_parker19 (Instagram)</em></p>

Beauty & Style

The Chase star’s royal connection

<p dir="ltr">Anne Hegerty, also known as The Governess on <em>The Chase</em> has been shocked to find out she is related to the Queen. </p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing on <em>DNA Journey</em>, the quiz master was surprised to find out what her grandmother had always told her was in fact true - the Queen is her 19th cousin.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 63-year-old said she never believed her grandmother when she told her because she “was the most tremendous liar”. </p> <p dir="ltr">The relation comes from her mother’s side where they are related to the Hayes family one of whom married Robert the Bruce’s daughter Princess Elizabeth in 1370.</p> <p dir="ltr">This then resulted with the Queen being Anne’s 19th cousin. </p> <p dir="ltr">Anne confessed that while growing up, her mother disapproved of knowing the ancestry line. </p> <p dir="ltr">“She’d say, ‘it doesn’t prove a thing, dear’,” Anne told <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/18165272/queen-cousin-anne-hegarty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“As a child I was always curious about this stuff and my mother was always very repressive.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think it was because on my mother’s mother’s side there’s quite a bit of posh, and my mum thought I’d grow up to be a terrible snob.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But I’ve already grown up to be a terrible snob, so really there’s nothing to hide.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram </em></p>

Family & Pets

Jacinda Ardern’s cool response to car chase by anti-vaxxers

<p dir="ltr">Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, appeared unbothered by a car chase she was involved in that saw anti-vaxxers pursuing the van she was in, forcing it onto a kerb.</p> <p dir="ltr">Footage of the chase has recently gone viral online, showing a group of anti-vaccination activists use their own vehicles to attempt to block Ardern in the Bay of Islands.</p> <p dir="ltr">The group can be heard shouting abuse at Ardern’s vehicle as officers with the Diplomatic Protection Service stood guard. One shouted, “Shame on you!” while another shouted, “We do not consent”. Another protestor claimed Ardern was “hiding in the van”, calling her a “wussy” and a “Nazi”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The video also shows the vehicle attempting to pull on to the main road, taking to the footpath to avoid a car attempting to block it in. A woman in one of the cars pursuing it can be heard saying, “Oh this is fun! We‘re on a chase”, while a man says that the group just wanted “a few words” with Ardern. They joked, “We’re in pursuit for the Prime Minister”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ardern described it as “just another day”, telling reporters, “at no point was I worried about my safety or the safety of anyone that was with me.” She added, “Every day is faced with new and different experiences in this job … We are in an environment at the moment that does have an intensity to it that is unusual for New Zealand. I do also believe that with time it will pass.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She said, “I see that as just being a reflection of the fact that we are the decision makers. And if people don’t like the decisions that are being made, then it’s us that of course will hear the feedback about that.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The chase comes amid a small but notable rise in threats towards public officials involved in New Zealand’s pandemic response, according to police data released to<span> </span><em>1News<span> </span></em>this week. Threats to politicians reached a three-year high in one month last year. Most of the reports, which at times spiked to as many as 16 per month, involved threats aimed at Prime Minister Ardern.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lance Burdett, who protected former Prime Minister Helen Clark, said COVID-19 vaccinations had become a sticking point with a small minority. While close to 95% of adults in New Zealand are now fully vaccinated, some have strongly resisted getting the jab or the mandates that have come with the country’s pandemic response.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Mark Mitchell-Pool/Getty Images</em></p>

