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Elijah Wood and other Lord Of The Rings cast members have paid tribute to their co-star Bernard Hill, who died on Sunday aged 79.

Hill played King Theoden in the Oscar-winning fantasy franchise directed by Sir Peter Jackson.

Wood, who played Frodo Baggins, said on X: “So long to our friend, our king. We will never forget you.”

He also shared a quote from JRR Tolkien‘s novel, on which the films are based, writing: “For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”

Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry Brandybuck in the trilogy, wrote: “The Broken king has passed to the grey havens but he will always be remembered. #ripbernard.”

Hill joined the franchise’s cast for the second film in the series, 2002’s The Two Towers, which won two Academy Awards for best sound editing and best visual effects.

He returned to the franchise for 2003’s The Return Of The King, which picked up 11 Oscars, including best picture and best director for Sir Peter.

The actor had been due to attend Comic Con in Liverpool over the weekend but the event announced on Saturday that he had to withdraw at the last minute because of his partner becoming “very ill”.

The post on X added: “He sends his sincere apologies and thanks you all for your understanding.”

Later footage from the event shows Hill’s co-stars paying tribute to him on stage, with Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, saying: “He was intrepid, he was gruff, he was irascible.”

Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin “Pippin” Took, said: “We were watching the movies and I said to Dom, I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did.”

Actors (L to R) Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill and Elijah Wood pose for photographers as they arrive at the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures 2003 annual awards gala in New York City, January 13, 2004. The group from the film "Lord of the Rings" and was presented the award for Best Acting by an Ensemble. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen PP04010037 JC
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Lord of the Rings stars (L to R) Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill and Elijah Wood in 2003. Pic: Reuters

Hill first made a name for himself as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s BBC drama series Boys From The Blackstuff, about five unemployed men, which aired in 1982.

The role earned him a BAFTA TV nomination in 1983, the same year the show picked up the BAFTA for best drama series.

He went on to play Captain Edward Smith in the Oscar-winning 1997 epic Titanic, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Hill as Captain Edward Smith in Titanic. Pic: Shutterstock
Image:
Hill as Captain Edward Smith in Titanic. Pic: Shutterstock

In the 2015 BBC adaptation of the Hilary Mantel novel Wolf Hall – about the court of Henry VIII – he played the Duke of Norfolk, uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

He can currently be seen in the second series of BBC drama The Responder starring Martin Freeman, which began on Sunday night.

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Bernard Hill dies aged 79

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, described him as an “incredible talent” who “blazed a trail across the screen” during his career.

“From Boys From The Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC.

“Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”

Hill in Return of the King. Pic: Shutterstock
Image:
Hill in Return of the King. Pic: Shutterstock

Actress and singer Barbara Dickson, who starred with him in a musical based on The Beatles, described him as a “marvellous actor”.

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Alongside a picture of them together, she wrote on X: “It’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill.

“We worked together in John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, (by) Willy Russell marvellous show 1974-1975.

“A really marvellous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

Meanwhile, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Boys from the Blackstuff was massive in my early life. God love you, Bernard Hill.”

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘kidnapped aide at gunpoint’ to confront rival rapper Kid Cudi, court hears

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs 'kidnapped aide at gunpoint' to confront rival rapper Kid Cudi, court hears

Sean “Diddy” Combs kidnapped a former aide at gunpoint to join him as he attempted to confront love rival rapper Kid Cudi, his sex-trafficking trial has been told.

Capricorn Clark, who worked for the Bad Boy Records co-founder in different roles on and off for several years, told the court he banged on her door and told her: “Get dressed, we’re going to kill Mescudi.”

Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, last week testified himself about the alleged incident in December 2011.

Ms Clark became tearful a few times as she gave evidence – which marked the start of the third week of the high-profile trial. She told the court her situation working for the hip-hop mogul was “complicated”.

Combs, 55, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, is accused of subjecting his former long-term partner Cassie and others to years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 10 – as it happened

Sean 'Diddy' Combs watches as his former assistant Capricorn Clark is questioned by prosecutor Mitzi Steiner at his sex trafficking trial in New York on 27 May 2025. Pic: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters
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Ms Clark became tearful a few times as she gave evidence. Pic: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

While giving her own evidence in the first week of the trial, Cassie told jurors she dated Cudi briefly during a difficult period in her on-off relationship with Combs.

On Tuesday, Ms Clark said she warned Cassie about seeing Cudi, saying she took her to buy a burner phone as she thought it could be dangerous given how Combs might react. “The way she was moving, she was going to get us all killed,” Ms Clark said.

Combs arrived at her home with a gun in his hand on the morning of the attempted confrontation with Cudi, she told the court, and looked “furious”.

She says she told him she did not want to go with him, to which he allegedly replied: “I don’t give a f**k what you want to do.”

Rapper Kid Cudi leaves Federal Court after testifying at the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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Rapper Kid Cudi gave evidence last week. Pic: AP/ Richard Drew

Ms Clark said she had never seen “anything like this before”, but got dressed and left with Combs in a black Cadillac to head to the property in the Hollywood Hills.

She said she waited in the car as Combs went into the residence, and called Cassie to warn her. The rapper had her “with a gun and brought me to Cudi’s house to kill him”, she said she told her.

Cudi could be heard in the background of the call, she said, asking: “He’s in my house?”

After the incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs warned her and Cassie not to speak to police and threatened to “kill all you” if they did not convince Cudi not to either.

In the aftermath of this incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs “came at” Cassie with “100% full force”, repeatedly kicking her while she crouched “more and more” into a foetal position and cried “silently”.

The rapper told Ms Clark that if she tried to intervene, “he was going to f**k me up too”, she said.

