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Glynis Johns, the actress who played Mrs Banks in 1964 film Mary Poppins, has died.

The British actress, born in South Africa, was 100 years old.

She died on Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles of natural causes, her manager said.

Mitch Clem added: “Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives.”

Glynis Johns (centre) starred in the film Mary Poppins. Pic: Rex/Everett/Shutterstock
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Glynis Johns (centre) starred in the film Mary Poppins. Pic: Rex/Everett/Shutterstock

Glynis Johns in Mary Poppins in 1964. Pic: Rex/Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock
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Glynis Johns in Mary Poppins in 1964. Pic: Rex/Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock

“She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely,” he said.

“Today is a somber day for Hollywood. Not only do we mourn the passing of our dear Glynis, but we mourn the end of the golden age of Hollywood.”

Johns is best known for appearing in Mary Poppins, in which she played suffragette Mrs Winifred Banks, the mother who reconnects with her children thanks to Julie Andrews’ magical nanny.

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Her star turn in the classic film included her performance of the rousing song “Sister Suffragette”.

Johns in an image from her role in the 1951 film 'The Magic Box'
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Johns as her character May Jones from the 1951 film The Magic Box’

Johns arriving for the premiere of the 'The Magic Box' at the Odeon in Leicester Square
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Johns arriving for the premiere of The Magic Box at the Odeon in Leicester Square

Wearing a blue dress with white gloves, a straw hat and a ‘Votes for Women’ sash, Johns sings: “We’re clearly soldiers in petticoats, and dauntless crusaders for women’s votes.”

Mary Poppins won five Oscars from 13 nominations and remains one of the most enduringly popular movies made by Walt Disney.

Throughout her decades-spanning career, Johns took on multi-faceted roles and became known for being a perfectionist.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in playing the role on only one level,” she said in 1990. “The whole point of first-class acting is to make a reality of it. To be real. And I have to make sense of it in my own mind in order to be real.”

Johns played Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, for which she won a Tony in 1973 for Stephen Sondheim’s Send in the Clowns – but lost the part in the film version to Elizabeth Taylor in 1977.

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Glynis Johns with Robert Newton during a script rehearsal on the set of 'The Beachcomber' in 1954
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Glynis Johns with Robert Newton during a script rehearsal on the set of The Beachcomber in 1954

Glynis Johns in 1982. Pic: AP
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Glynis Johns in 1982. Pic: AP

Sondheim wrote Send in the Clowns to suit Johns’ distinctive, husky voice and she later said: “I’ve had other songs written for me, but nothing like that. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given in the theatre.”

In 1960, she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for The Sundowners. Her final acting role was in the 1999 film Superstar, starring Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell.

Johns was the fourth generation of a theatrical family. She was born to her actor father and pianist mother in South Africa, as they were on tour there at the time of her birth.

By the age of 12, she was a dancer and became an actor in London’s West End by the time she was 14 years old.

Her big screen breakthrough came when she played the titular mermaid in the 1948 comedy Miranda.

Johns had one son, who died in 2007. She is survived by a grandson Thomas who lives in Paris, and her three great-grandchildren.

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Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

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Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.

Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.

Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.

In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”

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Teenager dies in industrial estate fire

Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.

Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.

In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.

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David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.

Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.

He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.

A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.

Pic: Gofundme
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Pic: Gofundme

Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”

One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”

She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.

They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.

A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.

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Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

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Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.

Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.

The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.

Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.

But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.

From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.

Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky's Rob Harris outside parliament
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Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky’s Rob Harris outside parliament

Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.

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Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.

“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.

“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”

A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.

‘In denial’

Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.

Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.

Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.

In January, David Beckham lent his support to calls for greater support for footballers affected by dementia.

One of the amendments says that “the industry rather than the public should bear the financial burden”.

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A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.

An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.

The PFA and Premier League declined to comment.

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

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Counter terror officers raid property

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

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The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

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As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.

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