I’ve always been torn over the long-standing debate (Picture: Channel 4)‘I’m not being woke about this… but I feel strongly that if I cast someone in a story, I am casting them to act as a lover, or an enemy, or someone on drugs or a criminal or a saint… they are not there to “act gay” because “acting gay” is a bunch of codes for a performance. It’s about authenticity, the taste of 2020.’ Russell T. Davies’ statement caused quite the furore when he insisted gay roles should only be played by gay actors. Personally, I’ve always been torn over the long-standing debate. And then came It’s A Sin. Davies’ Channel 4 series chronicling the AIDS crisis of the 1980s – or the other ‘great pandemic‘ of our lifetime as he so rightly puts it – is a particularly remarkable moment in television
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Mira died on Wednesday (Picture: Michael Schwartz/WireImage)Lost star Mira Furlan has died aged 65. The news was confirmed on the actress’s official Twitter page, revealing that Furlan died on Wednesday, January 20. The post included a quote from Furlan, reading: ‘I look at the stars. It’s a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That’s where I’ll be going soon. “We’re all star stuff”. I suddenly remember Delenn’s line from Joe’s script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. ‘In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That’s all.’ J Michael Straczynski, who wrote the sci-fi series Babylon 5, on which Furlan played Minbari ambassador Delenn, also posted a tribute to t...
Read MoreThis alcohol-free spirit promises to give you all the good bits of booze – and none of the bad
Sentia gets you tipsy, not out of control (Picture: Sentia/Metro.co.uk)Cast your mind back to a time when you could go on a night out. You’d start with a G&T or a glass of bubbles as you put on your mascara. Then, drinks out at a bar: a couple of cocktails or pints of lager. It could easily end up with Jagers on the dancefloor, or tequila shots at an afterparty – and most likely, a nauseous train journey to work the next morning, or a full English fry-up to kick off a Saturday on the sofa. Alcohol is ingrained into the way that we socialise. 82% of British adults drink alcohol regularly and our obsession with ‘the pub’ made itself painfully clear as lockdowns came and went – alongside trips to the local boozer – throughout 2020. Yet there’s growing cultural awareness about the
Read MoreSummary List PlacementGood morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Friday. Sign up here to get this email in your inbox every morning. Have an Amazon Alexa device? Listen to this update by searching "Business Insider" in your flash briefing settings. Google is threatening to pull out of Australia. The company has threatened to pull search if Australia passes a law that would force it to pay news providers. Jack Ma faces more domestic headaches. The Financial Times reported the People's Bank of China drafted new rules that will hurt Alibaba's payments affiliate Ant Group. Facebook referred its Trump ban to its oversight board. The board will consider whether Trump's suspension should be indefinite, and claims its decision will be "binding" on Facebook. Apple is prep...
Read MoreManchester United half-term report: Can Paul Pogba & Bruno Fernandes inspire unlikely title victory?
The fickle nature of life as a Premier League manager won’t be lost on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It was just two months ago that the Norwegian was clinging on to his role at Old Trafford ahead of a daunting trip to in-form Everton at Goodison Park. Defeat on Merseyside in early November would have left the Red Devils with seven points from their opening seven matches and hovering above the relegation zone. With an upcoming international break and the availability of Mauricio Pochettino, it felt increasingly inevitable that Solskjaer’s time was up at the Theatre of Dreams. It’s credit to United’s board that they resisted the temptation to part with Solskjaer after such a poor start to the campaign and their decision is paying dividends now, with the Red Devils sitting top of table at the
Read MoreForensic officers examine the scene in Wheeler Street, where the gang crashed (Picture: SWNS)A 15-year-old boy has died after being set upon by a group of youths near a school in broad daylight. Witnesses in the Handsworth area of Birmingham heard gunshots and say the suspects were armed with guns and knives. The gang then fled in a white Ford C-Max, and crashed the car into a house a short distance away, fleeing the scene on foot. Resident Majid Khan said: ‘If this had happened years ago people would be in shock. But it’s happening in broad daylight and people’s reactions are as if it’s part of life in Birmingham. People were out filming things and not worried.’ Police rushed to the scene shortly after the attack at 3.30pm yesterday but no arrests have been made yet. ...
Read MoreThe Government could instate a full border closure, ministers have suggested (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)The Government is considering more draconian measures on travel to stop the spread of coronavirus across the UK. Environment secretary George Eustice told Sky News ministers have ‘considered’ a full closure of the country’s borders. He said: ‘We always keep these things under review and it’s been considered. ‘There is concern at the moment about the number of mutant strains there are, concerns that there’s a risk that one day there will be a strain that might be able to evade the vaccine. ‘That’s why last week the PM toughened up the current restrictions, we think that’s the right approach for now but it’s something that we’ll keep under review. ‘We can’t rule anythi...
Read MoreA paleontologist during an excavation in Argentina of the bones of one of the largest dinosaurs to have walked the Earth (AFP via Getty Images)Paleontologists have discovered the remains of a dinosaur that lived 98 million years ago in Argentina and could be the biggest dinosaur ever found. The team just published their findings after discovering what has been identified as the remains of a Titanosaur sauropod in 2012, and in 2015 and 2016 the excavation started in the Candeleros formation, a geological formation in the eastern Argentine province of Neuquen. The research into the dinosaur remains has been published in the academic magazine Cretaceous Research. Experts from Conicet (National Scientific and Technical Research Council) worked on the project, including Dr Alejandro Ot
Read MoreThe Olympics had been scheduled to take place in Tokyo this summer after last year’s postponement (Picture: Getty)Japanese officials remain adamant the Olympics will go ahead this summer amid mounting speculation that the Tokyo Games will be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Times, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition, claimed on Thursday that the government’s focus was now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032. The winter wave of the virus is said to have rendered staging the Games, already delayed by a year, unfeasible with an opinion poll in Japan revealing that 80% of the population are against the Olympics going ahead. ‘No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,’ the source...