Travel Trouble

How "The Beast" Chased his massive 60kg weight-loss goal

<p>Mark Labbett, better known as The Beast on the TV quiz show <em>The Chase</em>, has revealed his secret behind his staggering 60kg weight loss.</p> <p>The quizmaster has credited his lifestyle change and body overhaul to his adorable golden retriever, who he branded as his "personal trainer".</p> <p>On a UK chat show, Mark said that his pooch Baloo helped him get into the habit of daily exercise.</p> <p>“My wife promised me that when we first got him she would take care of everything – feeding him, walking him and so on,” he explained.</p> <p><span>“That lasted about two weeks before she decided ‘Actually Mark, look at your belly – you need the exercise!’”</span></p> <p><span>Mark and Baloo formed a special relationship and now refers to the dog as his "personal trainer", who </span>incidentally costs a lot less than a human personal trainer.</p> <p><span>He continued, “I was walking him around the fields, taking me places … I think he’s helped a lot, simply because I’m doing more activity.”</span></p> <p><span>Mark has been documenting his weight loss on Instagram, with many followers cheering on his success in the comments. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLH2VnSsjMt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLH2VnSsjMt/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Mark Labbett (@markthebeastlabbett)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>Mark has previously opened up about his weight loss on the chat show <em>Loose Women</em>, and how he has dropped several clothing sizes along his </span>journey.</p> <p>He said, “I am gradually dropping Xs off my size. I’ve gone from 5XL to 4XL and it looks like the next time I go shopping I’ll be able to squeeze into XL underpants.”</p> <p>Mark also opened up about when he was at his biggest, admitting, “I’ve lost 10 stone (60kg), I was 29 stone (184kg) when I was a full time teacher in 2003 and I was in danger of high blood pressure."</p> <p>“I’ve been around 26 stone (165kg) up until lockdown, and then a few things happened quite nicely and came together and I started losing weight.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram @markthebeastlabbett</em></p>

Body

How to stay in Carrie Bradshaw's apartment from Sex and the City

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s the ultimate experience for fans of <em>Sex and the City</em>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A stunning recreation of the Brownstone New York apartment that the show’s Carrie Bradshaw character lived in is being put up for rent by Airbnb.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sarah Jessica Parker herself played a role in designing it and will be "virtually" welcoming guests when they arrive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Carrie Bradshaw character is near and dear to my heart, and revisiting her world for the continuation of the <em>Sex and the City</em> story has been such a joy,” said SJP.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Carrie’s brownstone apartment was central to the series and its décor has now been painstakingly recreated by Parker, Airbnb, and a small New York-based production team.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The character’s famous walk-in wardrobe, her writing desk and her bedroom appear almost exactly as they did in the cult series.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Replicas of key props from the original apartment are dotted throughout, such as circa-2000 cordless phone and a blocky black laptop, like the one Carrie used to labour over her writing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After enjoying a virtual greeting from the actress upon check-in, Airbnb says the guests can sip on cosmopolitans – reminiscent of the many cocktail-laden scenes from the series.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A styling session and a photoshoot will also be included in the experience. Guests will get the chance to play dress-up in a recreation of Carrie’s closet, which has been filled with duplicates of some of the iconic looks from the series.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This includes a model of the tutu Carrie wears in the show’s opening credits, which is one of the most famous looks curated by the show’s costume designer Patricia Field. Outfits from Carrie’s favourite fashion designers also line the closet, as well as – of course – rows and rows of shoes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m excited for our audience to experience Carrie’s New York like never before and walk in her shoes, quite literally, for the first time," Parker said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Guests will also be invited to leave the apartment and explore Manhattan, traipsing the same streets as Carrie and her entourage would have done.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brunch in Chelsea is part of the experience, which Airbnb describes as a ‘meal where many conversations took place that deepened Carrie’s friendships with the girls’.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Sex and the City, the exterior shots of Carrie's apartment showed 64 and 66 Perry Street in Manhattan's West Village. Meanwhile, the interior scenes were captured in Silvercup Studios in Queens.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the recreation, Airbnb used a different New York apartment that had a similar floorplan to that of Carrie's flat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The new Airbnb was designed in honour of next month's premiere of <em>And Just Like That</em>..., a 10-episode revival of <em>Sex and the City</em> that will air on HBO Max and Sky Comedy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon will reprise their roles in the series, but Kim Cattrall - who played publicity dynamo Samantha Jones - declined to take part.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Airbnb project, which was a collaboration between Airbnb and Warner Bros Consumer Products, also marks 23 years since fans were first introduced to the show.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parker will host two one-night stays for up to two guests each on November 12 and 14 for just $23 a night.</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: AirBnB</em></p>

