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Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said.

The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.

In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Born in Essex in 1934, Dame Maggie became an internationally recognised actress – one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous actresses of her generation.

Her first significant accolade came after playing the fanatical teacher in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969, which won her a best actress Oscar and BAFTA.

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Her second Oscar came for her role in California Suite in 1978 which won her a best supporting actress trophy, as well as a Golden Globe.

Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley in the Downton Abbey movie (2019). Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock

More recently she won a new generation of fans as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey and playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies.

Although she was a tour de force in leading roles on the West End stage, she was equally happy – even during the years of her mega-stardom – to accept supporting roles, particularly in films.

Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy
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Dame Maggie played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy

Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie - 1969
Maggie Smith

1969
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The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Downton Abbey TV series won her a series of awards – three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

TV presenter Gyles Brandreth has led the tributes, describing her as “wise, witty, waspish, wonderful” and “one of a kind in every way”.

Sir Keir Starmer posted on X that Dame Maggie was a “true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come” while former prime minister Rishi Sunak described her as “an icon of the stage and screen”.

Meanwhile a message posted by BAFTA said: “Dame Maggie was a legend of British stage and screen, winning five BAFTAs as well as a BAFTA Special Award and BAFTA Fellowship during her highly acclaimed career.”

She took Maggie as her stage name because another Margaret Smith was active in the theatre. She was 18 when she first appeared on stage, in Twelfth Night.

Laurence Olivier spotted her talent, invited her to be part of his original National Theatre company and cast her as his co-star in a 1965 film adaptation of Othello.

Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Sister Act - 1992
Maggie Smith, Whoopi Goldberg

1992
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She played Mother Superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992). Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

JUDI DENCH AND MAGGIE SMITH IN 'A ROOM WITH A VIEW' - 1986

1986
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Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room With A View (1986). Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Film - 2015
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, 2015. Maggie Smith, Richard Gere

2015
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She starred alongside Richard Gere in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Some of her best-known movies included: Young Cassidy in 1966, Death On The Nile in 1979, Quartet in 1982, The Secret Garden in 1994, Tea With Mussolini in 2000, Gosford Park in 2002, and The Lady In The Van in 2016.

She married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967. They had two sons and divorced in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998. She was made a Dame in 1990.

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Scottish comedian Janey Godley dies aged 63

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Scottish comedian Janey Godley dies aged 63

Scottish comedian Janey Godley has died a month after she moved to a hospice for end-of-life care, her agent has said.

The 63-year-old, who found viral fame with her dubbed imitations of Nicola Sturgeon’s COVID-19 news briefings during the pandemic, had announced last month that she was receiving end-of-life care for terminal cancer.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our client Doctor Janey Godley on 2nd November,” her agent said on Saturday.

“Janey died peacefully in the wonderful Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow surrounded by her loved ones. She will be hugely missed by her family, friends and her many fans.

“She will be remembered for her legendary voice overs of Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic, her hilarious and outspoken comedy, but most of all for just being ‘Janey’.”

Handout photo issued by Bafta of Janey Godley at the Bafta Scotland awards. Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwar and actress Glenda Jackson are among those to be honoured at a special socially-distanced Bafta Scotland night.
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Pic: BAFTA/PA

‘We got her longer because of all the support’

Her daughter comedian Ashley Storrie announced the news on social media, writing: “We got her longer because of all of the support and the love in the world.”

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She said in a short video: “I believe in my heart of hearts that she felt every bit of love you sent to her. And I think it kept her going.

“I think genuinely we got her longer because of all of the support and the love in the world. But that’s it over now. So, thank you once again and bye.”

She also revealed Godley had been awarded an honorary degree from the University Of Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon, the former first minister, wrote on X: “Janey Godley truly was a force of nature, and one of the funniest people I have ever known.

“I was able to visit her in the hospice a couple of weeks ago and though she was fragile, she still had me in stitches.”

She added: “A bond was forged between us in the darkest days of COVID when her famous voiceovers of my daily briefings went viral. In the toughest of times, she made people laugh – and that was precious.

