Gary Glitter will stay in prison after the Parole Board refused the disgraced singer’s bid to be released.

Glitter, 81, was recalled to jail less than six weeks after he was released halfway through his 16-year sentence in 2023 for breaching his licence conditions by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.

He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in 2015 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980.

The Parole Board last year said it was “not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public” after a hearing held behind closed doors.

A spokesman on Tuesday said his release was refused again following a “paper review”.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community,” a statement said.

“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will be eligible for a further review at a date set by the Ministry of Justice. His sentence expires in February 2031.

He was made bankrupt earlier this year after failing to pay more than £500,000 in damages to a woman who sued him for abusing her when she was 12 years old.

Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, who represented the woman, told Sky News the Parole Board has made “the right decision”.

He added: “My client is relieved at this ruling but apprehensive about having to go through the merry-go-round of Gadd coming up for parole again, and the fear of him being let out on licence.

“This is unfair on victims and it would be better if they were assured that he would serve the rest of his sentence.”

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Glitter was first jailed for four months in 1999 after he admitted possessing around 4,000 indecent images of children.

He was expelled from Cambodia in 2002, and in March 2006 was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam, where he spent two-and-a-half years in prison.

Glitter was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023 after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.

But he was back behind bars weeks later after reportedly trying to access the dark web and images of children.

Kim Woodburn – a former cleaner who found fame presenting the hit TV show How Clean Is Your House? – has died.

Woodburn, who was 83, later became a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing as runner-up.

Her manager said in a statement: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness.

“Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person.

“Her husband, Peter, is heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate.

“We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career.

“We kindly ask that Kim’s husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve.

“We will not be releasing any further details.”

On Tuesday, her husband shared a video montage of photos of Woodburn over the years, starting when she was just four years old, with the message: “My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx”

Known for her trademark tight, plaited bun, Kim was largely blind in her right eye, and had poor sight in her left eye, and earlier this year had told her followers she was undergoing emergency eye surgery.

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Woodburn, who had been selling video greetings to fans, shared her last Instagram post in February, when she posted a message saying “Kim is unable to record any further videos for the foreseeable future due to a health problem”.

She wrote: “No more videos for now, my loves, I need to get better!”

Woodburn, born Patricia Mary in Hampshire, left a turbulent home life aged 16, moving to Liverpool to become a live-in cleaner.

She revealed in her 2006 autobiography that, at the age of 23, she prematurely gave birth to a stillborn son and buried him in a park.

The revelation in her book led to a police inquiry, but no action was taken by officers.

In the same year as the stillbirth, she changed her name to Kim – after American actress Kim Novak.

Years later, she was scouted by a TV company looking for a cleaner with an engaging personality to front How Clean is Your House?

Paired with Scottish cleaner Aggie MacKenzie, the two professional cleaners fronted the show – a ratings hit and a pioneer for the home cleaning genre – from 2003 to 2009.

Woodburn went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of here! and E4’s Celebrity Cooking School, as well as regularly contributing to ITV’s This Morning and Loose Women.

She also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, Celebrity Come Dine With Me and A Place In The Sun.

A doctor in the US has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.

He is among five people charged in connection with the death of Friends star Perry, who was found dead in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023.

The medical examiner ruled that ketamine and other factors caused him to lose consciousness and drown.

The actor, 54, had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.

Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty.

About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.

The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.

He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.