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Online royal commentators have wondered what Meghan was trying to promote with the strange post(Image: BACKGRID)

Fans have been left perplexed over Meghan Markle’s latest Instagram post, with some claiming they “can’t even read” the cryptic message.

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The Duchess of Sussex took to her As Ever page – used to share products from her lifestyle brand – to post an inspiring message. The text featured curling calligraphy written in white and superimposed over a formal garden photo, showing nearly trimmed lavender hedges and a lawn.

The image also has specks of sun flare, with many fans complaining that the culmination of too many elements made the message hard to read. “Let me tell you ’bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon above,” the message read.

 

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Meghan’s “illegible” Instagram post(Image: Instagram/ @aseverofficial)

In the caption, she finished off the lyrics from the 1965 song by Jewel Akens, writing: “…and a little thing called love”. Many took to social media to admit they were having trouble deciphering the challenging font, while others wondered what the point behind the ‘update’ was.

One person wrote on X: “I can’t even read her fauxligraphy”, while another blasted the Duchess’s ‘penmanship’ calling it “atrocious As Ever” in a tongue in cheek jibe.

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Another person wrote: “How awful! It took me a few good reads and scrolling through the comments before I could work out what she was saying!” while someone else added: “Hieroglyphics would be easier to read.”

One social media user complained that the ‘tails’ on the letters made the lines confusing while another claimed they had even needed help to understand it, posting: “I had to ask someone to decipher it for me – I wish I hadn’t bothered”.

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Meghan has been nominatd for a podcast award(Image: Emma Grede/Youtube)

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Calling out the purpose of the post, one person asked: “What is she selling and what is she promoting in this post?”, while another said: “Does this have any point? This is her business account and any normal person would use it to promote their business and not put up random unrelated junk.”

Meghan’s confusing post comes after she was shortlisted for a prestigious award for her podcast, just months after announcing the project would be taking an indefinite break.

The Duchess of Sussex launched her podcast ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’ – her second audio project after the Archetypes podcast – earlier this year, in which she hoped to shine a light on female business owners and their experiences in the sector.

Now the show, which is streamed by Lemonada Media, has been shortlisted at the 4th Annual Signal Awards in the Business & Culture category. The production company announced the news on its Instagram page, encouraging people to have their say on the fan-voted award.

In June this year, Meghan appeared on Emma Grede’s Aspire podcast, and revealed that the show would not be returning anytime soon as she instead focuses on growing her lifestyle brand As Ever.

Kelly Brook praises Kelsey Parker as she opens up about losing her baby

‘At the time, miscarriage wasn’t really something we talked about’

During today’s (September 30) episode of Loose Women, Kelly Brook opened up about the “pain” she felt after losing her baby.

For Tuesday’s show, Kelly was joined by her fellow panelists Jane Moore, Mariella Frostrup and Sunetra Sarker. During the second half, the ITV daytime programme welcomed Kelsey Parker, who opened up about losing her son, Phoenix.

Phoenix was stillborn 39 weeks into Kelsey’s pregnancy earlier this summer. The 35 year old was due to welcome her baby with boyfriend Will Lindsay.

In 2022, her husband Tom Parker died from a brain tumour, with who she shared two children, daughter Aurelia, six, and son Bodhi, four.

Kelsey Parker lost her son Phoenix earlier this year (Credit: ITV)

Kelly Brook praises Kelsey Parker

While opening up about her grief and the tough few years she’s had, Kelly admitted to Kelsey that she had gone through a similar experience to her after losing her dad to cancer in 2007 and then her baby while pregnant in 2011.

“At the time when I lost my baby, miscarriage wasn’t really something we talked about a lot,” she admitted.

“I just remember at the time, my mum stepping in and being a real mumma bear to me and wanting to protect me from the pain I was going through. I was dealing with questions I hadn’t even come to terms with. Like ‘Did you have a name for your baby?’ ‘How would you like to remember them?’”

