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Christopher Eccleston says he’s always preferred working with female directors thanks to the “safer environment” they create to work in.

Speaking on the Women in Film and TV Awards red carpet, the 58-year-old actor said that while there has been improvement in gender equality within the industry over the years, there’s still “a long way to go”.

He told Sky News: “I have a 90-year-old mum and she’s guided my life entirely. I’ve always been drawn to working with female directors and theatre… I’ve always found it a more playful environment, a safer environment.

“Patriarchy cocks everybody up. It did its damage to me as well, you know. So, having a daughter of nine, I’ve been seeing the world through her lens, and I certainly feel, for instance, my mum’s called Elsie, she’s 90. My daughter’s called Esme, she’s nine. The world Esme is going into is so much better in terms of equality than it was for my mum. So, it’s nice to see that.”

Best known for playing the ninth incarnation of Doctor Who in long-running BBC sci-fi, Eccleston won a National Television Award for the role, but only stayed for one series.

As for current roles, he said: “I’m playing a lot of toxic men at the moment.”

It’s a sign, he says, that more women are involved in the production from the top down and exploring issues male programme makers might be less inclined to bring to the screen.

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Away from gender equality, he says class diversity in the TV and film industry is still a big issue too.

Looking ahead to the next generation, Eccleston says: “My daughter, I’ve told her that she must run the National Theatre. I said if she wants to act, she’s got to direct and produce as well.

“Because what I understood, you know, if I had my time again, being a working-class person, I would go for a position of power rather than just acting. So, I’ve said to her, she must run the National Theatre or be prime minister.

“You don’t just want to be an actor. That’s particularly if you’re a woman, you need to produce direct, and I think she will probably do it.”

Eccleston’s own extensive acting career, spanning four decades, has seen him perform on stage, screen and in film.

As well as the titular role in Doctor Who, he also starred in US supernatural drama The Leftovers and his movie work has seen him collaborate with directors including Danny Boyle and Michael Winterbottom.

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On stage, he has worked with the National Theatre several times across his career, as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company and Bristol Old Vic.

As for writing, directing or producing himself, Eccleston is clear, saying, “No, I’ll stay in front of the camera”.

And while he believes writers are “the most important part of our industry,” he admits, “I don’t have the discipline to write,” adding, “never cross the road without a bible”.

As for what the future holds for him, he jokes: “[I’ll be] playing increasingly toxic men probably. There’s a lot of them about at the moment.”

The Women in Film and TV Awards, held at the Hilton on London’s Park Lane, celebrates the UK’s most talented women both in front of and behind the camera.

This year’s winners included sports presenter and former tennis player Sue Barker, who was honoured with a lifetime achievement award, Davina McCall, who won best presenter and We Are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor who took home best director.

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Could Saoirse Ronan finally win her first Oscar?

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Could Saoirse Ronan finally win her first Oscar?

Saoirse Ronan has become one of the Academy Awards’ anomalies after being nominated four times without taking home a statuette.

The American-born Irish star received her first Oscars nod at the age of just 13, when she featured in the best supporting actress category for her role in Atonement.

Since then, despite being shortlisted three times for best actress for Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women, she has never won.

Now, the 30-year-old is set to compete in both the lead and supporting actress categories at the 2025 awards for her new films The Outrun and Steve McQueen’s Blitz.

Saoirse Ronan stars in The Outrun
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Saoirse Ronan stars in The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK

If she secures one or both nominations, she would become the youngest actor to receive five, or six, nods.

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun, which is inspired by the life of writer Amy Liptrot, follows a Scottish woman struggling with alcoholism while living in fast-paced London.

In a bid to maintain her sobriety, she returns home to Orkney and finds herself in the process.

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“Nora really wanted us to have our input in terms of who these characters were and situations that we would find them in”, Ronan told Sky News.

“We had a script that was written and the structure of it was there, but we were sort of able to fill in the gaps a little bit.”

Saoirse Ronan stars in The Outrun
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The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK

The Scottish drama marks the first time Ronan has worked as a producer on a project and she says she took a lot from the experience.

She said: “There is a lot going on behind the scenes that actors are protected from, and sometimes I think it would be valuable for an actor to know the drama that exists when they’re not around.

“I think it might make people behave a little bit better and to know that it is sort of like a domino effect when there’s one thing that’s out of place, it really will affect everything else by you not getting on to a call at a certain time.”

Saoirse Ronan stars in The Outrun
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The Outrun. Pic: StudioCanal UK

She said it gave her a new appreciation for the craft.

“It’s very difficult to get an independent movie made and to try and source the money needed to just even pay people is difficult sometimes.

“So, yes, it’s just having an awareness of and the graft involved and that has definitely made me appreciate the movies that I’m on so much more where I am just an actor and I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff at all.”

The film also stars The Lazarus Project’s Paapa Essiedu as her boyfriend Daynin.

Battling with the person she has become, her character Rona returns to the Orkney Islands to try to reconnect with nature.

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The Oscar nominee said sea swimming at a remote location was therapeutic for the cast and crew.

“We finished [shooting] on Papa Westray, where we had to have a micro crew. There’s 90 inhabitants on the whole island.

“We stayed in people’s homes because there’s no hotels or anything like that. We ate together every night. We walked to work like it was a very stripped back experience in terms of filmmaking.

“And I think that was sort of felt like art imitating life a little bit after all the chaos of the beginning of the shoot. To have that at the end was wonderful.”

The Outrun is in cinemas now.

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

Pop star Lana Del Rey has married her alligator tour guide partner in Louisiana, according to reports.

The singer, 39, and Jeremy Dufrene, 49, are said to have obtained a marriage licence in Lafourche parish on Monday and had their wedding three days later.

Footage obtained by the Daily Mail appears to show Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woodridge Grant, wearing a white dress where Mr Dufrene works as a tour guide in Des Allemandes, south of New Orleans.

Del Rey has not commented on the reported wedding.

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She met Mr Dufrene in 2019, posting pictures of her on one of his tours with the caption: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x.”

Arthur’s Air Boat Tours gives guided tours through the local swamps, where its website says visitors are likely to see “300 species of birds” and “alligators up close and personal”.

Mr Dufrene’s profile page says he previously worked seven days a week at a chemical plant – when he would “shrimp on vacation days”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it adds.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

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The couple were pictured together at Reading and Leeds festival this summer where Del Rey headlined.

She previously dated Scottish singer Barrie-James O’Neill for three years and was last linked to a police officer called Sean Larkin.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with further sexual assault allegations after a woman filed a lawsuit in New York.

In the fresh civil case, the woman – identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claims she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul’s homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.

It follows a series of similar legal cases brought by women against Combs, 54, who was arrested at a hotel in New York last week on sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

The latest lawsuit was filed on Friday against Combs, his companies and several associates, and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harm.

The woman claims she met Combs abroad in 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through to July this year.

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Rappers dodge Diddy question

She says she was often coerced and harassed into travelling to Combs’ homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, and during every visit the rapper would make her “perform a show” for him.

In one encounter alleged to have taken place in July 2022, the woman claims she blacked out after being forced to take drugs that included ketamine.

She later allegedly took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive. She said an associate of the music producer repeatedly demanded her to get an abortion. The lawsuit states she had a miscarriage.

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Diddy ‘didn’t do these things’ – lawyer

The woman, who is being represented by lawyers Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations.

She claims Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.

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“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” Ms Napoli said in a statement.

Combs has been facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging since November 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but remains jailed, having been denied bail. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

A lawyer for Combs did not respond to the allegations made in Friday’s lawsuit when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.

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