Janice Combs, mother of Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrives at court.
Pic: Reuters
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Diddy’s mother Janice Combs was in court to support him again. Pic: Reuters

Earlier in her testimony, she told the court about the start of her employment with Combs and his label Bad Boy Records in 2004.

She said after he discovered she had previously worked for Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row Records – the West Coast rival to East Coast Bad Boy – he told her “if anything happened, he would have to kill me”.

Ms Clark said she perceived this as a “very serious” threat. She also told the court about another alleged incident just a few weeks into the job, when some diamond jewellery on loan to Combs went missing.

She told the court she was taken to a building in Manhattan and forced to repeatedly take lie detector tests over five days.

Sean "Diddy" Combs speaks with his legal team before court begins for the day at Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 27, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
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Combs with his legal team before court began for the day. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg


The man who carried out the test told her that if she failed, “they’re going to throw you in the East River”, she said.

Combs was not present for the tests and never spoke to her about them, she said, when questioned by defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

During her testimony, Ms Clark mentioned an incident involving fellow rapper 50 Cent’s manager, after both 50 Cent and Combs had done interviews for MTV.

Combs mentioned to the manager that they had some issues and told him, “I like guns”, she said, which she perceived as a vague threat.

Read more:
Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Ms Clark also described attempting to leave Combs’s home in Miami on one occasion in 2006, when she was allegedly told to “get the f**k back here” by the rapper.

According to Ms Clark, he told her: “Your problem is you want a life, and you can’t have that here.”

The trial continues tomorrow, with evidence expected from LA police and fire officers.

If convicted, Combs could face between 15 years and life in prison.

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Meghan speaks about difficulties balancing business and motherhood

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Meghan speaks about difficulties balancing business and motherhood

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about the challenges of balancing being an entrepreneur and a mother.

Meghan, speaking on the final episode of her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, made the comments while talking with her guest Sara Blakely – mother of four children, and founder of shapewear brand Spanx.

She said to Blakely: “The amount of what you have created, evolved through – the level of what you have done while having this many children, all at that age. It’s something that I think people often forget.”

Reflecting on her own experiences, Meghan said: “People forget that Lili is three, and Archie is five.

“So you look at the past five, six years of my life, it’s yes, with being pregnant or with a newborn or with a toddler, and then another one.”

Meghan has previously revealed that she has an “amazing” nanny, who has been with the family for five years.

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Alongside Prince Harry, the duchess stepped back from her duties as a senior working royal in 2020 – before starting a new life in the US.

Since then, she has launched her own brand, As Ever, a “curated collection” of products inspired by her “long-lasting love of cooking, entertaining and hostessing with ease”, according to the website.

She has, alongside Harry, also worked on Archewell, which includes the couple’s non-profit charitable organisation and their for-profit media production business.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Pic: Jenna Peffley/Netflix
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Meghan, recently launched her Netflix show With Love, Meghan
Pic: Jenna Peffley/Netflix

In conjunction with her new business venture, Meghan launched her Netflix show With Love, Meghan – a lifestyle show where the duchess would invite friends and famous guests, and shared cooking, hosting, and gardening tips.

Her podcast followed shortly afterwards.

Meghan also discussed a “guilty mentality” facing female chief executives who have a lot of money.

She said: “I think so many women, especially, were taught to not even talk about money. And there’s lots of guilt mentality surrounding having a lot.”

“It wasn’t until the 70s that women could even have a credit card, a line of credit on a credit card without her husband.”

The discussion, which was wide-ranging in nature, also foregrounded the importance of self-care.

“I remember my acupuncturist in the UK said to me, and it has always stayed with me, he said, if the baby’s crying, treat the mother.

“It all starts with us. Good Lord, we have to take care of ourselves first.”

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Gary Lineker bows out from Match Of The Day

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Gary Lineker bows out from Match Of The Day

Gary Lineker bid a tearful farewell to Match Of The Day as he presented the show for the final time.

The ex-England striker, 64, announced his departure earlier this month after sharing a social media post from the Palestine Lobby group titled: “Zionism explained in two minutes.”

The Instagram post was illustrated with a rat, which has been used to represent Jewish people in antisemitic propaganda – including Nazi Germany.

Lineker “apologised unreservedly” for sharing it, saying he was unaware of the reference and it was a mistake. He maintained the importance of “speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza”.

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Watch: Lineker confirms BBC exit

Presenting his final Match Of The Day alongside regular colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, Lineker did not directly address the circumstances of his departure during the programme.

“It wasn’t meant to end this way,” he quipped in his opening line, continuing: “But with the title race over and the relegation places confirmed, the Champions League was all we had left to talk about.”

Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle secured the remaining places in Europe’s elite competition.

After running through highlights of all 10 games from the final day of the Premier League season, Lineker thanked his fellow pundits, viewers and those who work behind the scenes, before wishing good luck to his replacements.

Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates will take on presenting duties for the 2025-26 campaign.

Read more:
BBC can breathe easier after Lineker leaves
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Lineker leaves BBC: Timeline of events

‘It has been so special’

Lineker wiped away tears at the end of the show, having been played a montage of messages including from Richards, Shearer, Ian Wright, Alan Hansen, Paul Gascoigne, Pep Guardiola, and Claudio Ranieri.

Italian manager Ranieri led Lineker’s beloved Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016, which memorably saw the BBC’s highest paid star present an episode of Match Of The Day in a pair of boxers.

He had promised to appear on the show half naked if Leicester won the league.

Lineker started presenting Match Of The Day back in 1999, and has also fronted the BBC’s coverage of World Cups, Euros tournaments, and the Olympics.

“It has been so special,” Lineker said as he signed off, “and I am sorry that your team was always on last.

“Time to say goodbye. Goodbye.”

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