All posts filed under: Abstractions

Louise Minchin surprises with acting cameo in ‘dangerous’ thriller starring Gary Oldman

Louise Minchin surprises with acting cameo in ‘dangerous’ thriller starring Gary Oldman

Published by Daniella Wilson

Louise Minchin showcased her acting skills in the latest episode of Apple TV‘s hit espionage thriller, Slow Horses. The former BBC Breakfast star landed a role in the hotly anticipated sixth season of the Emmy-winning series, which stars Sir Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the cantankerous leader of a disgraced team of MI5 agents. In the latest season, the Slow Horses find themselves on the run after past team members start turning up dead. Jackson Lamb is determined to uncover why his spies are being killed off one by one by two mysterious assassins: Jane (MyAnna Buring) and Jim (Kyle Soller). Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas star in Slow Horses Louise, 58, plays newsreader Serena, who interviews Director-General of MI5 Diana Taverner. Titled ‘Daddy Issues,’ episode two sees the reemergence of River Cartwright’s father, Frank Harkness, and a string of suspicious murders that put the Slow Horses on high alert.   The official synopsis reads: “Season six sees the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them all in a fatally high-stakes …

Digger first-look reaction – Tom Cruise’s wild new film is as polarising as they come

Digger first-look reaction – Tom Cruise’s wild new film is as polarising as they come

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter When the trailer for Digger, the new Tom Cruise film from Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu, was released, something didn’t feel quite right. The clip teased an absurd farce centred on a megalomaniacal tycoon whose hunger for power causes a global catastrophe he struggles to contain. But rumours abounded that there was something else about the film being kept secret from viewers. It turns out that is true – and it will make or break the film for many. Iñárritu himself asked critics who saw the film ahead of the release – including The Independent – to remain tight-lipped on the film’s surprises, and that’s exactly what we’ve done in our first reaction to the film, which you can watch above. It’s Tom Cruise as you’ve never seen him before in ‘Digger’ (Warner Bros Pictures) Sure enough, the film – which …

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in Comedy

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in Comedy

Published by Daniella Wilson

For a sense of the decline in creative ambition between Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson‘s collaboration in HBO’s True Detective and Apple TV’s Brothers, one would have to imagine that after making Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford and Paul Newman had made a movie that was primarily about how “Robert Redford” and “Paul Newman” loved to hang out and discuss how much fun it was to have made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The most creatively adventurous thing you can accuse Brothers of doing is taking two huge Hollywood stars and putting them in scripts that would have been deemed insufficiently creatively adventurous for ABC’s TGIF block in the mid-’90s — full of endless perfunctory bickering and bouts of limp farce, topped off with platitudes about “family” and “friendship” and how “incest isn’t incest if you aren’t blood relations.” Brothers The Bottom Line Good for a couple of chuckles, little more. Airdate: Wednesday, Sept. 23 (Apple)Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Natalie Martinez, Brittany Ishibashi, Holland Taylor, Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton, …

Chelsea v Austria Wien Women’s Champions League live stream, kick-off time

Chelsea v Austria Wien Women’s Champions League live stream, kick-off time

Published by Daniella Wilson

Chelsea will be gunning for a winning start to the League Phase of the Women’s Champions League when they host Austrian Wien on Wednesday. Having finished third in the Women’s Super League last season, the Blues made light work of Real Sociedad in qualifying to secure their spot in Europe’s elite club competition. Chelsea are five-time semi-finalists and were beaten in the final in 2020/21 but have never won the Women’s Champions League – a fact that Sonia Bompastor would love to put right this term. Their first obstacle is the visit of Austria Wien, the Frauen Bundesliga champions, who arrive in London to make their European debut as heavy underdogs. Radio Times has rounded up everything you need to know about how to watch Chelsea v Austria Wien on TV and online. Read more football features: Best players in the world | Best players of all time | Live football on TV today When is Chelsea v Austria Wien? Chelsea v Austria Wien will take place on Wednesday 23 September 2026. Check out our …

Kate Middleton narrowly misses out on special honour

Kate Middleton narrowly misses out on special honour

Published by Daniella Wilson

Like so many of us, the royal family are huge dog lovers and have often been seen with their furry friends.  So, it may not come as a surprise that some Brits have chosen to honour their pets with royal-inspired names.  Shared exclusively with HELLO!, Dogs Trust‘s 2026 National Survey of more than 180,000 dog lovers has revealed which royals have inspired the most pet names – and the results may surprise you.  The Princess of Wales is known to be a dog lover – and is a proud dog mum to her two cocker spaniels, Orla and Otto.  © GettyThe Princess of Wales loves dogs! But it seems the British public prefer her children’s monikers when it comes to naming their pets.  Read on to find out the most popular royal dog names… WATCH: The royal family’s dogs What are the most popular royal dog names? According to the Dogs Trust survey, there were only seven dogs named Kate, and no Catherines, charity representatives told HELLO!. George was the most popular royal dog name, …

