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THE BAFTAS are taking place on Sunday, but two people who won’t be in attendance are the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Kensington Palace have confirmed the royal couple will not be taking to the red carpet at the star-studded event.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales will not attend the Baftas on Sunday[/caption]

The ceremony takes place at the start of George, Charlotte and Louis’ half-term holiday from Lambrook school, meaning family time may be top of the agenda.

Prince William, 42, is president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Baftas), but has not attended consecutive years since taking on the position in 2010, succeeding the actor and director Richard Attenborough. 

The Prince of Wales attended last year, but Princess Kate skipped the event due to her recovery from her planned abdominal surgery. 

The couple have previously walked the red carpet together, including in 2023 and 2020.

Prince William won’t be attending the event this weekend but he will be helping young filmmakers shoot a movie during a visit to the London Screen Academy, a sixth form in Highbury.

Here he will tour the school and meet Year 13 students creating a short film called Melomania.

Princess Kate first attended the Baftas in 2017, but the couple took a break in 2021, just before Prince Philip passed away.

The Princess of Wales walked the red carpet heavily pregnant in 2018 with Prince Louis, who arrived two months later.

They also skipped the ceremony in 2022 due to diary constraints, but were back in 2023, when the event paid tribute to the late Queen.

The EE Bafta Film Awards, hosted by David Tennant, take place on Sunday, February 16.

This year, Ralph Fiennes’ film Conclave – a thriller about finding a new Pope in Vatican City – has been nominated for 12 Bafta Awards, including best actor and best film.

The movie is also in the running for best Casting, Production Design, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing and Costume Design, as well as Supporting Actress for Isabella Rossellini and Director for Edward Berger.

It will go up against Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (six nominations), comedy drama Anora (seven), epic drama The Brutalist (nine) and musical crime comedy Emilia Perez (11). Dune: Part Two and Wicked, which both have seven nominations.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales at the 2020 Bafta Awards[/caption]

The Mega Agency

This weekend is the start of George, Charlotte and Louis’ half term holiday from school[/caption]

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Ariana Grande’s nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Glinda in the Wicked[/caption]

Meanwhile, pop stars Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez will go head-to-head at this year’s event.

One Last Time singer Ariana, 31, has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress gong for her role as Glinda in the blockbuster adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.

Selena, 32, is also in the running for the award, for playing Jessi Del Monte in musical thriller Emilia Perez.

London-born Cynthia Erivo is up for Leading Actress for her role in Wicked.

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Selena Gomez is nominated for the same award for her role in musical thriller Emilia Perez[/caption]

Alamy

Conclave – starring Ralph Fiennes – has been nominated for 12 awards[/caption]

LOOSE Women star Linda Robson has confirmed she is returning to acting with a brand new role over five years since the end of her beloved sitcom Birds of a Feather.

The popular star, 66, has bagged herself a brand new role in a top drama – her first mainstream TV acting job since her sitcom came to an end.

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Linda Robson has landed herself a brand new acting gig[/caption]

Freemantle Media UK

It is her first major role since Birds of a Feather came to an end[/caption]

Channel 5

Linda has been snapped up by The Good Ship Murder[/caption]

Linda rose to fame as Tracey Stubbs in the programme in 1989 but last appeared in the role in 2020.

Since then, she has focused on her job on Loose Women as well as other guest presenting roles but she is now ready to dip her toe back into the acting world.

Speaking at the TV Choice Awards, Linda confessed she had won a part in Channel 5‘s drama The Good Ship Murder.

Led by Shayne Ward and Catherine Tydlesly, Linda will be filming on the show for eight days next month.

Spilling all on her role, she said: “I’ve just won a part in Murder on the Ship or whatever it is called that Shayne Ward does.

“So yeah, I’m going to be doing eight days of filming for that in Malta.”

Offering up a hint as to her character, she also cheekily implied she would not die on the show as a result of being out there for eight days.

Linda continued: “Hopefully I don’t die!

“My character’s name is Elsa and I think I play a cabin steward and I’m filming that in March.

“I’ve met Shayne quite a few times too – he’s been a guest at Loose Women but apparently he sings in every episode doesn’t he?”

Linda then laughed: “He won’t get me to sing!”

Elsewhere, Linda also opened up to The Sun about her best pal Pauline Quirke following the devastating revelation of her dementia battle.

In a frank admission, Linda revealed the true extent of Pauline’s condition and admitted she would rather have cancer than face what her co-star is going through.

Linda told us: “It’s very sad. We’ve been best friends since we were ten. I’ve known [about the diagnosis] for three years and we’ve managed to keep it quiet.

“She doesn’t know who anybody is. 

“She doesn’t know who I am or who her kids are. Dementia is terrible – I’d rather get cancer, because at least then you’ve got a chance.”

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Linda spoke with The Sun at the TV Choice Awards[/caption]

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She has been supporting best pal Pauline Quirke[/caption]

LOVE Island All Stars fans have slammed last night’s brutal villa exit and said the wrong couple were dumped.