She did more that (sic) that though. In managing to project the serious public health messages of my briefings to a much wider audience than I would have managed alone, she helped save lives.”

Godley and Nicola Sturgeon pictured in 2023. Pic: PA
Image:
Godley and Nicola Sturgeon pictured in 2023. Pic: PA

Paying tribute, Scottish First Minister John Swinney wrote on X: “Very sorry to hear of the death of Janey Godley.

“She brought joy and laughter on many occasions when we needed it most. My condolences to her family. May she Rest in Peace.”

That infamous Trump sign

In September, Godley cancelled her autumn tour titled Why Is She Still Here? due to her stage four ovarian cancer, which had been treated over the last few years, but had returned with added complications.

At the time, Godley said it was “devastating” to be facing the end of her life, adding “but we all come to an end sometime”.

She also joked: “I don’t know how long I’ve got left before anybody asks. I’m not a TikTok.”

In 2016, Godley went viral after protesting at Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort with her infamous “unwelcome” sign (Godley’s sign used slightly spicier language).

She then went on to gain attention during COVID times, voicing videos of Ms Sturgeon’s health briefings and became friends with the former first minister.

Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Overcoming adversity

Born into poverty in the East End of Glasgow in 1961 to alcoholic parents, Godley left school aged 16 with no qualifications.

She revealed both she and her sister had been abused by an uncle as a child, for which he served a two-year sentence.

After 15 years running a pub with her husband during the 1980s and 1990s, she began her stand-up career in 1994, going on to co-present BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, as well as fronting BBC Radio 4 series The C Bomb.

She also appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, the Scottish soap opera River City, and crime drama Traces.

Godley with her daughter, comedian Ashley Storrie. Pic: PA
Image:
Godley with her daughter, comedian Ashley Storrie. Pic: PA

Never shying away from joking about the darker side of life, in 2023, she won the inaugural Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Godley wrote her debut novel in 2022, a murder mystery titled Nothing Left Unsaid set in 1970s Glasgow. Warmly received, celebrity fans included TV chef Nigella Lawson who said it was so good, she read it in two sittings.

A fierce supporter of Scottish independence, Godley was also a vocal advocate of transgender rights, she continued campaigning on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community up until her death.

She leaves behind her husband of 44 years, Sean Storrie, and her daughter.

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Does the music stop when the bombs are falling?

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Does the music stop when the bombs are falling?

“You either hold a weapon or you hold a guitar,” says Raji El-Jaru, Gaza’s biggest rockstar.

Months before war broke out last year, hundreds of people packed into a concert hall to hear his band perform their distinct blend of pounding guitar riffs and impassioned lyrics.

“We’ll scream our pain; can you hear the call?” he sang to the rapt crowd. “Knock, knock, are you listening at all?”

Not long after that gig, Israeli airstrikes rained on Gaza City, tearing down buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Focused on survival rather than music, the five members of Osprey V – believed to be Gaza’s first rock band – went from dreaming of gigging in Europe to wondering if they would ever play together again.

Formed back in 2015, the group are all self-taught and cite Metallica and Linkin Park among their influences. Raji, 32, explains that he has always seen rock music as the obvious way to resist oppression. “We are the voice of the voiceless, spreading love instead of hatred and violence.”

Live from Kyiv: Volodomyr aka Lostlojic
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Live from Kyiv: Volodomyr aka Lostlojic. Pic: Oleksandra Poparova

“It’s a matter of time now,” Volodymyr says, talking about when his name will be called to join Ukraine’s armed forces.

A DJ who goes by the moniker Lostlojic, before the full-scale invasion in 2022 he was flying around Europe playing his brand of electronic music but now he’s back in Kyiv, his hometown, performing to raise money for his friends on the frontline.

In the early days after the invasion there was discussion about whether club nights should continue, says 35-year-old Volodymyr, but people needed a break from thinking about war – not least the soldiers on leave from the battlefield.

“Many of my friends who are musicians are in the armed forces. They have no time to do their favourite thing. Once every few months they create some tracks, send them to me, and I play them out.”

