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Jimmy Carr, Miriam Margolyes and Shrek The Musical are among the acts to have been affected by theatre closures linked to RAAC concerns.

Several venues around the UK have gone dark for the next few weeks as investigations take place into the use of RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) – the building material at the centre of a government row that has been found to be potentially dangerous.

Thousands of pupils in England are already facing disruption at the start of term this week after RAAC was identified at more than 100 schools.

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Full list of RAAC-affected schools in England

Now, several performance venues have been forced to close their doors around the UK as a result of the snowballing crisis.

In Northampton, the Royal & Derngate Theatre has been forced to close its doors until at least the end of the month so repairs can be carried out, affecting shows from the likes of comedians Jimmy Carr, Ivo Graham and Seann Walsh, as well as broadcasters Gyles Brandreth and Miriam Margolyes.

Carr and Margolyes’s shows have also been postponed in Cardiff, at St David Hall, which has closed after recent changes in advice surrounding RAAC, while Shrek The Musical’s tour has been forced to miss out The Sands Centre in Carlisle.

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Shows at the Core Theatre in Solihull have also been cancelled due to closures, as have performances at the Forum Theatre in Romiley, in Greater Manchester.

The Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh, East Lothian, closed back in March after “structural issues” were discovered at the venue due to RAAC, but repairs have not yet been made.

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The National Theatre in London has said RAAC is present in a small number of areas backstage, but will safely remain open after it was decided no remedial work needed to take place.

RAAC has caused political headaches for the government, with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan accused of opening “Pandora’s Box” by setting standards for schools that other sectors are being forced to follow.

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Entertainment

Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault

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Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul 'took her soul' during alleged sexual assault

An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.

Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault

Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.

She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.

Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.

“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”

Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.

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Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court during his rape and sexual assault re-trial in New York.
Pic Reuters
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Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters

The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.

However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.

Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.

“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.

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Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.

Miriam Haley, an accuser testifying at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial, arrives to the courtroom after a break in New York, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP

Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.

Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.

Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing

An antiques expert from the TV show Bargain Hunt has been charged by police following an investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko ‘Ochuko’ Ojiri, 53, is accused of eight counts of “failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector”, the Met Police said.

The force said he was the first person to be charged with that specific offence under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Mr Ojiri, from west London, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

It comes “following an investigation into terrorist financing” and relates to the period from October 2020 to December 2021, a police spokesperson said.

They added that the probe had been carried out in partnership with Treasury officials, HMRC and the Met’s Arts & Antiques Unit.

Mr Ojiri, who police described as an “art dealer”, has been on Bargain Hunt since 2019.

He has also appeared on the BBC‘s Antiques Road Trip programme.

In a statement, the BBC said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

A man has been charged after allegedly harassing Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her home, prosecutors have said.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, of New Albany, Mississippi, is accused of having repeatedly sent the Friends star unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages since 2023.

The 48-year-old is then alleged to have crashed his grey Chrysler PT Cruiser through the front gate of Aniston’s home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles early on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the collision caused major damage.

Police have said Aniston was at home at the time.

A security guard stopped Carwyle on her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.

There were no reports of anyone being injured.

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Carwyle has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism, prosecutors said on Thursday.

He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest on Monday, is set to appear in court on Thursday.

His bail has been set at $150,000 dollars (£112,742).

He is facing up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.

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“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorise others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Mr Hochman said in a statement.

Aniston bought her mid-century mansion in Bel Air on a 3.4-acre site for about 21 million dollars (£15.78m) in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.

She became one of the biggest stars on television in her 10 years on NBC’s Friends.

Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more.

She has appeared in several Hollywood films and currently stars in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

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