All posts tagged: Dec

Ant and Dec have ‘good arguable case’ over claim consultant made ‘secret profit’ from selling Banksy

Ant and Dec have ‘good arguable case’ over claim consultant made ‘secret profit’ from selling Banksy

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 A judge has ruled that Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have a “good arguable case” after claiming that a consultant made “secret and unauthorised” profit when buying and selling their art – including pieces by Banksy. The TV presenters, best known for fronting Britain’s Got Talent and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, filed the claim in the High Court on Tuesday (3 March). The hosting duo asked for the High Court to order a separate art dealer – Andrew Lilley and his firm Lilley Fine Art – to disclose information about their transactions with the unnamed consultant. They did not accuse Lilley and his firm of any wrongdoing, instead saying that they were “mixed up“ in it and are “likely” to “hold information that will help the applicants uncover the wrongdoing”. open image in gallery Ant and Dec …

Polish Officials Blame Russian Domestic Spy Agency for Dec 29 Cyberattacks

Polish Officials Blame Russian Domestic Spy Agency for Dec 29 Cyberattacks

Jan 30 (Reuters) – Russia’s domestic spy agency was likely responsible ‌for ​cyberattacks late last month on 30 Polish ‌renewable energy facilities, a manufacturing firm and a plant supplying heat for nearly 500,000 customers, ​Polish officials said on Friday. A report by Poland’s Computer Emergency Response Team on the incident – which a Polish minister said was the worst ‍of its kind in years – pointed to ​a team of hackers from Russia’s Federal Security Service, known by its Russian acronym FSB. The hacks were “purely destructive in nature,” the report ​said, comparing them ⁠to arson. “It is worth noting that this period coincided with low temperatures and snowstorms affecting Poland, shortly before New Year’s Eve,” the report said. The Russian aim was to irreversibly destroy data stored on devices within the combined heat and power plant but security software blocked that portion of the attack, according to the report. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to ‌a request for comment. OTHER ANALYSIS POINTS TO RUSSIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE Poland says its critical infrastructure …

Streaming Ratings Dec. 22-28, 2025

Streaming Ratings Dec. 22-28, 2025

After scoring the largest single week streaming viewing total ever with the premiere of its final season, Stranger Things had to settle for just the third-largest week of all time with the release of more episodes on Christmas. The Netflix smash recorded 6.89 billion minutes of viewing for the week of Dec. 22-28. That trails only two other weeks in the five-year history of Nielsen’s streaming rankings — both of which are also owned by Stranger Things. The season five premiere week in late November ranks first with 8.46 billion minutes. From the week of its final season premiere through Dec. 28, Stranger Things recorded more than 25 billion viewing minutes in the United States. That figure alone would make it the top original streaming series of the year and put the show in the top seven among all titles, to say nothing of its tallies for the previous 47 weeks of 2025. Apple TV’s Pluribus set a new high of 483 million minutes of watch time for the week of its first season finale. The …

Ant and Dec: Declan Donnelly on why he’s proud of Ant McPartlin after drink-driving charge

Ant and Dec: Declan Donnelly on why he’s proud of Ant McPartlin after drink-driving charge

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 Declan Donnelly has said he is “proud” of Ant McPartlin for overcoming his struggles after being charged with drink driving. Donnelly’s long-time presenting partner had consumed more than twice the legal alcohol limit when his car collided with two others in March 2018. He was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months. McPartlin stepped away from his presenting duties, with Holly Willoughby stepping in to host that year’s series of I’m a Celebrity with Donnelly, who was left “angry” by his co-host’s behaviour. But Donnelly, who launched to fame in 1989 alongside McPartlin on TV series Byker Grove, has now commended his co-star’s decision to step away from the spotlight, during which time he went to rehab, in a new interview. “What I most admire is that with the challenges he’s faced, especially over the last few years, Ant …