The former Big Breakfast host explained that she and her mum “both shut down” and “treated it as a miscarriage”. 

She told Kelsey: “I think, if I had seen someone like yourself or even Myleene [Klass] and other women in the public eye talking so publicly and openly and bravely like this, I think I would have dealt with it a lot differently.”

Kelly admitted she felt like “the only one it was happening to” as she explained why it’s so important for others to open up.

Kelly opened up about her own loss (Credit: ITV)

Viewers offer their support

After both women opened up about their tragic situations, viewers rushed to social media to share their support.

“Kelsey Parker is such a strong lady,” one user wrote on X.

“Kelly I just want to give you a hug,” another person shared.

“What a beautiful soul Kelsey Parker is,” a third remarked.

Big Brother is undergoing a major change for its 25th anniversary with the normal voting format being thrown out of the window.

Co-host Will Best announced on Big Brother: Late and Live tonight that fans can expect the voting process to be very different ahead of the first live eviction. After teasing the news throughout the show, Will said: “You may have heard this series the game is changing.

“Ahead of the first live eviction of the series, I can now exclusively reveal that in a break from long-standing Big Brother tradition that you the viewers will not be voting to evict. You will be voting to save.

Big Brother’s Will Best announced the twist during Late and Live ( 
Image:
ITV)
“The fans asked for it – we have delivered. Big Brother was listening.”

The voting change marks the first time in Big Brother history that viewers will vote to save contestants throughout a whole series. Viewers are typically asked to vote for the stars that they want to evict.

While the vote to save format has been used before on the show – and in the Celebrity series – it’s the first time that it will be used for every live eviction.

Some fans took to social media to praise the change, with one writing: “ITV actually listening and bringing back Vote To Save #BBUK.”

A second tweeted: “Yes!! #BBUK.” While a third said: “Vote to Save! #BBUK,” alongside an emoji with heart eyes.

However, some were underwhelmed by the twist. “Vote to save… Hmmm,” one sceptical viewer wrote online.

“Pros and cons to it. Let’s see how this series turns out as to whether this is a good thing or not. Is that really all ‘The game is changing’ was though?! #BBUK”

During tonight’s episode of Big Brother, fans were left sobbing when new housemate Richard revealed that he had adopted a 33-year-old refugee, who was his only son.

Speaking to the other housemates, 60-year-old Richard said: “I was actually working in Malaysia at the time and the hotel I was staying in, this particular gentleman was working there but he was refugee from Myanmar. He told me early on that he lost his natural father when he was a kid.

“That was our first meeting but a friendship began to develop. Whenever my travels took me to that part of the world, I would try to visit. Then, he turned to me for advice and as we got close to the end of it, he said, ‘Is this what it’s like having a dad to help you through life’s problems?’ and the crucial thing is independently of that, I began thinking, ‘Is this what it’s like having a son?’”

Strictly bosses urged to replace Dani Dyer with Amber Davies in opening credits

Dani pulled out of the show last week and was replaced by the Love Island star

BBC bosses are facing growing criticism from viewers after Strictly Come Dancing‘s opening credits continue to feature Dani Dyer, despite the reality star officially withdrawing from the competition due to injury and being replaced by Amber Davies.

Dani, who was originally partnered with pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin, had to pull out of the show just days before the first live performance after fracturing her ankle in rehearsals.

Her replacement, Love Island winner turned West End performer Amber, was announced just 24 hours before the live show aired.

However, fans were quick to notice that the opening titles still featured Dani, and not Amber.

Viewers questioned why Dani was still featured in the opening credits (Credit: Cover Images)

Strictly complaint as Dani Dyer remains in opening credits as Amber absent

During the first week of live shows, frustrated viewers took to social media to express their confusion and disappointment at the appearance of Dani in both Strictly Come Dancing and It Takes Two’s title sequences.