In a shock twist, three couples were up for the chop after receiving the most votes in a villa game.

Eroteme

Eroteme

Eroteme

Maya then sent shockwaves as she entered the villa and said one pair would be dumped, before they made their tearful goodbyes.

Gathering the islanders around the firepit, Maya revealed that Tina and Chuggs had been dumped.

The decisions in the game left fans fuming, with many saying Casey and Gabby should have received more votes in the categories.

One viewer penned: “Who the hell is voting yes to Casey and Gabby working outside… no way!”

Another tweet exploded: “Who the f**k is voting on these polls??? Casey not here for clout???”

Chuggs, a 26-year-old bombshell, had only just entered the villa arriving last week with Samie Elishi.

Tina, once coupled with Scott Thomas, faced the ax after he quit.

Speaking about Casey and Gabby after his exit from the, Chuggs insisted they will last.

He said: “Casey has been on a journey with his Love Island stints, he’s a massive personality.

“All of Casey’s quirks Gabby puts up with and supports and finds endearing, so that’s very sweet.

“And I think they’re a very active couple.

“They both have similar interests and I think they’re gonna have a lot of fun together on the outside.”

He also noted seeing cracks in one couple.

Chuggs revealed: “Ronnie has worked really hard to show Harriett that he still cares and loves her and I believe he does.

“I’m sure Harriett loves him too but she has made him grovell a bit more than she maybe needed to.

“She could give him a bit of open love in front of everyone – she could do a bit more for him rather than him bending over backwards for her.

“Now she’s set on him, she could reciprocate the attention a bit.”

AN INFLUENCER with over 100,000 fans has received over 500 requests to be men’s Valentine’s this year, but there’s one problem.

Aika Kittie, a model on Instagram earns £5,000 a month but it’s not her taking the money home.

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Aika has hundreds of men begging to see her this Valentine’s Day[/caption]

instagram/@aikakittie

But there’s one problem with the influencer – can you spot it?[/caption]

Despite having thousands of fans and posing in lingerie on Instagram, Aika is an AI character who isn’t real.

The fictional woman earns cash as doting men subscribe to Fanvue so they can talk to the AI chatbot.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the creator behind the digital bombshell claims Kittie has already received over 500 proposals to spend time with her on the most romantic day of the year.

While she may not be real, Aika has been offered designer shopping trips and even a trip to Paris.

Her creator said: “Aika has received Valentine’s proposals to take her shopping at Louis Vuitton, dinner at one of London‘s top restaurants and even a romantic trip to Paris.

“In the past, Aika has had offers to fly on a private jet to Dubai, and countless other holiday invites.

“She’s built such a loyal fanbase on platforms like Fanvue and Instagram through sharing her digital journey that so many fans want to meet her.”

While Aika won’t be able to accept the in-person proposals, her creator believes she’ll still be the luckiest gal’ in the world this Valentine’s – with hundreds of her subscribers expected to log on and show their love.

According to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research, at least one million Brits are chatting to bots.

Aika is set to have a busy day on the 14th, and her creator plans to work 18 hours to fix ‘lonely hearts‘.

A Fanvue spokesperson told the Mirror: “AI Influencers are able to build massive fanbases online, sharing their lives and journey through content – just like a human influencer would.

“Our chat service, which is available to all creators on our platform, is incredibly popular and we’re expecting a massive spike in user traffic as singletons choose to spend their Valentine’s online, rather than on a real-world.”

Fans of hers have left plenty of messages declaring their love over on her Instagram account.

One person wrote: “You’re truly beautiful and have a sexy body and I love you so much.”

Another commented: “You are totally my type, I love you.”

“You are my absolute dream woman,” penned a third.

LUKE LITTLER has revealed he will retire as soon as he loses the fire in his belly.

The world champion has already achieved big things in his career and has already won three majors, as well as the Premier League.

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Littler wants to win every major at least once, and hopes to do it before he loses his passion for the sport.

The 18-year-old revealed he would not hesitate to quit if he loses the fire in his belly.

He told the Tops and Tales Darts Podcast: “Michael (van Gerwen) said this in a different interview – once the fire goes out your belly, there’s just no point in playing.

“So if I say I’m going to continue playing darts for 30 years, well I could wake up tomorrow morning, the fire’s gone out of my belly, and I wanna retire.”

Littler enjoyed a remarkable debut season on the Pro Tour, winning the Premier League before success in the World Series and the Grand Slam.

Now he has in his sights the remaining five majors, and he is aiming to win multiple titles.

Littler continued: “I probably won’t be playing at 50. It’s just the way the sport’s going. It’s just growing, growing and growing.

“But yeah, obviously the one thing I do want to do, and I’ve said it numerous times, is win one of every major at least once.

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“Get them on the bucket list. Obviously, I’ve won a Pro Tour, a Euro Tour, the Premier League.

“I’ve won the biggest one, the World Championship. I’ve won the World Series and the Grand Slam. So there’s not much left.

“There’s not a lot for me to do now. And then I’ve ticked it all off.

“Once I do get one of everything, that’s when I want to at least add to it.

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