Ant And Dec Apologise Over ‘Triggering’ Podcast Promo Clip

Ant And Dec Apologise Over ‘Triggering’ Podcast Promo Clip

Ant and Dec have issued a public apology after facing backlash over a social media post that some critics described as inadvertently “triggering”. Last week, the Britain’s Got Talent and I’m A Celebrity hosts announced they were launching a new media platform Belta Box, which would include their new podcast Hanging Out with Ant and Dec. To promote the new venture, the pair appeared in a promotional clip which showed their feet dangling in air, before the camera panned up to reveal them hanging on a washing line, in a nod to the title of their podcast. However, shortly after the ad – which has now been pulled – went live, some took issue with the imagery, which was branded “insensitive” by some who felt the opening shot was reminiscent of suicide imagery. Over the weekend, the duo said in a joint statement (as reported by BBC News): “We did not mean to cause any offence with this promo video and we are sorry if it upset anyone.” Ant and Dec in a new promo …

Ant and Dec apologise for ‘suicide imagery’ podcast advert

Ant and Dec apologise for ‘suicide imagery’ podcast advert

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 Ant and Dec have issued an apology and pulled an advert for their new podcast, which some viewers claimed featured suicide imagery. To promote their podcast, called Hanging Out with Ant and Dec, the Geordie pair posted a video to their social media depicting both men hanging from a washing line. However, within hours of the video going live, some observers argued that the imagery in the ad – particularly the initial shot of pairs of feet dangling in mid-air – was insensitive and suggestive of suicide. “That Ant and Dec podcast promo ad is (accidentally I suspect) about as misguided as you can get,” one person wrote on X. “Did absolutely nobody check what the still image looked like before they pressed send?” The mental health advocate Katie Waissel, who shot to fame on The X Factor, also expressed concern …

Ant and Dec announce new hosting venture together away from TV

Ant and Dec announce new hosting venture together away from TV

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 Beloved television presenters Ant and Dec are set to launch their inaugural podcast series, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, offering fans a new, intimate way to connect with the iconic Geordie duo. This venture marks a significant expansion for the pair, renowned for fronting some of Britain’s most popular entertainment shows. The series promises an intimate experience, inviting listeners to join Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as they catch up, reminisce, and share anecdotes. Fans can also seek advice from the presenters and revisit cherished television moments. Dec explained the inspiration: What better way to launch Belta Box than with our first ever podcast series! We asked our audience if we did a podcast what would they like it be about, and they said we just want you guys to hang out. So that’s what we’re doing! Ant & I …

Streaming Ratings Dec. 1-7, 2025

Streaming Ratings Dec. 1-7, 2025

A documentary series about Sean “Diddy” Combs was a huge draw for Netflix in the first week of December. Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which detailed a host of past and new allegations against the music-business mogul, drew 2.28 million minutes of viewing in the United States from Dec. 1-7. In most weeks of 2025, that would have led the Nielsen streaming charts, but The Reckoning came in second place overall behind Stranger Things. The first half of the latter show’s fifth and final season fell off from a record-shattering premiere week, but Stranger Things still recorded 4.38 billion minutes of watch time, the third highest weekly total for any title of 2025. Only the previous week for Stranger Things (8.46 billion minutes) and Squid Game in early January (4.6 billion) recorded more viewing in a single week. Landman had another big week for Paramount+ with 1.47 billion viewing minutes, up from 1.34 billion a week earlier. Season two of the Texas-set series is running 27 percent ahead of the same point in season one, Nielsen …

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 31 #668

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 31 #668

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle could be a challenge. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on. I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.  If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far Hint for today’s Strands puzzle Today’s Strands theme is: One good turn deserves another. If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A merry-go-round does this. Clue words to unlock in-game hints Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I …

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers for Dec. 31 #934

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers for Dec. 31 #934

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tough purple category once again. But the yellow group is very timely, and pretty easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers. The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak. Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time Hints for today’s Connections groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: …