A statue of plasticine film stars Wallace and Gromit is to be unveiled in their creator Nick Park’s home town of Preston.
They will be depicted as they appeared in 1993 film The Wrong Trousers, alongside a bronze bench.
The bench has been designed by Park and local sculptor Peter Hodgkinson, and is being made at the Castle Fine Arts Foundry in Wales.
Image: Wallace And Gromit have received critical acclaim around the world
It is hoped it will be installed in August.
The sculptures of the comedy duo, whose films also include A Grand Day Out and A Close Shave, are being funded by money Preston received from the government’s national towns fund initiative.
Advertisement
The idea of the fund is to encourage people back into town and city centres following the coronavirus pandemic.
Park said: “It is such a great honour for me, as a proud Prestonian, to see my characters Wallace and Gromit cast in bronze and given pride of place in my home town.”
Image: The late actor Peter Sallis was the voice of Wallace
John Chesworth, chair of the Preston Partnership and the Preston Towns Fund Board, said: “Nick is one of our most famous living Prestonians and it’s great that we can celebrate his achievements with this new sculpture.
“Wallace and Gromit are familiar to millions and the films are hugely popular with all age groups.
“We very much look forward to welcoming the duo to Preston and to inviting people to come into the city centre to visit them.”
Jamie Lynn Spears has become the second contestant to leave I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on medical grounds.
A spokesperson for the ITV show confirmed to Sky News that Britney Spears‘ sister had left the jungle on Wednesday afternoon.
She follows Grace Dent, whose departure was confirmed on Saturday. She told her fellow campmates that her “heart is broken” after leaving the programme early.
Image: Grace Dent was the first contestant to leave the show this year. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
“Jamie Lynn Spears has left I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! on medical grounds,” the spokesperson said.
“She’s been a fantastic campmate who has triumphed at trials and bonded well with her fellow celebrities.”
Sky News understands the 32-year-old has now left the camp and her fellow campmates are aware that she won’t be returning.
Her last appearance on the show will be on Wednesday night’s episode.
Spears had threatened to quit last week after just a few days when she became emotional because she was missing her children.
During the episode on 21 November, she told her campmates she was finding it difficult to be so far away from her family.
Advertisement
Image: Spears had spoken about missing her children while on the show. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Her emotions bubbled up further when four celebrities were tasked with a challenge to win the contestants’ luxury items, with hers being a photo of her two daughters.
Spears also appeared to use the camp phone – which normally only rings during challenges – in last night’s episode to try to call her family in the US.
During her time on the show, Spears also discussed her relationship with her sister Britney, who she said she had talked to before entering the jungle.
Spears revealed the pair had a “very complicated upbringing” which lead to them having issues with each other.
Image: Jamie Lynn Spears and Britney Spears in 2006
However, she added that she felt Britney would be “worried” about her in the jungle and believed she would be “checking in” regularly.
“She’s (Britney) a good big sister, she is,” Spears said. Yeah, I love her… Me and her throw down. The world’s seen that.
“I’ve learned to stop talking about it publicly, but you know what, families fight. Listen, we just do it better than most.”
Spears also discussed the challenges she faced after falling pregnant as a teenager while starring on TV series Zoey 101, and how she became Catholic after her daughter survived a freak accident where she nearly drowned in a family pond.
A journalist who spotted that a new book appeared to name a royal at the centre of a racism row says he was called by the publisher within an hour of writing his article.
Rick Evers, who has been a royal correspondent in the Netherlands for 14 years, told Sky News he published an article with key claims made in Endgame at around midday on Tuesday.
By 1pm, he says the publisher had been in touch to ask him to delete the article over “legal problems” in the book, written by Omid Scobie, who some commentators have said is an ally of Harry and Meghan.
The book appeared to name two royals who the Sussexes claim raised concern over the skin colour of Meghan’s then-unborn son, Archie – but only in the version sold in the Netherlands.
“I think it took an hour for the publisher to phone me to ask me to delete the whole article and to get it offline, because there are some legal problems with it,” he said.