“Dani Dyer in the titles still?? #Strictly,” one fan wrote, attaching a gif that read ‘Well, this is awkward.’

“Could have taken Dani off the titles! #Strictly,” another commented bluntly.

“Why is Dani Dyer still shown in the opening titles and not Amber Davies? #StrictlyComeDancing.”

“Are they ever removing Dani for Amber on the opening credits? #ItTakesTwo #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing,” one viewer questioned, alongside a facepalm emoji.

Others were more understanding of the production delay, with one user noting: “It’s only been a few days.”

Still, the consensus was clear: fans expect the BBC to update the credits now that Amber has made her official debut.

Amber made her Strictly debut over the weekend (Credit: BBC)

Amber Davies replaces Dani Dyer

Just one day before the live shows began, the BBC announced that Amber Davies would be stepping in to replace Dani.

The 28-year-old performer is best known for winning Love Island in 2017 and starring in multiple West End productions. She was paired with Dani’s original partner, Nikita Kuzmin.

Dani broke the news of her exit in a heartfelt Instagram post last week. “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny,” she wrote.

She revealed that she had fractured her ankle and was advised to pull out of the show. “To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement.”

Dani added that she would deeply miss dancing with Nikita, but vowed to support the remaining contestants

Meanwhile, speaking after the whirlwind casting decision, Amber said, “This has been the craziest 24 hours of my life. I’ve watched Strictly with my family since I was younger, and to now be part of the show is a dream come true.

I’m going to give it my all, and I am sending Dani well wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope I do her proud.”

Despite having just 24 hours to rehearse, Amber impressed the judges with a graceful waltz to Adele’s When We Were Young, earning an impressive 27 points and landing her and Nikita in the top five on the leaderboard.

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Michelle Mone(Image: BBC)

Tory peer Michelle Mone has accused the Government of making her and her husband a “poster couple for the PPE scandal” and claimed it had turned down multimillion-pound offers to settle a High Court legal battle with a company she is linked with.

PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Baroness Mone’s husband, businessman Doug Barrowman, is being sued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over allegations it breached a contract for 25 million surgical gowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lawyers for the Government told a trial earlier this year that it was entitled to recover the £121 million cost of the contract, which the company opposes.

Mrs Justice Cockerill will rule on the case on Wednesday, while court records showed that PPE Medpro filed a “notice of appointment to appoint an administrator” on Tuesday.

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Michelle Mone(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In a post on X on Tuesday, Baroness Mone claimed the case “was never about gowns or money” and said that before the trial, PPE Medpro offered to replace the gowns and then offered a cash sum to settle the case during the trial, which was rejected.

She said: “Instead, the DHSC chose to spend a staggering £5 million of taxpayers’ mone y pursuing litigation against a company they knew had no funds.”

She continued that she and Mr Barrowman had “worked tirelessly with the DHSC to resolve this dispute”, and that PPE Medpro had “fulfilled its contracts”.

She said: “This case was never about gowns or money. It has always been about politics and blame-shifting, a way to cover up the Government’s disastrous £10 billion PPE write-off.

“Doug and I have been deliberately scapegoated and vilified in an orchestrated campaign designed to distract from catastrophic mismanagement of PPE procurement.

 

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“The Government decided to make us the poster couple for the PPE scandal, a convenient distraction to take the blame off them.”

She added: “PPE Medpro delivered products manufactured to internationally recognised standards, yet many other suppliers who ran off with deposits or provided defective goods face no action.

“Singling out one company in this way is not justice; it is scapegoating.”

In one letter posted by Baroness Mone on X, sent by PPE Medpro to the Government Legal Department, the company said the High Court case was a “clear case of buyer’s remorse, long after the event”.

It continued that an original settlement offer “was made in good faith, not as a sign of weakness but as a way of getting both sides out of a difficult PR optic”, adding that it was “prepared to give you a win”.