Real Estate

Prince Charles and Camilla to embark on first royal tour since 2019

<p dir="ltr">The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are preparing to head off on their first royal tour in almost two years, Clarence House has announced.</p> <p dir="ltr">Charles and Camilla will visit Jordan and Egypt from November 16 to 19 as representatives of the Queen and the British government. It is the first royal tour to take place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (as opposed to brief visits).</p> <p dir="ltr">The couple will visit holy sites and attend interfaith events aimed at promoting tolerance between different religions. Climate change and the importance of girls’ education will also be highlighted during the visit, which will take place after the COP26 summit in Glasgow next week, and which the couple will also be attending. Queen Elizabeth, Prince William and Kate will also be attending the historic climate summit.</p> <p dir="ltr">While visiting Jordan and Egypt, Prince Charles will take part in conversations about the value of religious freedom and respect for other people’s beliefs, subjects of particular importance in countries that are home to holy sites for Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other religions. Charles has previously warned against the dangers of religious persecution and extremism, including to Christian communities in the Middle East.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jordan’s role in taking in so many refugees, including Palestinians and Syrians, in a region that has faced much conflict will be recognised, and Camilla will see work in Jordan that is being done by Queen Rania to keep girls in school and protect vulnerable children and mothers. In addition to visits to historic sites such as the city of Alexandria, there will be a focus on the importance of teaching crafts skills necessary to maintain and preserve such sites.</p> <p dir="ltr">The tour will also include a showcase of the monuments built for a far more ancient royal dynasty, with a reception overlooking the Pyramids of Giza.</p> <p dir="ltr">Charles last visited Jordan in 2015, and Camilla in 2013. The couple last visited Egypt in 2006.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Jacob King-WPA Pool/Getty Images</em></p>

International Travel

"It's been unbearable": Sarah Jessica Parker finally breaks silence on fallen co-star

<p>Actress Sarah Jessica Parker has broken her silence on the death of her friend and <em>Sex and the City</em> co-star Willie Garson.</p> <p>Willie died on September 21st after a battle with pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>A flood of <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/tributes-pour-in-for-willie-garson-who-has-died-at-57" target="_blank">tributes poured in</a> for the 57-year-old following the news of his death, with SJP saying at the time, "It's too soon".</p> <p>But on Friday, she penned an emotional tribute to her late friend, saying "It's been unbearable."</p> <p>Her caption reads, “Sometimes silence is a statement. Of the gravity. The anguish. The magnitude of the loss of a 30+ year friendship.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUNtHhyFBf0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUNtHhyFBf0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by SJP (@sarahjessicaparker)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“A real friendship that allowed for secrets, adventure, a shared professional family, truth, concerts, road trips, meals, late night phone calls, a mutual devotion to parenthood and all the heartaches and joy that accompany, triumphs, disappointments, fear, rage and years spent on sets (most especially Carrie’s apartment) and laughing late into the night as both Stanford and Carrie and Willie and SJ.”</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“Willie. I will miss everything about you. And replay our last moments together,” Parker’s post continued.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“I will re-read every text from your final days and put to pen our last calls. Your absence a crater that I will fill with blessing of these memories and all the ones that are still in recesses yet to surface."</p> <div class="hide-print ad-no-notice css-qyun7f-StyledAdUnitWrapper ezkyf1c0"> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“My love and deepest sympathies and condolences to you dear Nathen. You were and are the light of Willie’s life and his greatest achievement was being your Papa."</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“These were his last words to me. ‘Great bangles all around.’ Yes. Godspeed Willie Garson. RIP. X, SJ,” she ended her post.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">Along with the lengthy emotional caption, Sarah shared a series of photos of the pair from both on and off screen, as both colleagues and friends.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">The two had recently been working together on the set of <em>And Just Like That...</em>, in which Willie returned to his role as Stanford Blatch, Carrie Bradshaw's lifelong friend.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">Other Sex and the City alumni shared tributes to the actor, including Cynthia Nixon, executive producer of the show Michael Patrick King, and Willie's on-screen partner Mario Cantone.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">I couldn’t have had a more brilliant TV partner. I’m devastated and just overwhelmed with Sadness. Taken away from all of us way soon. You were a gift from the gods. Rest my sweet friend. I love you. <a href="https://t.co/Ia4tg1VK1Y">pic.twitter.com/Ia4tg1VK1Y</a></p> — Mario Cantone (@macantone) <a href="https://twitter.com/macantone/status/1440466454160101382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">So deeply, deeply sad we have lost <a href="https://twitter.com/WillieGarson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WillieGarson</a>. We all loved him and adored working with him. He was endlessly funny on-screen and and in real life. He was a source of light, friendship and show business lore. He was a consummate professional— always. <a href="https://t.co/G63EJIj8lG">pic.twitter.com/G63EJIj8lG</a></p> — Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) <a href="https://twitter.com/CynthiaNixon/status/1440481643936948238?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><em>Image credits: Instagram @sarahjessicaparker</em></p> </div>