“And, of course, I was very curious – what was it? They couldn’t say it, because there were names mentioned.
More on Royal Family
Related Topics:
“The only thing they had to say [was] that all of the books will be destroyed from the Dutch versions. So, there was something wrong.”
Image: The book claimed Kate ‘ignored Meghan’s cries for help’
Mr Scobie’s book claims that Meghan wrote a letter to King Charles, who at the time was the Prince of Wales, expressing concern about unconscious bias in the Royal Family.
Advertisement
This came after the Duchess of Sussex claimed in her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that a member of the Royal Family raised “concerns” about Archie’s skin colour.
The version being sold in English-speaking countries does not name anyone, with Mr Scobie stating: “Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were.”
But early readers in the Netherlands spotted the Dutch version names an individual.
Mr Evers – who says he did not realise the Dutch version was any different until after he had published an article – said he does not believe it is down to a “mistranslation”, as Mr Scobie has suggested.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:18
Publishers Xander say there had been an ‘error in the Dutch translation’ of the book, originally written in English by the author.
“If you compare the Dutch version and the English version it is quite clear that there is just a paragraph missing,” he said.
“One of them is replaced by some kind of sentence that Omid is not allowed to say the names because of legal problems to mention them, so it’s very clear that something has been erased.”
He said he suspects the original manuscript was checked by a legal department, who told the publishers the name should “come out”.
“So, I think they sent it to all the translators all over the world, who were translating the manuscript, except for one country – the Netherlands,” he said, adding he does not believe the name was included on purpose.
Mr Evers said he was one of two journalists in the Netherlands to receive an advanced copy of the book – none in the UK did.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Mr Scobie told chat show RTL Boulevard he wrote the English version and “there was no version from me in which names were mentioned”.
Xander, the publishers, said the books are being withdrawn from sale – though Mr Evers says some copies can still be bought in shops.
“[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale,” Xander said in a statement. “An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified.”
Harry and Meghan have always refused to reveal who they claim raised concerns about Archie’s skin colour before he was born, but they did clarify it was not Prince Philip or the late Queen.
Former children’s television presenter Katy Ashworth has accused her ex-partner of being verbally and physically abusive to her, including when she was pregnant, a court has heard.
A High Court judge concluded Ben Alcott, a television programme director based in Australia, poses an “obvious and continuing risk” to his partners.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot made her findings after examining evidence at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
The pair had become embroiled in a dispute centred on a child, who lives with Ms Ashworth.
The judge said she had overseen a “fact-finding hearing” after she made a “number of allegations of domestic abuse” against Mr Alcott.
Mr Alcott “denies all the allegations” made by Ms Ashworth, who presented shows on the BBC childrens’ TV channel CBeebies.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said her findings were “likely to have a bearing” on future contact between Mr Alcott and the child.
The judge said the litigation began six years ago when Mr Alcott “applied for contact” with the child.
Ms Ashworth accused Mr Alcott of being “controlling, abusive, manipulative and coercive” and said the behaviour “escalated over the years”.
“The mother alleges that the father controlled her work, he would be verbally abusive to her and accused her of being paranoid and crazy,” the judge said in her ruling.
“He is said to have monitored the mother’s movements by installing spy software onto her computer and he was verbally and physically abusive to her at times including when she was pregnant.”
‘Compelling’ evidence
The judge added: “The mother says the father started a campaign within the media and ensured that Fathers For Justice worked to have the mother sacked by the BBC and organised protests outside the BBC against her.
“Another threat the mother alleges is that the father implied he was going to use naked photographs he had of her.”
The judge said she found Ms Ashworth to be “credible” and her evidence “compelling”.
There had been “numerous complaints of abuse” made to Australian police by other partners of Mr Alcott, the judge said.
“There was an abundance of evidence in relation to his abusive approach to women,” the judge added.
“This is not a man who is just assertive, stubborn and plain selfish, this is a man who is an obvious and continuing risk to his partners.”