It also said that if a second offer to settle the case “once and for all” was rejected, it “looks forward to pulling apart” the DHSC’s “ludicrous” case in the remainder of the trial.

In court documents filed in May, the DHSC said it paid PPE Medpro £121,999,219.20 in the summer of 2020 for the gowns and rejected them in December that year.

Paul Stanley KC, for the DHSC, told the trial in London earlier this year that PPE Medpro breached the contract for the gowns as they were “faulty” due to not being sterile.

He said it should be allowed to recoup the costs of the contract as a result, as well as those of transporting and storing the items, which amount to an additional £8,648,691.

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Michelle Mone and husband Doug Barrowman(Image: BBC)

Barristers for the firm told the trial that it had been “singled out for unfair treatment” and accused the Government of “buyer’s remorse”, claiming that the gowns became defective due to the conditions they were kept in after being delivered to the DHSC.

Charles Samek KC, for PPE Medpro, told the trial in written submissions that the Government had ordered 10 years’ worth of excess gowns by December 2020, which meant the gowns were “no longer needed or wanted”.

He said the company had “perhaps been singled out” due to those associated with it, adding that the sterility claim was “without real substance” and “is in truth no more than opportunistic”.

Cat Deeley ‘sparks This Morning chaos’ amid claims she’ll ‘step down from presenting role’

Presenting duties have ‘taken a toll’ on Cat following her split, it’s claimed

This Morning has reportedly been thrown into chaos amid speculation that Cat Deeley could step back from her role presenting the show.

A source has alleged that 48-year-old Cat is thinking about quitting when her contract ends in spring next year after she split from her husband, Patrick Kielty, earlier this year. The pair share two sons, nine-year-old Milo and James, seven.

Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on This Morning (Credit: ITV)

Cat ‘might need a break’

“Cat’s been a total pro since stepping into the job. But she’s been going through a lot personally since splitting from her husband, and it’s taken a toll. This Morning was a lifeline during the hardest days, but she’s thinking she might need a break. She’s realised how much she wants to be there for her boys and is thinking about the long-term and what will give her happiness and stability,” the source said.

The presenter joined This Morning permanently in March 2024. She joined alongside Ben Shephard after Holly Willoughby quit the show. Before This Morning, she lived in the US – where she hosted So You Think You Can Dance. However, the source has said she hasn’t got any plans to move back across the Atlantic.

“She loves LA and still has so many contacts there. But she knows her sons need stability, and she won’t take them away from Patrick. For now, she’s focused on carving out a new balance here in Britain.”

Cat and Patrick split earlier this year (Credit: Cover Images)

Finding a replacement for Cat could prove chaotic

If Cat were to quit the show, This Morning could be thrown into chaos with bosses trying to find a replacement. The source added: “Cat was meant to bring stability. But if she does decide to go, they’re back to square one.”

Alison Hammond has said she doesn’t intend to become a full-time presenter, while the source claimed ITV fears “brilliant” relief presenter Olivia Attwood may not appeal to viewers in quite the same way.

Sue Radford looks better than ever as she shows off two-stone weight loss in a plunging swimsuit

Sue recently opened up about her weight-loss journey

She might be the mum of Britain’s biggest family, but Sue Radford, 50, is looking better than ever, even after having 22 children.

During a lavish family holiday to Dubai, the 22 Kids and Counting star turned heads as she posed poolside in a plunging orange swimsuit with ruching.

Pairing the look with oversized black sunglasses and her blonde hair tied back, Sue radiated confidence as she stretched out under the Dubai sun.

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A post shared by Radford Family (@theradfordfamily)

Sue Radford poses in swimsuit

Posting the snapshot to the family’s Instagram page, Sue captioned the image: “A little sunbathe before heading out the day today – Love the Sun.”

Her daughter Chloe Radford was quick to hype up her mum in the comments, writing: “Looking absolutely amazing.”

Fans also flooded the post with praise.

