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Wayne Rooney has revealed he would drink alcohol until he passed out to cope with the pressures of professional football in his early 20s.

In a new podcast hosted by former rugby league star Rob Burrow, 38-year-old Rooney said his “release was alcohol” when he faced challenges both on and off the pitch.

“When I was in my early 20s, I’d spend a couple of days at home and wouldn’t move out of the house and drink almost until I passed out,” the former England striker said.

“I didn’t want to be around people because sometimes you feel embarrassed and sometimes you feel like you’ve let people down.

“Ultimately I didn’t know how else to deal with it, so I chose alcohol to try and help me get through that,” Rooney added.

“There were people there for me to speak to but I chose not to do that and tried to deal with it myself.

“When you do that and don’t take the help and guidance of others, you can really be in a low place and I was for a few years with that.

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“Thankfully now I am not afraid to go and speak to people over some issues which I may have.”

The now-Birmingham City manager made his Premier League debut for Everton in 2002 aged 16. He joined Manchester United two years later in a then-record £27m move.

Rooney scored 53 goals for England and is Manchester United‘s all-time leading goalscorer.

File photo dated 10-02-2007 of Sir Alex Ferguson with Wayne Rooney. It's been 10 years since Sir Alex Ferguson's last match in charge of Manchester United. His trophy-laden reign at Manchester United was illuminated by his often fiery rhetoric. On Wayne Rooney's decision to sign a new contract "Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in the field." Issue date: Thursday May 18, 2023.
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Sir Alex Ferguson with Wayne Rooney in 2007

He spent 13 years at Old Trafford before playing for Everton, DC United and Derby.

Rugby legend Burrow and his wife Lindsey are set to interview sporting legends including Jonny Wilkinson and Dame Kelly Holmes during his new seven-part podcast series.

Rob Burrow with his wife Lindsey Burrow and their daughters, Maya, left, and Macy
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Rob Burrow and his wife Lindsey (pictured with their daughters) are set to interview sporting legends

Burrow uses AI technology and a computerised voice to communicate and ‘eye gaze’ technology to quiz his podcast guests.

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Rooney also praised Burrow’s “inspiring” way of dealing with motor neurone disease and referenced his wife Coleen‘s sister Rosie, who died from Rett syndrome aged 14.

“I know first-hand the impact this can have on yourself and the people closest to you,” Rooney said.

“Everyone has to change the way of living and I had that with my sister-in-law who suffered not the same illness, but something as severe.

“Your energy and you staying strong really helps everyone around you. I will always be here, and your family and close friends will always be there, to help you with whatever you need.”

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Police should focus on ‘tackling real crime’, No 10 says, after Met Police halts non-crime hate probes

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All police forces urged to stop recording non-crime hate incidents

Officers should focus on “tackling real crime and policing the streets”, Downing Street has said – after the Metropolitan Police announced it is no longer investigating non-crime hate incidents.

The announcement by Britain’s biggest force on Monday came after it emerged Father Ted creator Graham Linehan will face no further action after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence over three posts he made on X about transgender issues.

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Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said police forces will “get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe” when a review of non-crime hate incidents by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing is published in December.

“The police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets,” he said.

“The home secretary has asked that this review be completed at pace, working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing.

“We look forward to receiving its findings as soon as possible, so that the other forces get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe.”

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He said the government will “always work with police chiefs to make sure criminal law and guidance reflects the common-sense approach we all want to see in policing”.

After Linehan’s September arrest, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers were in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online.

File pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

On Monday, a Met spokesperson said the commissioner had been “clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position”.

The force said the decision to no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents would now “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations”.

Justice minister Sarah Sackman said it is “welcome news” the Met will now be focusing on crimes such as phone snatching, mugging, antisocial behaviour and violent crime.

Asked if other forces should follow the Met’s decision, she said: “I think that other forces need to make the decisions that are right for their communities.

“But I’m sure that communities up and down the country would want that renewed focus on violent crime, on antisocial behaviour, and on actual hate crime.”

