New York State

AMANDA Holden has been accosted by Britain’s Got Talent fans whilst sunbathing in the middle of the ocean. 

The bikini-loving judge, 54, says the ITV variety show’s viral moments going global on YouTube mean she’s now known worldwide. 

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BGT judge Amanda opened up on being recognised[/caption]

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The star reveale dshe had been recognised on holiday[/caption]

Amanda said: “I’ve noticed a real change over the years. I used to be recognised and have selfies within Europe and this country, but now it’s in the Middle East, America and the Philippines. 

“I get stopped in all sorts of weird places, like in the middle of the sea, you know when you swim out to a sunbathing platform, somebody says something and you realise they’re talking about BGT.

“I’ve had it when I’ve been fishing too. It’s just really odd places.”

Amanda has been a judge on the show since its first day, some 18 years ago.

She added: “The amount of people who came on this year and said they remember watching it when they were very young, I was like, ‘God, I feel old!’ But it’s amazing to have reached this milestone.”

Alesha Dixon, 46, has had her share of fan encounters during her 13 years on board.

She added: “There’s not a single place I’ve been where somebody hasn’t said to me, ‘oh, I’m always watching BGT’ – whether it’s somebody that’s working in a shop, a taxi driver, somebody in a restaurant, somebody working in a hotel.”

The women rule over the Britain’s Got Talent panel of Bruno Tonioli, new judge KSI and head honcho Simon Cowell.

Simon, 65, said: “Amanda is our Britain’s Got Talent queen and she deserves that crown.

“Fast forward 18 years and she’s still a huge success and we have become great friends. I do consider her one of my best friends. 

“And Alesha and Bruno are genuinely friends in real life too.”

The new series of Britain’s Got Talent begins on Saturday at 7pm on ITV1.

IT breaks my heart to have read that GP teams are seeing an increase in abuse from patients.

We are in the midst of a GP crisis which can leave people suffering, in pain and at times despair, while unable to get appointments.

Olivia West

Dr Zoe Williams helps a reader who is worried about their enlarged heart[/caption]

But it is not the fault of GPs, receptionists or practice managers.

The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland surveyed 1,855 doctors in October 2024, and 690 responded.

Of those that took part, 84 per cent said their team had suffered verbal abuse and 28 per cent said they or someone in the team had been a victim of physical violence.

Often at the forefront of patient care are doctors’ receptionists and I am yet to meet one who doesn’t care about patients. The next time you have an interaction with one, please be kind.

If you’re not sure how to address your health problem, email me for some advice at [email protected].

Here’s a selection of what readers have asked this week… 

Enlarged heart fear

Q: A CHEST X-ray found that I have an enlarged heart.

I asked if this meant I could have a heart attack at any time but was told I’d had an ECG test and the results were OK.

I am a 73-year-old woman, am overweight and have had pain from osteoarthritis since my teens.

Should I be checked regularly? Or is there nothing I can do?

You were very reassuring to a lady with heart failure a few weeks ago.

I don’t want to be a pest but it is hard to even speak to a doctor on the phone.

A:First of all, please don’t feel like you are being a pest. I’m sorry you’re finding it so hard to get an appointment but it is worth persisting and considering an e-consultation if this is the easiest way to reach a GP.

It is important to try to understand why you have an enlarged heart then any necessary treatment can be started if required. The medical term for an enlarged heart is cardio-megaly, and it can be caused by damage to the heart muscle or any condition that makes the heart pump harder than usual.

Some examples include congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy (heart- muscle disease), heart-valve disease, some autoimmune conditions, some types of lung disease or ischaemic heart disease, which would put you at an increased risk of a heart attack.

But the heart can grow larger in the absence of disease, too.

Pregnancy and elite athletes are examples of this.

It is important to try to understand why you have an enlarged heart and it may be that you would benefit from treatment, depending on the cause.

While I can’t diagnose the cause of your enlarged heart I can, however, advise you on what to do next.

The normal ECG is reassuring but check your GP did blood tests, too, especially to check kidney function, cholesterol and BNP (which increases when the heart is not working well).

Depending on these results, and any symptoms, an echo-cardiogram may help. This is a type of ultrasound scan that assesses the heart’s structure and function.

Blocked nose driving me mad

Q: MY nose has been blocked since I had Covid in November.

In December, my doctor gave me a steroid nasal spray to use for a month but it did not work and the problem got worse. So now they have given me another one.