Country newcomer overtakes Mariah Carey’s record for longest-running No. 1 song on Billboard Hot 100

Country newcomer overtakes Mariah Carey’s record for longest-running No. 1 song on Billboard Hot 100

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Ella Langley has bested Mariah Carey with her smash hit “Choosin’ Texas,” a simmering, midtempo, country-and-then-some heartbreak song released last October. The song has become the longest-running No. 1 hit in the U.S., having spent 23 weeks at the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it was announced Tuesday. That means the track has surpassed various records set by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and most impressively, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Her holiday classic held the previous record, with 22 weeks at No. 1. The song’s laid-back sound, cross-genre appeal and heartache narrative are a few reasons why. But its dominance still comes as a surprise. Here’s how huge ‘Choosin’ Texas’ has become Luminate, the industry data and analytics company, found that “Choosin’ …

Who is in Meghan’s Cotswolds set – and why it’s a complicated mess

Who is in Meghan’s Cotswolds set – and why it’s a complicated mess

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more The Duchess of Sussex was spotted at the quaint Three Horseshoes pub near Burford in the Cotswolds this week with Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, seen in photos obtained by Page Six. Meghan, wearing an oversized blue shirt and white jeans, was seen chatting and laughing with the US chat show host. They were former neighbours in Montecito, and now reunite as neighbours in the Cotswolds, where Ellen lives in a sprawling single-storey minimalist wooden estate with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and an outdoor infinity pool after fleeing the US in 2024 with the re-election of Trump. Meghan famously appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021 and adopted one of her rescue chickens. The two are said to have been friends …

Ottolenghi: ‘I’m addicted to my phone – cooking helps me switch off’

Ottolenghi: ‘I’m addicted to my phone – cooking helps me switch off’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free Despite having 13 restaurants, delis and cafes to his name worldwide, Yotam Ottolenghi is more of a home cook these days. “I spend the majority of my cooking at home because at work I don’t cook so much – I’m more like the conductor of an orchestra,” says the British-Israeli chef and restaurateur. Meanwhile at his home, “I cook for myself, for my kids, for my friends, people who come over, and [my food] ends up being much more geared towards people’s daily palates rather than an occasional palate”, such as a restaurant meal. He may be famed for helping to popularise a whole movement of using Middle Eastern flavours in British home kitchens, as well as vegetable-forward cuisine, with his landmark cookbooks, Plenty in 2010, and Jerusalem in 2012, but his family “like a schnitzel, or they want a potato”, laughs the 57-year-old dad-of-two. …

Meet the A-list ‘nepo babies’ whose famous parents publicly refused to fund their lavish lifestyles

Meet the A-list ‘nepo babies’ whose famous parents publicly refused to fund their lavish lifestyles

Published by Daniella Wilson

Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar-winning actress who has built a veritable empire from her wellness brand, Goop, and she did it without financial help from her parents, director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner. “People think, ‘She’s just a rich kid.’ Until I was 18, I was. Then I was broke. I’ve never taken a dime off my parents. I’m completely self-made,” she told Glamour.  When Gwyneth dropped out of college to pursue an acting career, Bruce made it clear that she would have to find her own way. “My dad was like, ‘That’s great, but I’m not gonna help you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ And he was like, ‘No, I’m not,’” she told the publication.  “So I got an apartment with a roommate. I worked as a hostess at a restaurant; I would scrounge quarters to buy Starbucks – and walk there to save gas.” She continued: “I remember once asking my dad for money, like, ‘Please, I’m really stuck. Can you help?’ And he said, ‘You’re more than welcome to come over for …

8 once-popular jobs your grandparents worked that have vanished

8 once-popular jobs your grandparents worked that have vanished

Published by Daniella Wilson

A Saturday job always sounds like a good idea when you’re hankering for some spending money, but there was often a catch back in the day. From bowling alley pinsetters to coal heavers facing harsh conditions and rat catchers chasing terriers with ferrets, there weren’t a lot of glamorous opportunities in your grandparents’ day to earn a quick buck… © Getty Images Also known as ‘hello girls’, these phone operators manually connected calls Switchboard operator Before we were regularly typing away on touchscreens, phone calls required a little assistance to reach their intended recipient. That’s where the switchboard operators came in. Nicknamed ‘hello girls’, they manually connected callers by inserting physical cords into sockets on a large board. The last of these centres closed in Britain during the ‘70s and in the US during the ‘80s. © Corbis via Getty Images ‘Pin boys’ were braving the bowling lanes before mechanical setters were introduced Bowling pin setter Before the ‘50s and ‘60s, pinsetters or ‘pin boys’ were crucial to executing the perfect evening date for you …