Broadcaster John Stapleton has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 78-year-old said he was “pragmatic” about the prospect of his condition getting worse – but insisted he was trying to “remain positive” and “as independent as I can” for as long as possible.
Stapleton is familiar to TV audiences through his work on programmes such as Newsnight, Panorama and GMTV’s News Hour.
In an interview on BBC One’s Morning Live, he said: “Speaking is how I’ve earned my living for the best part of 50 years.
“It’s very frustrating sometimes, particularly (when) people are constantly saying to you, ‘sorry, what did you say?’
“And you have to repeat yourself, time and time again.
“I am fairly pragmatic about the prospect of this getting worse. I try to remain positive, because what’s the point of not being?”
Stapleton’s son Nick said the diagnosis was “really upsetting”, but it did not come as a surprise because his grandmother had the degenerative condition.
Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years, with symptoms including tremors and slow movement, according to the NHS website.
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Stapleton said he had witnessed his mother’s “decline from this lively, ebullient, outgoing lady to a lady who is fairly fragile”.
“One of the practical problems she faced initially was her inability to do things like open a can of beans or peel a potato,” he added.
“Believe it or not, I’m having the same problem, to some extent, myself right now.”
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On the TV show, Nick Stapleton talked to his father about the future and how he could best support him.
Stapleton told his son: “I want to remain as independent as I can for as long as I possibly can.
“In terms of the house, I’d be very reluctant to leave it, which shall not surprise you at all.”
The presenter told his son he would use a stairlift if it was necessary. He added that although he would be reluctant to go into care, he was also “a realist”.
Following Stapleton’s announcement, the charity Parkinson’s UK offered their support to the journalist and his son “as they start John’s unique journey with the condition”.
“No one is alone with Parkinson’s, and we are here to support everyone,” the charity added.
Victoria Beckham shared a sweet moment on stage with her daughter, Harper, as she collected a Harper’s Bazaar women of the year award.
The fashion designer and Spice Girlsstar was recognised with an entrepreneur prize for her “innovation and dedication to the British and global fashion industry”.
Her daughter Harper presented the award on stage, organisers said, and the pair were pictured together before the event.
The 13-year-old, who is the youngest of Victoriaand David Beckham‘s four children, has previously attended fashion events with her mum, as well as the premiere of her football star dad’s Netflix documentary, released last year.
Singer Raye and actresses Nicola Coughlan, Sophie Turner and Ambika Mod were also among the stars honoured at the Harper’s Bazaar Women Of The Year ceremony, held at Claridge’s Hotel in London.
Author Dame Jilly Cooper was presented with her prize by Poldark star Aidan Turner, who stars in the current hit Disney+ adaptation of her book, Rivals. His co-stars Bella Maclean and Alex Hassell were also there to show support for the writer – who was honoured for “her extraordinary half-century contribution to literature”, organisers said.
Killing Eve and Silo star Dame Harriet Walter, 74, was given the icon award for her long-running career in theatre, film and TV. The gong was presented by Brian Cox, who played her former husband, the fearsome Logan Roy, in the hit series Succession.
On the red carpet, Dame Harriet said she hoped to “represent all the other older women who are still good at their job”. She added: “I feel very lucky and if I can inspire anybody to keep going and believe in themselves, that’s a good thing.”
Actors Jodie Comer, Golda Rosheuvel and Paapa Essiedu, and Love Island host Maya Jama were among the stars presenting awards at the event.
Lydia Slater, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar UK, said: “We are hugely privileged to have presented the Women Of The Year Awards to this esteemed group of winners, all of whom have left us inspired by their trailblazing, impactful contribution and dedication to their respective fields.”
Artist Rana Begum, designer Francesca Amfitheatrof, and Olympian Katarina Johnson also received awards at the ceremony.
Glastonbury is changing the way fans can buy tickets for the world-famous festival.
While the booking process itself will remain the same, the way people join it is different.
Organisers warned hopefuls to log in “at least a few minutes” before the sale opens on 14 November, to avoid refreshing the page and not to attempt to game the system by using multiple devices.