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A reader has been struggling with a blocked nose since they had Covid – and it’s only getting worse[/caption]

I cannot breathe if my mouth is closed and I’m finding it hard to eat and drink. It’s driving me mad.

A: A persistently blocked nose, especially if on both sides, can be extremely uncomfortable, and detrimental to quality of life.

Persistent nasal symptoms following a viral infection such as Covid or the common cold are a possibility.

We would call this rhinitis, which simply means inflammation of the mucosal lining inside the nose.

Nasal polyps can also be responsible for nasal obstruction and are quite common.

These are swellings of the lining and can develop due to prolonged inflammation, or sometimes are associated with allergies.

Excessive use of over-the-counter nasal decongestant medicines, which can cause irritation and inflammation, is also a cause.

A steroid nasal spray is a sensible first step, as it can treat all of the above.

It can take up to a month for these sprays to take full effect, so I’m glad you persisted. If you didn’t use it religiously, it is worth trying again.

If no better, your next step would be to request that your GP examine the nose and consider referring you.

ENT specialists often advise patients to get into the routine of using salt water daily, either in the form of a spray or via a device which squirts the liquid through the nasal passages. These can be called neti pots, nasal douches or sinus- rinse kits.

I’ve personally witnessed this make a big difference to patients.

A week or so of taking non-sedating antihistamines such as cetirizine or loratadine could be helpful, too, and may give a clue as to whether there is an allergic element to your condition.

After that, your next step would be to request that your GP examine the nose and consider referring you.

A THREE Little Pigs show has been given a trigger warning that the dad gets eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

Parents buying £10 tickets for three-to-seven-year-olds blasted the “patronising” message.

The alert was put on Chichester Festival Theatre’s website under “content and themes” and warns the 172-year-old story “has a passing reference to Father Pig being gobbled by the Big Bad Wolf.”

Tim Scott, of The Freedom Association, said: “This nonsense is all too typical of taking life far too seriously.

“I say hands off. This is a well-known children’s story that adults should leave alone.”

Dad Vaz Sayed, 52, added: “I have two daughters and find it incredibly patronising that theatres feel the need to warn parents about something so trivial.

“It’s laughable, and less of the Big Bad Wolf and more the Big Bad Woke!”

Acting great Sir Ian McKellen has previously slammed “ludicrous” trigger warnings in productions.

Actor Simon Callow has said theatre is “not a pulpit, but a gymnasium of the imagination”.

Chichester Festival Theatre previously came under fire for a Sound of Music trigger warning over Nazi Germany.

It has since taken down the Wolf alert from “content and themes” ahead of the December production after we approached for comment.

A spokeswoman told us: “Because that line is in the main description as a basic plot point, it was unnecessary to flag it again. So the latter instance was removed.”

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A theatre production of Three Little Pigs for kids was slapped with a ‘patronising’ trigger warning[/caption]

CORONATION Street unmasked Rob Donovan’s attacker as Carla Connor faced gunpoint terror and Lisa Swain was brutally ambushed.

Rob Donovan’s (Marc Baylis) great escape took a deadly twist in the Monday’s gripping episode of Coronation Street.

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Mandy seized Carla at gunpoint, dragging her out of bed before forcing her to an abandoned office block[/caption]

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Rob coldly declared that he cared about no one but himself and his freedom[/caption]

The cold-blooded killer had struck a secret deal – offering up a kidney to save his sister Carla Connor (Alison King), while her copper partner DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) vowed to pull strings to get his conviction overturned.

However, Lisa had no intention of sticking to the deal.

So, as soon as the operation was over, Rob launched his daring escape.

Rob then turned to his prison guard lover, Mandy (Rebecca Atkinson), for a last-ditch escape plan.

She wasted no time, seizing Carla at gunpoint and dragging her out of bed before forcing her to an abandoned office block – setting the stage for a deadly showdown.

Carla desperately tried to make Mandy see sense, warning her that Rob was only using her.

Meanwhile, Rob hijacked Lisa’s car, demanding a hefty cash transfer and warning that Carla would suffer if she didn’t comply.

But when Lisa attempted to call for backup, Rob snapped – viciously attacking her and leaving her for dead.

Back at the office block, Mandy revealed she was pregnant with his child, but Rob’s reaction was far from what she expected.

Instead of joy, he lashed out, knocking her to the ground, finally exposing his true colours.

Realising the monster he really was, Mandy walked away, while Rob coldly declared that he cared about no one but himself and his freedom.

With chilling composure, he then admitted to Carla that he may have just murdered Lisa – leaving her horrified.

