Dwayne Johnson addresses Liz Truss turmoil at Black Adam premiere: ‘Are you ready for another Johnson prime minister?’
Among the highest paid actors in the world and widely considered as one of Hollywood’s nice guys, Dwayne Johnson is often asked whether he would think about running for president.
But when he is visiting the UK – and with the country in just a spot of political turmoil at the moment, it’s fair to say – how about a move into Number 10 to try to sort things out?
Speaking to Sky News at the premiere of his new “anti-hero” superhero film Black Adam, Johnson mentioned his political namesake as he asked if the UK would be prepared for him.
“Are you ready for another Johnson prime minister?” he said. “Maybe Rock prime minister?”
Pic: Warner Bros
Johnson, also known by his nickname The Rock from his days as a professional wrestler, does not give much away.
“I will tell you this… It’s great to be back in London. I will tell you that.”
The star’s comments came as a YouGov poll of Tory members found that more than half (55%) think Liz Truss should resign now – and almost a third (32%) believe her predecessor Boris Johnson would be the best person to replace her as prime minister.
Johnson (The Rock, not the former PM) has addressed calls in the US for him to make a White House bid several times, saying in a recent interview with CNN: “I have seriously considered it. You have to. When you start looking at some of these polls, and these numbers creep up into the 46%, 50% of the country would vote for me should I run, and I have been – I’ve been really moved by that.”
In September 2020, Johnson endorsed Joe Biden with a video interview in which he described the then upcoming election as “arguably the most critical” in decades.
The star said at the time that he was a “political independent and centrist” who had voted for both the Democrats and the Republicans in the past.
‘The most important role of my life’
Pic: Warner Bros
At the moment though, with his career on screen showing no signs of slowing down, politics is on the backburner.
Johnson has played numerous action men and tough guys in the past, but Black Adam is his first foray into the superhero world.
Fifteen years in the making, he describes the film – based on the DC Comics character of the same name – as a “passion project” that he fought to turn into a reality when some studio executives weren’t sure it would sell.
Teth Adam is an anti-hero slave, blessed with the powers of Superman, who rises once again some 5,000 years after being imprisoned for using his powers for vengeance. In modern times, as he wields his dark sense of justice, he is challenged by a group of heroes known as the Justice Society.
Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge also star as Dr Fate (Brosnan) and Hawkman. Pic: Warner Bros
Once a professional wrestler, and with a physique that lends itself to playing a superhero, Johnson has said this role was the only one he wanted to take on, writing on Instagram before the premiere: “When I was a little boy the one thing that drew me to Teth Adam when I saw my first Black Adam comic…
“He was a hero of color.
“That mattered to me then.
“As it matters to me now. Kids of ALL colors around the world will now be able to see themselves in Black Adam.”
Speaking to Sky News, Johnson said Black Adam was the “most important movie of my entire career”.
He continued: “I think it’s the most important role of my life. And what I mean by that, context for people, is I feel like everything that I have done has led to Black Adam.
“I also feel like Black Adam represents a commitment and a tenacity to keep pushing, when… there were a lot of people throughout the course of the past 15 years who felt like, well, is there real value in introducing Black Adam to the world? Will people like him?
“And I truly in my heart, I felt, yeah, if we make the movie right, we can create a character that people can see themselves in.”
Black Adam, also starring Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Noah Centineo, Marwan Kenzari and Quintessa Swindell, is released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 21 October
NHS England has warned the health service is facing a “worst case scenario” December with a surge of “super flu”.
The warning comes as new figures revealed the number of people in hospital with flu have increased by more than half in just one week.
Catch up as it happened: NHS warns of ‘worst-case scenario’ as ‘super flu’ surges
Latest figures show:
• An average of 2,660 patients were in hospital per day with flu last week
• This is the highest ever for this time of year and up 55% on last week
• At this point last year the number stood at 1,861 patients, while in 2023 it was just 402
Health service bosses are warning the number of flu patients in hospital has already increased sharply since the week covered by this data – with no peak in sight.
Read more: Why is flu season worse this year?
Virus outbreaks coincide with doctors’ strikes
Weekly flu numbers in England peaked at 5,408 patients last winter and reached 5,441 over the winter of 2022/23, the highest level since the pandemic.
Alongside rocketing flu, the number of norovirus patients in hospital has also risen by 35%.
The NHS is now warning winter viruses are starting to “engulf hospitals”.
Demand for A&Es and ambulance services is also soaring.
New monthly figures show A&E attendances were a record for November at 2.35 million – more than 30,000 higher than November 2024.