“You look amazing! I best stop blaming my three children for my figure. 22 children and you’re on fire,” one follower joked.

“You must be so proud of yourself, Sue. You look amazing!” another added.

“Incredible,” a third fan gushed.

“Beautiful mother,” another agreed.

The glowing appearance comes after Sue recently shed nearly two stone as part of a personal health journey. The mum-of-22 revealed that she’s dropped a dress size.

Sharing a recent shopping experience on Instagram, Sue wrote: “Bought these a little while ago in a size 12. Think I may need to size down now.”

Sue and her husband Noel star in 22 Kids and Counting (Credit: ITV)

Sue shares two-stone weight loss

Sue has been candid in the past about gaining weight through “eating rubbish food”, but says she now feels “so much more healthier and confident”.

In another post from last month, she proudly posed in a baby pink bodycon mini dress, writing: “I never thought I’d ever wear anything like this again.”

“I feel so much more healthier and confident for losing nearly 2 stone,” the reality star continued. “I had put on so much just eating rubbish food and felt awful. I’m now back in the 8 stone bracket, which is where I wanted to be, so I’m really chuffed.”

Although she didn’t specify how she lost the weight, fans speculated in the comments, with one accusing her of using Mounjaro, a GLP-1 medication used for weight loss.

“Bet she’s on Mounjaro,” one user wrote.

But others jumped to her defence.

“So what if she is!” one commenter hit back. “It’s helped her lose weight and she looks fab. Don’t automatically assume. She could have changed her diet regimen and eaten more healthy as well.”

Susanna Reid has come under fire from Labour backers thanks to her rather firm line of questioning towards Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, on Tuesday morning.

However, despite the complaints, the Good Morning Britain presenter has also faced her fair share of applause from ITV viewers who felt the 54-year-old was “spot on” to hold the government to account.

 

The full-blooded debate among viewers erupted as Ms Reid took the reins of an interview with Mr Streeting while her co-host and former Labour politician Ed Balls watched on.

On the agenda were probes about Sir Keir Starmer’s dwindling popularity in the polls, the proposed rollout of digital IDs, and the idea of introducing an online health service to those in need.

Mr Streeting joined the show via video link from Liverpool, where Labour’s annual conference is being held, and began the discussion by lauding the government’s results and performance over the past 14 months.

He also had many a kind word to say about Mr Starmer in light of the damning polling results that emerged last week.

Not exactly willing to take Mr Streeting’s word as gospel, Ms Reid soon challenged: “It’s just that he’s historically the least popular Prime Minister in history.

“It’s just not cutting through. You can list a whole list of what you think are your achievements. If the voters don’t feel like you’re delivering to them, it’s not going to work, is it?”

Mr Streeting launched a passionate defence of the PM: “Well, what I’d say about our Prime Minister is that he’s a decent man with a good heart and good values.

“And he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He knows what it is to struggle. His parents experienced that struggle. So did he.

“He has come into public service, and he’s come into politics, because he wants to make sure that everybody in this country has a fair chance. And there are people who are sitting around the table-”

“Sorry, forgive me,” Ms Reid interjected. “He might be the nicest person in the world, but if he’s a bad Prime Minister, that’s what matters to voters.

Mr Streeting replied: “This is a Prime Minister who, when he set off for Washington to meet with President Trump, there were loads of people who were expecting, and in some cases hoping, that he’d fall flat on his face and fail -”

“How does that make anyone feel better off? How does that help anyone pay their bills?” Ms Reid butted in once again.

Mr Streeting answered: “Susanna, you ask the workers at Jaguar Land Rover how they feel about the fact that their Prime Minister went to Washington on their behalf and secured a trade deal better than any other country in the world that secured those jobs at Jaguar Land Rover.

“That’s what this Prime Minister is about. He’s not a showman, he’s a statesman. He is there to deliver real change for our country, practical change that matters in people’s pockets, people’s livelihoods, and people’s prospects for the future.