But Carla wasn’t about to let him win.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she charged at him, shoving him hard.

He teetered for a moment before tumbling over the stairwell, landing with a sickening thud below.

Rob was left motionless on the floor as a horrified Carla looked on.

A battered but very much alive Lisa then staggered onto the scene.

But is Rob dead?

And if he is… has Carla just crossed the line into murder?

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX.

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Rob went tumbling over the stairwell after he was pushed by his sister Carla[/caption]

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A battered Lisa then staggered onto the scene. But is Rob dead?[/caption]

A MAJOR fashion chain with 105 stores will close more sites as 12 locations already face the chop.

Select Fashion will shutter a further three stores across Bristol and Nottinghamshire this year, marking the latest in a string of closures by the brand.

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The fashion brand will close three more stores across the UK.[/caption]

The British fashion chain – owned by Turkish entrepreneur Cafer Mahiroğlu – fell into administration in 2019.

At the time, the retailer blamed tough conditions on the high street and was later bought out of administration by Genus UK Limited.

Recent filings on Companies House – the UK’s register of businesses – show Select Fashion entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) last summer.

A CVA is a way of restructuring that means a business can continue trading by negotiating its debts, such as cutting rent costs with landlords.

It is a common way for struggling businesses to try and stay afloat, with chains such as Caffe Nero and Body Shop having previously entered into one.

Now, a further two sites in Bristol city centre and a third in Worksop are braced for closure.

Bristol World detailed how branches in Broadmead and within Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle have launched an “Everything Must Go” sale to help shift stock before both departures.

Elsewhere, a statement by Select Worksop was issued on social media stating that store would likely close on March 5.

The store has also launched a sale, knocking 25% off both sale and full price items.

One local shared their devastation over the news, writing under the announcement: “Feel so sorry for your shop. Its the only decent clothes shop left.”

The Sun has approached Select for comment.

It comes just weeks after The Sun revealed the affordable clothing and accessory retailer had plans to shutter a dozen stores across the UK.

Documents, previously seen by The Sun, detail how personnel were told a total of 12 stores would shutter across February and March.

The list of stores include:

• Southshields
• Peterlee
• Thornaby
• Hartlepool
• Scarborough
• Hull Hessle
• Hull St Stephens
• Ashington
• Scunthorpe

Select has already made a string of closures this month, including sites in Wolverhampton and Kidderminster.

These branches both closed at the start of January.

Its location in Scunthorpe was also marked for closure in January.

Select’s Merthyr Tydfil store in Wales will close in March along with the Wellingborough store on March 15.

The Wiltshire branch in Chippenham is also closing down.

These reports also follow a barrage of closures made by the bargain fashion store last year.

Bosses decided to call time on its Ipswich, Kent, and Cwmbran branches in 2024.

Select also closed its branch in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre in London.

The bargain retailer, which has been on the high street for nearly four decades, has around 105 stores still up and running.

MORE SHOP CLOSURES

Plenty of other retailers are closing stores across the high street as households lean more towards online shopping and amid high business rates.

Soaring inflation in recent years has also dented shoppers’ pockets.

The Centre for Retail Research’s latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.

Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers.

The data also showed over half the stores that closed last year were shut due to the store or retailer going through insolvency proceedings.

This is when formal measures are taken to deal with tackling a business‘s debt.

Retailers are shutting stores in 2025 too.

DIY chain Homebase will close 33 stores this month following its administration.

Homebase fell into administration in November, with up to 70 of the struggling DIY chain’s branches bought by CDS Superstores, now trading as Wilko, The Range and Homebase.

But that left around 74 branches at risk of closure if no buyers could be found to take them on.

Teneo has confirmed 13 branches closed last month, including in London, Coventry and Bradford.

Now, the 33 shutting this month will take the full list of branches closing to 52, after six shut before the end of 2024.

Of the 74 sites put up for sale by Teneo, Sainsbury’s is expected to buy three more stores, after securing 10 earlier in 2024.

Last month, B&Q agreed to buy five branches. This suggests around four stores out of the list of 74 are at risk of closure still.

MANCHESTER CITY are set to go head-to-head with rivals Real Madrid again this summer – in a battle for £85 million midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The two old foes – who meet again in the Bernabeu on Wednesday – are both huge admirers of the Germany international.

Bayer Leverkusen’s star man, 21, is believed to be keen on a switch to the Spanish giants when he does leave his homeland.