Caring

The Last Laugh keep will keep everyone smiling

<p>A lot of us grew up with Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss on our movie screens and so it’s nice to see these two American actors have made a film together about one of them staging a comeback at the age of eighty.</p> <p>Called <em>The Last Laugh</em>, this is a movie made by Netflix and it’s streaming on Netflix in Australia and New Zealand. It’s all about Buddy Green (played by Dreyfuss) who started out as a great stand-up comic and his agent (played by Chase) booked him for a spot on <em>The Ed Sullivan Show </em>back in the 1960s.</p> <p>But at the time for his own reasons, Buddy just up and quit. It’s now fifty years later and his agent, Al Hart, hasn’t seen or heard from him for half a century.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/he3DPldzW8I" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>So, you can bet Al is surprised when Buddy turns out to be his tour guide in the elderly assistance home he’s moving into. Even more surprising, Buddy is still getting laughs and is pretty much the life of the party.</p> <p>As they chat and get to know each other again, both men - who are in their 80s – say they’re bored and why not try show biz again. Al finds his old Rolodex and starts calling his contacts.</p> <p>And so begins a tough but revealing road trip from Los Angeles to New York, with Buddy performing at stops along the way.</p> <p>Chase and Dreyfuss play off each other like the pros they are. Yes, Chase must hold back his own humorous side to make way for Dreyfuss’ comic <em>tour de force. </em>But this casting works. <em>The Last Laugh </em>is sure to give you lots of laughs along the way.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.31634819532906px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844402/last-laugh-2-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4ff1879e7fad4a0ab8976edd8106f7cf" /></p> <p>Fortunately, all the cast members deliver the goods here. Standouts include: Andie MacDowell as an adventurous hippy follower; Lewis Black as a fellow comic with an important decision to make; Chris Parnell as Buddy’s worried son; and Kate Micucci as Al’s concerned granddaughter.</p> <p>Although not a completely perfect movie, <em>The Last Laugh </em>reminds us how important it is to follow your dream at any age.</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="/nothing.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4ff1879e7fad4a0ab8976edd8106f7cf" /><em>Images: The Last Laugh</em></p>