Last weekend there was a day to celebrate the Ukrainian language, and Volodymyr incorporated samples of Ukrainian speech into his songs to mark it – an assertion of an identity that is under threat.

“Everything is about politics, you can’t be an artist without it.”

Ruth Daniel spoke about the role of music in conflict zones at Womex. Pic: Jacob Crawfurd
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Ruth Daniel spoke about the role of music in conflict zones at Womex. Pic: Jacob Crawfurd

“One of the things that music can do is unify people,” says Ruth Daniel. “It’s a way to give people a space to share what they’re going through.”

She is head of In Place Of War, an organisation that helps foster music and creativity in conflict zones. When bombs are falling all around you, she believes, music can act as a form of escapism and creative resistance.

Speaking to Sky News from the recent WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) conference in Manchester, she described how smartphones and social media make it easier than ever for those in conflict zones to write tracks and find an audience.

“I’ve seen people making music studios on the edge of checkpoints, making their own instruments, doing hip hop on street corners and making music with car sound systems.”

Gigs too, can be held anywhere, she says, giving an example of a club night she went to in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah.

“It was at a house – they basically turned the kitchen into a club. I remember leaving and there were lines and lines of police and army [soldiers] pointing guns.

“For me, the best music comes out of situations of difficulty. It’s not just art for art’s sake, it’s art with purpose and meaning.”

One of Mo Aziz's band members was recently killed in Sudan. Pic: Livv Edwards
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One of Mo Aziz’s band members was recently killed in Sudan. Pic: Livv Edwards

Mo Aziz once performed to tens of thousands of people in stadiums across Sudan as part of the popular group Igd al-Jalad. But the group’s music criticised the then-government and they were banned from performing amid a crackdown on expression.

He came to the UK as a refugee in 2017, and this year released an album calling for peace in his homeland and hoping to raise the profile of Sudanese music – traditionally a blend of African and Arabic influences.

Since the struggle for power between the army and a large militia group erupted into armed conflict in April 2023, more than 20,000 people have been killed in Sudan. There are firefights on the streets of Khartoum and a humanitarian crisis.

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Mo’s mother and brother fled to Egypt, making a fortnight-long journey to escape the conflict, as the fighting led to millions being displaced.

“I was devastated,” he said. “I lost three friends as a result of the bombing in Khartoum, including one member of Igdal-Jalad.”

This unfolded as Mo was working on his album and master’s degree at Liverpool Hope University.

“I hope to show what’s happening in Sudan as well as uplift Sudanese music and put it on the international scene,” he said. “I will always dedicate my work to peace and human rights.”

Saeed Gadir seeks to tell stories through his music
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Saeed Gadir seeks to tell stories through his music. Pic: Sequoia Ziff

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Meanwhile, British-Sudanese folk singer-songwriter Saeed Gadir described the music scene in Khartoum as a “ghost town”.

“It’s really been decimated, there’s no one there. It’s a huge part of my writing,” says Saeed, who’s known as The Halfway Kid and whose new album Myths In Modern Life talks about growing up in a Sudanese migrant family.

And while he doesn’t see himself as always being explicitly political, his music is nonetheless politicised by the stories he tells and feelings he seeks to share with his audiences, he says.

“Even if you’re in London, you might get an insight into what it might feel like if there’s a coup back home.”

Read more:
Gaza situation ‘disastrous’ – UN
Millions of Sudanese displaced by war now face a new fight

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson in Sarajevo in 1994. Pic: Reuters
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Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson in Sarajevo in 1994. Pic: Reuters

Sometimes there is no safe way to explore music in a dangerous place, sometimes the bombs are falling around you even as amps are plugged in and microphones set up.

That was the case in 1994, before the internet gave musicians the power to appear virtually to their fans. Back then, legendary metal singer Bruce Dickinson and his band Skunkworks were smuggled into Sarajevo during the Bosnian War while the city was under siege. The gig they played instantly became historic.