But Pep Guardiola and his bosses at the Etihad view him as an ideal long-term successor to Kevin De Bruyne.

City began their rebuilding programme by splashing out more than £175 million on four new signings in January.

That included defensive midfielder Nico Gonzalez and Saturday’s hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush who can play as a No 10 or out wide.

But they know that De Bruyne, who turns 34 in the summer and is also out of contract around the same time, cannot go on forever.

Guardiola admitted last week that two long-term injuries mean the brilliant Belgian is ‘not the same’ player he used to be.

Homegrown England star Phil Foden will be eyeing the vacancy – but is also versatile enough to be used in a number of different positions.

However they are also weighing up their options from outside the club – and Wirtz is among the candidates.

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He has 27 goals and assists so far this season for Xabi Alonso’s men – and Leverkusen would love to tie him down to a new contract.

His decision could well be impacted by his current coach – with the former Liverpool midfielder in the frame to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid.

Bayern Munich – managed by City legend Vincent Kompany – could also enter the race for Wirtz.

The youngster has formed a promising partnership with Jamal Musiala for the national team and the German league leaders would love to pair them together at club level too.

Meanwhile City are due to welcome new £12.5 million signing Claudio Echeverri to the Etihad this week after he completed his international duty with Argentina Under 20s.

The 19-year-old has been dubbed the ‘new Messi’ back in his homeland and arrives with a glowing reputation.

He will link up with the first team squad so Guardiola can decide whether he is ready to challenge for a place – or if he should go out on loan next season.

Pep and his squad will fly to Spain on Tuesday to prepare for their latest Champions League encounter with Madrid.

The holders have a 3-2 lead following a dramatic late win at the Etihad – meaning City have it all to do if they are to avoid an early exit.

But they did win at the Bernabeu five years ago – and still have hope they save themselves.

Guardiola will make a check on stand-in skipper Erling Haaland who limped off late in the 4-0 win over Newcastle with a knee injury.

However, the Norway international was snapped during a warm down session at the City Football Academy on Sunday and is expected to be named in the travelling party.

This is the fifth time the two clubs have been drawn together in the competition in the last six seasons.

A MAJOR car brand has discontinued its supermini in the UK after 10 years but has its replacement already lined up.

Mazda confirmed its Mazda 2 petrol supermini can no longer be ordered brand new, with just a “few hundred” examples left in showrooms across the UK.

Matt Vosper

The motor landed on our roads in April 2015 and quickly earned praise for being fun to drive, and for its smart cabin and pace.

Despite two face-lifts in 2019 and 2013, which both added extra tech to the compact car, the car’s near ten-year run in UK sales has finally come to an end.

But, not all hope is lost as the Japanese carmaker confirmed the 2’s successor, the Mazda 2 Hybrid, would be naturally taking its place.

Mazda did not explain why the vehicle was cancelled, but a spokesperson told Autocar: “As we move towards increased electrification of our cars, the Mazda 2 Hybrid meets consumer demand in the B-segment and is a step in our journey to ensure all our cars have some form of electrification by 2030.”

The Mazda 2 Hybrid is almost identical to the Toyota Yaris, and is a nimble and agile compact motor.

It comes with a 1.5L, three-cylinder petrol engine as well as an electric motor and battery.

Its engine produces 116bhp and can go from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds, with a top speed of 109mph.

The front-wheel drive motor emits just 92g/km of CO2 and received a five star Euro NCAP safety rating in 2020.

While the age of the Mazda 2 may have been a reason behind its axing, the automaker was likely also encouraged by the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.

This scheme aims to pressure car makers to gradually increase their sales of electric vehicles (EVs) from 80 per cent in 2030 up to 100 per cent by 2035.

At present, mainstream manufacturers across the UK are each assigned a total carbon “credit” allowance annually.

These levels are based on a carmakers total sales in the previous year as well as the average CO2 emissions of the petrol, diesel and hybrid cars it sold in 2021.

However, if a company cuts its CO2 emissions to below this allowance level, it can convert its “credits” into sales that count towards its ZEV targets.

Car giants have been trying to convince the Government to soften these rules, amid fears of factory closures and job losses.

The ZEV scheme requires car makers to have 28 per cent of their sales come from electric vehicles by the end of this year and have phased out petrol cars by 2030 or face hefty fines.

Mazda will likely be feeling some pressure to achieve these targets, as it will only offer one EV in the UK – the MX-30 crossover – until the arrival of the 6e saloon next year.