“And that is why, whether it’s the investment in our education or the action we’ve taken to secure jobs, we are fundamentally on the side of working-class people, not just so that they can beat the odds, but so that we can change the odds and shift the dial in favour of ordinary working people from backgrounds like ours, the most working-class cabinet in British history.”

As the conversation rolled on, Ms Reid continued to provide the majority of the tricky probes as she shone the spotlight on the Health Secretary, particularly when it came to Labour’s online health service.

Ms Reid’s tough scrutiny of the Health Secretary went down well with those keen to see Labour put under the microscope, with one X user responding to a clip of the debate with a series of applause emojis and the simple message: “Well done, Susanna.”

“Susanna… You’re absolutely 100% [spot on] here,” a second added before they continued: “It isn’t working. If it were a privately held business, the Chairman would show him the door. If he (Starmer) wants any chance of party survival, he should quit now. Him and Reeves. They just don’t see it though…..”

“Susanna said words that resonated with me through my career… ‘Telling isn’t selling’… instead shut up and listen… and act on what you hear,” a third applauded before a fourth echoed: “Well done, Susanna… ‘we helped a company’, wow one company, what about the rest of the country!”

However, Ms Reid’s grilling of Mr Streeting was deemed too harsh by left-leaning viewers, with some even claiming it proved her “bias”.

“Why is your programme so anti-Labour? It’s really unwatchable now, absolutely no balance,” one X user complained before a second argued: “Shame on you, Susanna Reid. You and the media have consistently talked Keir Starmer down. He may not be perfect, but I would choose him over any leader or politician.”

A third also moaned: “Susanna was a disgrace this morning. Nothing impartial about her smirking, slagging off the PM at every opportunity. If I were Wes, I’d have told her that her programme is part of the problem. It’s been a campaign of undermining since last July.”

And a fourth concurred: “@susannareid100… Absolute hatchet job this morning against the PM. Labour needs to stand up to this constant undermining of Starmer. If you tell stupid people something often enough, they will believe it, straight from the Farage playbook.”

The irony of the claims of bias wasn’t lost on other viewers, however, who ridiculed Mr Balls for his seeming lack of desire to quiz Mr Streeting, given his ties to the Labour Party and marriage to Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper.

Highlighting the point, one X user typed: “Funny that whenever a Reform or Conservative MP is being interviewed, Ed Balls gets proper stuck into them.

“But loses his tongue the minute someone from Labour is in the chair. It’s like he can feel the wrath coming when he gets home from work if he dares to question any of their policies.”

And a second ridiculed: “I have to give @YvetteCooperMP credit for her puppetmaster skills in stopping @edballs from growing a pair and asking those challenging questions, putting @wesstreeting on his back foot, and holding him to account. What an inspiration to the younger generation of news presenters.” (sic)

Kelsey Parker has revealed the heartbreaking comment her daughter Aurelia made when she broke the devastating news that baby Phoenix had d!ed.

The podcast host and widow of The Wanted’s Tom Parker sadly announced her third child was born stillborn at 39 weeks in June. Kelsey looked forward to welcoming her first child with partner Will Lindsay, who she found love with two years after Tom’s tragic d3ath from an inoperable brain tumor in 2022.

Kelsey Parker announced the happy news in January, but tragically, five months later, the 35-year-old broke the devastating news that the little boy who they had named Phoenix, was stillborn. She then took time away from both work and social media.

 

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Kelsey made the heartbreaking admission on Loose Women(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

The star appeared on Loose Women to talk about her grief during Tuesday’s episode, in which spoke about the heartbreaking moment she had to tell Aurelia, six, and Bodhi, four, that the family had experienced d3ath again with their younger sibling.

“Time has been really tough,” she said. “Because Aurelia’s six, I wasn’t giving her the right answer to what she wanted. I said, ‘Pheonix has d!ed and Phoenix is with daddy now.’