“I’d never seen devastation like it in a modern city. There wasn’t a single building that wasn’t a burnt-out shell,” Dickinson, best known as the lead singer of Iron Maiden, told the 2017 documentary Scream For Me Sarajevo.

The siege of Sarajevo was the longest in modern history, lasting nearly four years. More than 11,000 people, including over 1,000 children, were killed.

“I went out there and was just, like, how can I ever be as big as their lives need me to be for them?” recalled Dickinson.

“You could have given everything and you just felt like it wasn’t ever gonna be enough.”

Raji al-Jaru and his band have a new video coming out soon
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Raji El-Jaru and his band have a new video coming out soon. Pic: Mohammed Al Nateel

All over the world, the musical tradition of building community – and resistance – in some of the world’s most dangerous places is thriving, thanks in part to social media and the ability to reach audiences around the world with live streams.

“Especially in places where people can’t get out or people can’t go in,” Ruth says. “And so that becomes the most important way of sharing people’s culture and identities.”

Still unable to return home, Raji has continued his work on Osprey V. A new video, produced in the Gaza Strip, is out soon and he hopes it will be a wakeup call to the West.

“We are normal people just like you,” he says. “We have families, we drink coffee, we wear Adidas. But we are suffering from endless wars.”

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Jeff Bridges on The Old Man – and instilling joy on set

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Jeff Bridges on The Old Man - and instilling joy on set

Life in between filming the first and second series of The Old Man has been vastly different for Jeff Bridges.

The Oscar-winning actor led the first season of the action thriller at 70, seemingly healthy and ready to take on the world. However, unbeknown to him at the time, he had undiagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a 9×12 inch tumour in his stomach, which would require intense treatment.

Rather than the often used language of “fighting” the cancer, Bridges described himself as being “in surrender mode” as he not only went through chemotherapy but also contracted COVID-19.

Jeff Bridges in The Old Man. Pic: Kurt Iswarienko/FX/Disney+
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Jeff Bridges returns in The Old Man. Pic: Kurt Iswarienko/FX/Disney+

However, he set himself the goal of walking his daughter down the aisle, which he did in 2021, and has since said his tumour has been reduced to “the size of a marble”.

Now, The Big Lebowski actor has returned to the small screen for the second season of Disney+ show The Old Man, which tells the story of a former CIA operative on the run and also stars Conclave’s John Lithgow and Blink Twice actress Alia Shawkat.

(L-R) Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow in The Old Man. Pic: Kurt Iswarienko/FX/Disney+
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John Lithgow (right) co-stars alongside Bridges. Pic: Kurt Iswarienko/FX/Disney+

Despite a vast career in film, this is Bridges’ first time leading a TV series – a format he saw his father Lloyd Bridges excel in when he was a child.

“With movies, you have a beginning, middle and an end,” he tells Sky News. “You know where you’re going. That’s not the case in the series, it’s exciting.”

The American actor says he makes an effort to instil “joy” and kindness on his sets, crediting his father’s love for the art of acting for why he remains so positive.

“I mean, he taught me all the basics of acting and he, unlike a lot of parents who are in showbiz, wanted all his kids to go into showbusiness. He loved it so much.”

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Bridges has appeared on screen since he was just six months old and would leave school to join his father on the set of his series.

“The way he approached his work with such joy [was admirable] and that was the main thing I learned from him… Whenever he came on the set, that joy was kind of contagious and everybody would say, hey, this is kind of fun, what we’re doing to get to play, dance, pretend here with all these great folks and we can have a good time.”

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Bridges says he was lucky to work with his father a few times as an adult and that the ability to create a relaxing and fun environment that allowed artists to flourish was something he wanted to replicate in his own work.

On set, he meets with every creative taking part in his films and shows, from costume designers to the production team.

“That’s such an important aspect of my work, getting a perspective from their take… all these things start to come together and they have a cumulative effect on how your character comes off, and they’re thinking of it from a completely different point of view.

“That’s very valuable to me, you know, to hear the history, why the person got that particular piece of clothing and what not.”

Season two of The Old Man is available to stream on Disney+ from 6 November.

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