Movies

It’s Never Too Late To Be Bold and Chase Excitement

<p>A seemingly nonsensical suggestion led Gail MacCallum to uproot her life and follow her dream.</p> <p><strong>Some people get more averse to risk as the years go by.</strong> Not so Gail MacCallum, who at age 40 quit a secure job and left the city she had enjoyed her whole adult life in order to leap into the unknown. But she had to learn to be bold.</p> <p>MacCallum moved quite a bit in childhood and spent her formative years outside Canberra in a farmhouse without electricity. She read the books of animal observer Gerald Durrell and relished the freedom of the natural world. In her teens she and her family moved into the heart of inner-city Sydney, and she found she adored that too. “I was 14 and it was the perfect time. I loved the excitement of the city.”</p> <p>She continued to love it over the following decades as she moved through jobs including coffee-roaster and bookseller before finding her calling in book publishing and then magazines. In 2002 MacCallum and her then partner had a daughter, Amelia. They wanted to make sure that despite being a city kid Amelia had plenty of natural encounters so they sought out places to climb trees, watch lizards and spot turtles. But one day MacCallum realised her little girl was more at ease with busy streets than bushland. “When she was about seven, we were visiting a friend whose place had a beautiful lawn. Amelia called out to me from the verandah and said, ‘I can’t go into the wild!’ We decided we had to let her experience a wider world and two months later we were in a campervan heading off around Australia.”</p> <p>MacCallum admits she felt daunted. “I thought we’d need to know things like how to whittle your own clutch plate. I didn’t know how much it would all cost or what we’d do about money. But I thought the worst thing that would happen is we’d have an adventure and a holiday. I figured if we only make it two weeks in, so be it.” As it happened, the van they’d bought broke down just 90 minutes into the trip. But after repairs they set off again and travelled the country for six months, during which Amelia became an avid adventurer adept at digging fire pits. They returned to the city purely because the money had run out. “That trip helped me understand that success doesn’t have to be assured,” MacCallum says. “I realised that you can start something and just work it out as you go along.”</p> <p><strong>Four years later she and her current partner Ian Connellan </strong>were on a brief holiday in Tasmania, enjoying the chance to get up close to wildlife including “the fluffiest wombats in the world”, when they ran into some friends-of-friends, soon to move interstate, who asked them to dinner. The next day, recalls MacCallum, “They said, ‘We think you should buy our house.’” With no intention of uprooting their lives she and Connellan thought this was “entirely ridiculous”, yet they got so excited talking about the possibilities such a move might present they missed their plane home. “We stayed at a hotel that night, woke up the next morning and said, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”</p> <p>They resigned their publishing jobs and in January 2013 moved to Hobart to start not just a new life but a new business. Individually and together, both are intrepid, independent travellers who had spent time with scientists and conservationists working in various remote spots around the world, including Papua New Guinea and the Galapagos Islands. They wondered if they could make a living supporting such work by helping others to experience those unique places for themselves. The two decided to set up a company that specialised in organising trips to places where important scientific and environmental research was taking place.</p> <p>Naming the new company Curious Traveller, they began taking paying customers to remote locations including Western Australia’s Kimberley region and islands off South America. “For us the travel business comes out of a love of science,” MacCallum explains. “It works brilliantly. Scientists get helpers and funding. Guests get to see what scientists do and how the world is changing because of it. They leave excited and inspired, having had an awesome experience in a place they otherwise might never have seen.”</p> <p>Two-and-a-half years in, the pair still have to supplement their incomes with some freelance writing and editing, but the business is growing and within five years they hope to be helping fund half a dozen research projects. It’s a big task. “Some days we think it would be great to turn off and have making it all work become someone else’s problem,” MacCallum says, “but when we see the wonder on the face of a person who is experiencing somewhere like the Galapagos for the first time we know we’re living a fabulous, lucky life.”</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.3411078717201px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844052/follow-yr-dream-2-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/5f0c645b37b24c14b8304fa17e82ae63" /></p> <p><strong>The Expert View</strong></p> <p>The type of business MacCallum started, which aims to do good as well as provide a living, is known as social enterprise. Celia Hodson is CEO of an institution specially created to give such people the business savvy they’ll need to survive – the School for Social Entrepreneurs.</p> <p>The desire to create a business with broader aims than just making money is gaining ground. “When we used to put a call-out for people who thought they had an amazing social enterprise idea we’d have maybe 20 applying.” says Hodson. “Now we get 120.” Some leap straight in, but most make the transition while establishing the business: “Typically they taper off their paid employment as their idea starts to gather speed.”</p> <p>The rewards are great, but it’s important to be realistic. “We sometimes ask people who come to us, ‘Where in your cash-flow is your salary?’ They’ll say, ‘Oh I don’t need money.’ Yes, social impact is what it’s about but to make it sustainable you need to ask yourself, ‘Is it going to pay me a salary?’ And you need to think about how to measure the difference you’re hoping to make.”</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on </em><em><a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/inspirational/Never-Too-Late-To-Be-Bold">Reader’s Digest</a></em></p>

Domestic Travel

First look at Sex and the City reboot

<p>Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis have returned for the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That.</p> <p>The next chapter of the beloved story of four friends in New York follows “Carrie” (Parker), “Miranda” (Nixon), and “Charlotte” (Davis) as “they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.”</p> <p>Production has officially begun on the series, with an official photo being released over the weekend.</p> <p>And Just Like That will stream on Binge later this year.</p> <p>The cast includes Sara Ramirez, Chris Noth, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Willie Garson and Evan Handler.</p> <p>Kim Cattrall, who played publicist Samantha Jones, will not be returning.</p> <p>HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys told<span> </span><em>TVLine<span> </span></em>back in February the show “is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s.”</p> <p>He explained to the outlet, “Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave. Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life … They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York. So it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50.”</p> <p>The four women played their respective characters for six seasons and two movies from 1998 until as recently as 2010.</p>