The Met said it will still record non-crime hate incidents to use as “valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality”.

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Bob Vylan on ‘death, death to the IDF’ chant: ‘I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays’

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Bob Vylan on 'death, death to the IDF' chant: 'I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays'

Bob Vylan’s frontman has said he does not regret chanting “death, death to the IDF” at Glastonbury – and would do it again.

The outspoken punk duo sparked controversy with their performance at the festival in June, with the broadcast also leading to fierce criticism of the BBC.

But speaking on The Louis Theroux podcast, Bobby Vylan said he stood by the chant, adding: “I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.”

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The US condemned the act’s “hateful tirade” and revoked their visas, with several festivals cancelling their upcoming appearances.

Vylan claimed this backlash is “minimal” compared with what the people of Palestine are going through – with many losing members of their family or forced to flee their homes.

He said: “If I have their support, they’re the people that I’m doing it for, they’re the people that I’m being vocal for, then what is there to regret. Oh, because I’ve upset some right-wing politician or some right-wing media?”

The musician revealed he was taken aback by the uproar caused by the chant, which was described by the prime minister as “appalling hate speech”.

Vylan added: “It wasn’t like we came off stage, and everybody was like (gasps). It’s just normal. We come off stage. It’s normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like: ‘That was fantastic! We loved that!'”

A spokesperson at Mindhouse Productions – which was founded by Theroux and produces The Louis Theroux podcast – told Sky News: “Louis is a journalist with a long history of speaking to controversial figures who may divide opinion. We would suggest people watch or listen to the interview in its entirety to get the full context of the conversation.”

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Calls for Bob Vylan concert to be cancelled

‘The response was disproportionate’

The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit has since found that the broadcast of Bob Vylan’s set breached editorial standards related to harm and offence.

Theroux asked Vylan what he meant by chanting “death to the IDF” – with the musician replying: “It’s so unimportant, and the response to it was so disproportionate.

“What is important is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate.”

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Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

He said he wanted an end to the oppression that the Palestinian people are facing – but argued chanting “end, end the IDF” wouldn’t have caught on because it doesn’t rhyme.

“We are there to entertain, we are there to play music,” Vylan added. “I am a lyricist. ‘Death, death to IDF’ rhymes. Perfect chant.”

He went on to reject claims that their set had contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents that were reported a couple of days later.

“I don’t think I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like ‘Bob Vylan made me do this’. I might go, ‘oof, I’ve had a negative impact here’.”

Vylan’s conversation with Theroux was recorded on 1 October – before the Manchester synagogue attack, and prior to the ceasefire in Gaza coming into effect.

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Gavin Plumb: Man jailed for plotting to rape and murder Holly Willoughby loses appeal against life sentence

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Gavin Plumb: Man jailed for plotting to rape and murder Holly Willoughby loses appeal against life sentence

A security guard jailed for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly Willoughby has lost an appeal against his life sentence.

Gavin Plumb was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years last year after being convicted of soliciting murder and encouraging or assisting others to rape and kidnap.

A trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard that police found bottles of chloroform and an “abduction kit” with cable ties when officers raided the 38-year-old’s flat in Harlow, Essex.

Plumb’s kidnap plan involved attempting to “ambush” Willoughby at her family home, jurors heard.

Plumb argued in his defence that it was just online chat and fantasy.

Police believed Plumb was an 'imminent threat' to Holly Willoughby. Pic: PA
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Police believed Plumb was an ‘imminent threat’ to Holly Willoughby. Pic: PA

He was caught after an undercover police officer in the US infiltrated an online group called Abduct Lovers.

He told the officer, who used the pseudonym David Nelson, that he was “definitely serious” about his plot to kidnap the former This Morning host, leaving him with the impression that there was an “imminent threat” to Willoughby.

Due to the officer’s concern over Plumb’s post, evidence was passed to the FBI, who then contacted police in the UK.

Willoughby, who asked for her victim personal statement to be private, waived her right to anonymity in connection with the charge against Plumb of assisting or encouraging rape.

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