Fans must be registered by 5pm GMT on Monday 11 November.
Tickets for the annual event at Worthy Farm in Somerset cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, and are sold exclusively through the See Tickets website, with no third-party sellers involved.
The sale follows chaos earlier this year when tickets for the Oasis reunion went on sale, seeing a multitude of disappointed fans as well as those who felt cheated after being charged hundreds of pounds more for their tickets than was originally advertised.
The festival website explains: “Rather than refreshing the holding page to attempt to access the booking page, this year, when the ticket sale begins (at 6pm or 9am respectively) everyone who is already on the glastonbury.seetickets.com page will randomly be assigned a place in a queue to access the booking process.
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“Anyone who logs on once the sale has started will automatically be added to the back of the queue, so it’s important to make sure you are online ready at least a few minutes before the sale opens.
“Once you are in the queue, a progress bar will indicate how close you are to reaching the booking page.
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“Please do not refresh this page or use multiple devices or tabs or you may lose your place in the queue.”
Once fans reach the front of the queue and enter their registration details, they will be able to purchase a maximum of six tickets – but they will not have long to do so.
The site warns: “You will have 10 minutes to complete this page before your session expires, however tickets are not allocated at this point.”
It also cautions: “Do not attempt to minimise the tab or open new tabs. If you move away from the tab you are on your session may expire”.
The advice also says that if the amount of traffic on the website is particularly high, users may see a “reduced version of the See Tickets booking site, with a minimal holding page”.
It adds: “This does not mean the site has crashed”.
The site discourages users from using multiple devices to increase their chances of getting tickets, warning it could actively harm getting through.
It says: “Refreshing the page, using multiple tabs or many devices can look like suspicious behaviour and can harm your chances of getting through by triggering anti-bot software; therefore you muststick to one tab/device per IP address and please do not refresh your page once you are in the queue”.
One exception to the refresh rule is if the message, “All available tickets have now been allocated” pops up, at which point refreshing the page will mean any orders that haven’t been processed will go back on sale, and so may become available to buy.
Once the message “SOLD OUT” appears, it’s game over, and no more tickets will be released back for sale.
There will be another chance, however, when any returned tickets go on resale in the spring, offering festival fans a second bite of the cherry.
While next year’s acts won’t be announced until after tickets go on sale, Oasis have already ruled themselves out of performing, telling fans: “Despite media speculation, Oasis will not be playing Glastonbury 2025 or any other festivals next year. The only way to see the band perform will be on their Oasis Live ’25 World Tour.”
2026 is likely to be a fallow year for Glastonbury (a year off), with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.
Glastonbury Festival takes place from 25 to 29 June 2025.
Taylor Swift has given a “friendly but extremely important reminder” to her American fans to vote in the presidential election.
The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – which is believed to be the closest since 2000 – has seen US stars throw their weight behind both candidates.
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It had been widely speculated that Swift would appear at Ms Harris’s final rally in Pennsylvania – where the 34-year-old singer grew up.
However, the Shake It Off singer was at Arrowhead Stadium to support her boyfriend – NFL star Travis Kelce – who was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Swift’s election reminder came in a post she shared on the eve of polling night, celebrating the wrap of the US leg of her Eras Tour, and sharing images from her last three gigs.
In the Instagram post, the singer wrote: “Thank you to everyone who came out to see us on our last three American shows.
“And here’s a friendly but extremely important reminder that tomorrow is the US election and your last chance to vote.”
She will pick up her tour in Canada next week, with six shows in Toronto and three in Vancouver.
Her record-breaking shows – which have boosted the economy around the globe – will wrap on 8 December.
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Swift publicly confirmed her support for Ms Harris in September, sharing the message on social media: “I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
At the time, Swift also shared links to information on how to register to vote and find out early voting dates, reminding voters: “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make”.
Shared with a photo of the star cuddling one of her beloved cats, she signed off her post “Childless Cat Lady,” in a nod to Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s now infamous 2021 remarks.