New Princess Charlotte photo evidence for Aussie "son" of Charles and Camilla

<p>A Queensland man who claims he is the secret love child of Prince Charles and Camilla has released a shocking series of new photographs comparing his family to members of the royal family.</p> <p>Simon Dorante-Day made global headlines since he went public with his claims that he says are a culmination of years of research.</p> <p>And now, the British-Australian man has featured Princess Charlotte, Prince Charles, Prince William, and other senior royals to further prove his claim.</p> <p>One comparison photograph has piqued interest for the “striking similarity” between Princess Charlotte and Dorante-Day’s daughter Meriam.</p> <p>Dorante-Day also released a photograph of his son Liam alongside Prince Charles and also Prince Andrew which surprised many with one observer saying there was “no denying this one”.</p> <p>Dorante-Day told<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/" target="_blank"><em>7NEWS.com.au</em></a><span> </span>that he himself is surprised by the resemblance between his children a number of other royals.</p> <p>“The one of Liam and Prince Charles really got me,” he said.</p> <p>Dorante-Day went on to say: “I think it’s really hard to look at that one and not see the resemblance, it’s pretty compelling.</p> <p>“The one with Princess Charlotte and our Meriam is also a head-turner. We have always had people tell us how much she looks like Charlotte - even by people who don’t know about our background.</p> <p>“But to see it in black and white is pretty hard to refute.</p> <p>“We are always receiving these sorts of comparisons that supporters on my Facebook page and royal fans and watchers have put together.</p> <p>“They’re always fascinating and definitely gives people food for thought.”</p> <p>A number of curious people have commented on the similarity between the Dorante-Day’s and British royal family members.</p> <p>“There is no denying here,” one person said.</p> <p>Another wrote: “I must say the area above the top lip is typical Windsor on all the children including yourself Simon.”</p> <p>Said one more: “Wow. it’s amazing how much you and your children look like the royal family I wish you good luck and hope the truth comes out in the end.”</p>

Family & Pets

Awful truth behind explosive Princess Diana interview

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>The BBC is investigating the tactics used to obtain an interview with the late Princess Diana where she uttered the tragic statement about her marriage to Prince Charles: "There were three of us in this marriage".</p> <p>The interview between journalist Martin Bashir and Diana aired in 1995 but 25 years on, new evidence suggests that the reporter may have used forged bank statements and other unethical methods to convince Diana to agree to the interview.</p> <p>The incident is now being properly investigated, but it's complicated as Bashir, 57, is now gravely ill with COVID-19.</p> <p>Over the weekend, the BBC apologised to Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer after he brought forward the evidence.</p> <p>The network admitted that Bashir showed Spencer bank statements doctored by a staff graphic designer. Spencer had alleged that Bashir told his sister “fantastical stories to win her trust” and showed him fake bank records that reportedly helped land Bashir the interview.</p> <p>Charles said he found a letter sent to him by Bashir that brought up rumours of an affair between Charles and the family nanny.</p> <p>At the time, Diana was allegedly deeply worried she was being spied on and Bashir's "evidence" made her confident to do the interview.</p> <p>“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana said in the interview, referring to Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.</p> <p>Weeks after Diana uttered that sentence, the royals began divorce proceedings.</p> <p>“Suggesting that mocked-up documents were genuine was wrong then and it’s wrong now; the BBC of today is happy to apologise for this. The BBC’s editorial processes are now even tougher and this would not happen today,” said a statement from a BBC spokesperson sent to the <em>New York Post</em>. “The BBC’s records say that the Princess of Wales said she hadn’t seen the mocked-up documents and they had played no part in her decision to take part in the interview.”</p> <p>The BBC is now investigating the interview.</p> <p>“The BBC has apologised. We are happy to repeat that apology. And while this was a quarter of a century ago, we absolutely will investigate – robustly and fairly – substantive new information,” a spokeswoman told Deadline. “We have asked Earl Spencer to share further information with the BBC.</p> <p>“Unfortunately, we are hampered at the moment by the simple fact that we are unable to discuss any of this with Martin Bashir, as he is seriously unwell. When he is well, we will of course hold an investigation into these new issues.”</p> </div> </div> </div>

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"It's been unbearable": Sarah Jessica Parker finally breaks silence on fallen co-star

The Last Laugh keep will keep everyone smiling

It’s Never Too Late To Be Bold and Chase Excitement

First look at Sex and the City reboot

New Princess Charlotte photo evidence for Aussie "son" of Charles and Camilla

Awful truth behind explosive Princess Diana interview