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“And she was like, ‘I hate dad, why does dad keep taking everyone?’ So that wasn’t the right answer. Again, you’re trying to find out for your children, what’s the right way to navigate this?

“And I think with my little Bodhi, he’s been through so much. I was 35 weeks pregnant when Tom was diagnosed, he was only 18 months when Tom d!ed. I’m his hero, so as long I’m okay, he’s okay. But with Aurelia, she’s beyond her years.”

Earlier this year, sitting down to speak with Christine Lampard on Lorraine for the first time since the devastating loss, Kelsey opened up on how she grief once again with her two little ones.

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Tom and Kelsey shared two children together

“It’s being honest. It’s telling them facts. Because I never want them to feel like I’ve not been honest and years later they say, ‘Oh but mum, you didn’t tell me this and you didn’t tell me that!’” she said.

“They’ve lost their dad, they know their dad’s with the angels now, so we told them, ‘Phoenix has gone with your daddy,’” Kelsey revealed she told her children as she shared the devastating news.

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The star emphasised how important she felt it was to talk about grief, after she took time off social media to spend time with her family and allowing herself to grieve.

On this afternoon’s Loose Women, Kelsey explained how she went straight back to work following Tom’s tragic d3ath, but this time, she made sure to take the time to grieve for herself.

“You need that moment for you. And I’ve listened to myself this time. I did rush back into work when Tom passed. But I listened to myself this time, and I’m actually proud that I took some time to sit with this.”

Strictly Come Dancing star Balvinder Sopal’s on-screen family have issued a plea for tickets to the show, saying they “want to see her smash it”. Away from the dancefloor, the star plays Panesar family matriarch Suki Panesar-Unwin in BBC’s EastEnders. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk at the Inside Soap Awards in London on Monday, September 29, her on-screen son Shiv Jalota, who plays Vinny Panesar, and Aaliyah James, who plays her step-grandaughter Avani Nabdra-Hart, admitted they are still waiting on her to give them an invite to watch her perform on the BBC’s flagship Saturday night show.

“We’re loving her. Honestly. We’re waiting until she invites us to go see the show,” Aaliyah enthused. Shiv chimed in, “We want an invite, right?” Aaliyah agreed, adding, “We want an invite. We want to see her smashing it. She’s doing so well. We’re so proud of her. She’s been wanting to do this for ages.”

EastEnders star Aaliyah James is delighted her co-star Balvinder Sopal is on this year’s Strictly (Image: Getty)

Aaliyah also admitted that Balvinder, 46, has started practising her steps on set while they set up scenes, laughing as she recalled a recent moment when they had just finished filming and her feet started moving as she spontaneously rehearsed.

The Panesar family first arrived in Albert Square in 2019 and have quickly become a fundamental part of life in Walford. Along with the Mitchells and the Slaters, they are one of the most iconic families on the show and Shiv says that is because they aren’t stereotypical.

“Over the six years the reaction from the audience has been amazing. And what the family represent – we’re not the stereotypical family that you see on screen elsewhere,” he said. “We’re a family that bring conflict and drama and the audience reactions, fans’ reactions show what that means to them. It’s amazing.”

Shiv Jalota is supporting his on screen mother Balvinder Sopal in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing (Image: Getty)

Balvinder, who is teamed with new Strictly pro Julian Caillon, made her dancing debut in the first live show on Saturday, 27 September, scoring an impressive 27 points for their samba to (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty. Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, and Anton Du Beke gave them scores of 6, 7, 7, and 7, respectively.

Prior to taking to the floor for the first live show, Balvinder admitted she is finding it one of the hardest things she has done in her life.

Giving fans an Instagram update when she sustained a training injury, she wrote: “I can’t tell you, this is the hardest I think I’ve ever worked.

“The pros are incredible, superhuman, literal gods honestly. The way they move, the way they teach you it’s just brilliant and I’m loving every single second of it.”