In addition, there were 48,814 more ambulance incidents (802,525) compared with last year (753,711).
Some hospitals across the country have asked staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks to cut the spread of flu, while others have gone in and out of critical incident status due to the high number of people attending A&E.
The record-breaking demand on the NHS coincides with a resident doctors’ strike from 17 to 22 December over pay and jobs – sparking fears of major disruption for patients in the run up to Christmas.
People are being advised to attend any planned appointments scheduled during the strikes unless they have been contacted to reschedule.
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Will doctors accept late deal to avoid strikes?
Flu vaccinations on the up… who can get one?
The NHS is urging anyone eligible to get their flu vaccination to help prevent them getting seriously ill.
Latest figures show more than 17.4 million people have been vaccinated so far this year, more than 381,000 higher than last year.
You can get it if you:
• Are 65 or over in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Are pregnant
• Live in a care home
• Are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive carer’s allowance
• Live with someone who has a weakened immune system
• Are a frontline health and social care worker
• Are of school age
• Have certain medical conditions (the NHS has a full list)
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, warned of a “tidal wave of flu tearing through our hospitals”.
“We are working with the NHS to make sure it is able to cope with this as best as possible,” he said.
Warning ‘extremely challenging few weeks ahead’
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, warned the health service faces “an extremely challenging few weeks ahead” with “staff being pushed to the limit”.
She said: “With record demand for A&E and ambulances and an impending resident doctors’ strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year – with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients.
“The numbers of patients in hospital with flu is extremely high for this time of year. Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead.”
She added: “We have prepared earlier for winter than ever before, and stress-tested services to ensure people have a range of ways to get the help they need and avoid needing to go to A&E.
“For non-life-threatening care, people should call NHS 111 or use 111 online, which can direct you to the most appropriate place, and use A&E and 999 for life threatening conditions and serious injuries.”
Read more from Sky News:
US accused of ‘piracy’
Flights diverted in Moscow
Mr Streeting has offered the British Medical Association (BMA) a last-minute deal in the hope doctors will call off the walkout, which starts next Wednesday.
The doctors’ union has agreed to put the offer to members over the coming day, and is expected to announced a decision on Monday, just two days before the planned strike.
The offer includes a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees, but does not include extra pay.
The spread of subclade K, the super flu, is picking up – and it’s not looking good for the NHS.
An average of just under 2,700 hospital beds a day in England were occupied by patients with flu last week.
There are fears that could jump to somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 by the end of this week.
That’s on top of COVID and RSV.
And with the possibility of a five-day strike by resident (junior) doctors next week, it’s a perfect storm for hospitals.
An NHS hospital ward at Ealing Hospital in London. Pic: PA
Christmas flu
Children are the super-spreaders of flu. It races around classrooms and some schools have temporarily shut because of the impact.
The Christmas holidays aren’t far off. They are likely to put the brakes on children passing around the virus.
But it’s also a time of year when families mix with elderly relatives, who are more likely to be hit hard by the infection – perhaps even needing hospital care.
So while the holidays may temporarily slow the overall rise in infections, the impact on hospitals could get much worse.
File pic: PA
Subclade K
Flu is spreading so rapidly at the moment because immunity to subclade K from previous infections and vaccinations is low.
The virus – a variant of the H3N2 flu strain – suddenly acquired seven new mutations in late summer.
Every 100 people infected with seasonal flu would typically pass the virus on to 120 others.
With subclade K, it’s 140.
And that’s why cases are rising so quickly on the charts.
At the moment, 18 in every 100,000 patients in England are consulting their GP with flu-like symptoms. That’s still well short of the peak of around 50 in every 100,000 in 2017/18, the worst flu outbreak in recent years.
File pic: PA
The grim reality of flu
Flu is a really unpleasant disease, nothing like a cold. I’ve had it twice in my life and it physically hurt to get out of bed. It’s grim.
Most people get over it with a few days’ rest and paracetamol to take the edge off the fever.
But vulnerable people can become seriously ill. In the outbreak of 2017/18, around 22,000 died.
Read more:
Nurses ‘deeply concerned about what lies ahead’
NHS braced for ‘toughest winter’ after record-breaking month
That’s why the NHS is urging people in certain groups – the over 65s, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, carers and children – to get the jab.
The vaccine isn’t a great match for subclade K, but still reduces the chance of hospital admission by 30-40% in adults.
It’s impossible to say when the spread will peak, but the latest figures suggest the outbreak is far from over.
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