Read MoreGigi Hadid and Zayn Malik welcomed baby Khai four months ago (Picture: Getty / Twitter)Gigi Hadid has finally revealed her baby girl’s name as Khai, four months after giving birth. The supermodel and boyfriend Zayn Malik, 28, have kept the identity of their little one completely under wraps, only sharing glimpses of the newborn in pictures. However, this changed when the 25-year-old made a subtle change to her Instagram profile to reveal the unique moniker. On her bio, the new mum simply penned: ‘Khai’s mum.’ It has been claimed that Khai means ‘the chosen one’ – but there is also a sweet family connection to the name, with Gigi’s sister Bella having the middle name ‘Khair’. Adorable! Gigi Hadid confirmed the news in her Instagram bio (Picture: Instagram)While the world
Read MoreTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Myleene Klass suffered a nasty fall during Dancing on Ice rehearsals which was so bad she ended up ‘blacking out’ from it. The accident, which will also be shown on the programme on Sunday, saw the former pop star practising a spin on the ice when she knocked her head and ‘passed out’. Speaking about the incident, Myleene began: ‘There are loads of things I am learning as I go along, but I didn’t realise that when you do the spins, you can have little mini blackouts when you get dizzy.‘So we were doing a spin and when I watched the footage back and like the next thing you see is a banged head.’ ‘We were doing the rehearsals last week, and I
Read MoreIt’s A Sin: Nathaniel Curtis on the importance of showing aspects of gay sex not taught anywhere else after douching scene
It’s A Sin quickly schooled viewers on the importance of douching (Picture: Channel 4)Channel 4’s It’s A Sin didn’t waste any time in exploring aspects of gay sex that aren’t often spoken about in the mainstream. Approximately 16 minutes into tonight’s first episode of Russell T Davies’ long-awaited drama, Olly Alexander’s character Ritchie is awkwardly told by Nathaniel Curtis’ Ash that he needs ‘a bit of a wash’ before the two can go to bed, and is sent off to have a shower. Confused as to why he needs to have his second shower of the day, Ritchie soon learns the important lesson of anal douching, which in simple terms, is flushing out the rectum with water in order to clean it. ‘No, down there. Your arse,’ Ash explains. ‘You need a good wash, okay?’ Metro.co.uk caught up with
Read MoreThis new AI powered device allows you make any shade you want (Picture: Yves Saint Laurent/Getty)Tech is changing how consumers shop and experience beauty – and this is only set to continue. We’re seeing this trend play out from multiple angles: tech development has created a need for tech-protection skincare, it has infiltrated consumer expectations around gadgets and treatments, and it is filling out blind spots the industry has been accused of having when it comes to inclusivity. Beauty innovation has benefitted from technology developing alongside it, and the result is that advanced and high-spec products are increasingly the norm. Technology is revolutionising and adding value to the beauty industry for the benefit its consumers. Let’s take a look at how. Tech is cha
Read MoreColin is based on one of Russell T Davies’ ex-boyfriends (Picture: Channel 4)It’s A Sin creator Russell T Davies has revealed that the lovable Colin (played by Callum Scott Howells) is loosely based on one of his former flames. The five-part series starring Neil Patrick Harris and Years And Years’ Olly Alexander kicked off on Channel 4 tonight and introduced audiences to the sweet and unassuming Colin from Wales, who moves to the capital with the hopes of becoming a Savile Row tailor. In London, Colin meets his mentor Henry (Patrick Harris), who helps him come to terms with his own sexual orientation. Speaking to Metro.co.uk about the character, Davies recalled: ‘He was someone I went out with in the 90s who trained to be a tailor and went to New York to fit lords and ladies wi...
Read MoreIt’s A Sin is the hotly-anticipated five-part series from Russell T Davies (Picture: Channel 4)Russell T Davies’ hotly-anticipated Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin begins tonight, kick-starting our new Friday night obsession. The five-part series, starring Olly Alexander and Neil Patrick Harris, follows the lives of three young men who together endure the horror of the HIV/Aids epidemic of the 80s as well as the pain of rejection and the prejudices that gay men faced throughout the decade. Here’s everything you need to know about when It’s A Sin will air and who is in the cast. When is It’s A Sin on Channel 4 and who is in the cast? It’s A Sin will launch on Friday, January 22 at 9pm on Channel 4, with new episodes airing weekly. The entire series will also be available to strea
Read MoreA man was killed and a woman injured in a shooting Jan. 21 in Woodlawn. | Sun-Times file photoA man, 23, and a woman, 24, were sitting in a vehicle about in the 6100 block of South St. Lawrence when three people approached on foot and began shooting, One person was killed and another wounded in a shooting late Thursday in Woodlawn on the South Side. A man, 23, and a woman, 24, were sitting in a vehicle about 11:30 p.m. in the 6100 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue when three people approached on foot and began shooting, Chicago police said. The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the right shoulder, the right side of his body and back, police said. He was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:53 p.m., according to police. The ...
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