The MX-30 comprised just 5 per cent of the carmaker’s UK sales in 2024, far short of the ZEV mandate target of 22 per cent last year, according to Autocar.

This comes a Peugeot is reportedly considering bringing back a new, electrified version of its much-loved 208 GTi hatchback.

Top boss Alain Favey said he has been thinking about reviving the hot hatch.

He said bringing back the GTi version was “a question I’ve been asking myself very much”, Autocar reports.

When asked if there would ever be an electrified version of 208GTi, Favey said: “I am very eager to connect the Peugeot brand with what it stands for to its past, to its heritage in every sense.

“So we will look back at what the heritage of the brand is and we will see to what extent this can be adapted to the modern world – and there is nothing excluded in our review of this and certainly not the GTi badge, for sure.”

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Mark Selby genuinely felt his career could be at an end just months ago, but after landing his third title of the season things are looking very rosy again for the Jester from Leicester.

The 41-year-old beat Stephen Maguire to win the Welsh Open on Sunday night, taking his career tally to a monumental 24 rankings titles – just six players in the history of snooker have more.

Selby’s triumph in Llandudno comes after a brilliant win at the British Open in September and a defence of his Championship League Invitational title just earlier this month.

It is quite the turnaround from April last year when Selby was beaten in the first round of the World Championship by debutant Joe O’Connor and said retirement was a possibility.

The four-time world champion has spoken about his struggles with mental health in the past and ahead of the Crucible last year his snooker was making it worse, so much so that quitting the game was a genuine consideration.

Speaking after his Welsh Open glory on Sunday, Selby said: ‘If you had asked me then, after that game, would I be carry on playing? I would have probably said no.

‘If you had put me on the spot, to let me make a decision there and then, I would have probably never played again.

‘But you know, I had a bit of summer away, I spoke to friends and family. I said, I am not really enjoying it, I cannot keep putting myself through it if I am going to be feeling like that. Because it’s just making me even more ill.

‘They were saying, why don’t you have a bit of time out. You have the summer anyway. Don’t even go anywhere near the table. I spoke to the doctor a couple of times and he said to me, look, whenever you feel like that, just pick and choose. I know you want to play in everything but you need to start putting yourself first.

‘That is what I thought I would do. After the summer, I felt a little bit better, I was practising a little bit, speaking with the doctor, changed a few things, and seemed to be in a better place.

‘That is not to say that from now until the end of the season, I might play in everything. That could easily turn. If I am in that position again like I was a couple of weeks before the Worlds, whether it’s the World Championship or Players Championships, Hong Kong, I definitely won’t compete. It’s not healthy.’

The world number three may be ready to sit out any event if he feels he has to, he is also feeling very good about his game after two titles this month.

Attention is going to swiftly turn to the World Championship again, with the highlight of every season now just a couple of months away and the four-time champ set to head to Sheffield as one of the favourites.

‘I’ll go there confident, I can’t not,’ Selby said of his upcoming trip to the iconic South Yorkshire theatre.

‘This season so far, even when I’ve not done well in some of the tournaments and I’ve gone out early doors in the last 32 or last 16, I still feel like I’ve played okay.

‘There haven’t been many matches where I can single out a really poor performance. Against [Jack] Lisowski in the UK I felt like I played good and he played great. Xiao Guodong in the Champions of Champions in the semis, I felt like I played good and he played great.

‘I knew it was there. It was just about getting that momentum and stringing some wins together. I hadn’t been doing that since September in the British Open. This week it all sort of came together.

‘I feel like my back up game is sort of somewhere near where I want it to be. I feel like in the last couple of seasons it’s not been as good as it was in past years.

‘That might have been because of how I was mentally and I possibly wasn’t up for the fight because of how I was feeling.

‘At the moment I feel in a bit of a better place and I’m enjoying the challenge out there hence why I’m probably playing a bit better.’

Selby is still a fierce competitor and undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever to pick up a snooker cue, but his priorities have changed since facing down his mental health struggles and trophies have slipped down the pecking order.

‘From where I was, I’m just happy to be in a half decent place mentally,’ he said. ‘Health is wealth. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got in the bank, you could have all the money in the world, but if you’re not enjoying life and not in a good place it means nothing.

‘I feel like I’m in a bit better place and that’s all that matters to me. I’m happy with that. If I win tournaments along the way then great, if I don’t as long as I can stay how I am at the moment and slowly improve I’ll always be happy with that.’

It's just made things worse.

The last 18 years could have been very different.