Hot on the heels of a topless photoshoot to mark turning 55, Amanda Holden has been enjoying poolside time in a bikini – or three.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge also celebrated her birthday by heading to Dubai for a swanky hotel stay with her family and friends.

Posting a reel to Instagram of her sunny getaway, the TV star gave a few glimpses at the resort’s gorgeous swimming pool and accompanying bar area, serving fresh fruit and homemade ice lollies.

She also showed off her luxurious suite, complete with dining and living areas and a huge outdoor balcony.

‘I’m in a bikini and I mean business,’ Amanda quipped at the start of her video, slipping off the shoulder of her robe to reveal a vibrant orange two-piece underneath.

She later posed poolside in it, accessorised with a pair of tinted shades, before switching to a turquoise bikini as she lay on the sand at a private beach sipping a cocktail.

The actress and presenter then strutted her stuff from an outdoor changing room in a yellow bikini with a matching loose shirt and gold flipflops.

’I recently spent a few days celebrating my birthday with family and friends in the beautiful @banyantreedxb,’ Amanda wrote in the caption of her post, praising her accommodation as ‘an incredible hotel’ with a ‘beautiful resort beach’ and ‘stunning’ pools.

‘The hotel itself is super chic and the spa is to die for. Had the most unbelievable room and we were looked after so well. ♥️ all my bikinis are @melissaodabash!’ she added.

Plenty of her followers praised how fabulous Amanda was looking, with former TOWIE star Jess Wright commenting: ‘The hottest 55 year old! 🔥🔥🔥🔥’

Pussycat Dolls icon Ashley Roberts also shared a dynamite stick emoji as she told her celebrity pal she was ‘looking good’.

Amanda’s special birthday holiday comes ahead of her returning to our screens with the BGT panel for the show’s 19th series.

Former guest judge KSI is now a full-time judge, joining Amanda, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell, with this personnel change bringing back Cowell’s ‘naughty side’.

The TV and music impresario went out to buy a trove of stink bombs, which Amanda told Metro and other press did not leave the production team best pleased when they found out.

‘Word got round that the stink bombs had been bought and the producers gave us a big talking to. We weren’t allowed them,’ she explained.

Alesha has also promised that this series is ‘back to the chaos that we love on our show. More than ever it just felt really bonkers’.

Once again, the competition will be offering up a prize of £250,000 and a spot at the Royal Variety Performance to its champion. 

Britain’s Got Talent returns on February 21 at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night called CBS’s denial of his claim that it blocked the broadcast of his interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico “crap” — and urged the network and its parent, Paramount Skydance, to stand up to the “bullies” in the Trump administration.

Colbert’s broadside came hours after CBS issued a statement on the controversy.

The host, whose show will end in May as it was canceled by CBS, held up a printed copy of the network’s statement about Talarico’s interview during his show Tuesday night and said, “I don’t even know what to do with this crap.”

He then pulled a plastic doggy bag from behind his desk, picked up the statement, tied a knot, and mimed throwing it away before cutting to commercial.

The controversy is the latest flap to spark speculation that CBS is currying favor with the Trump administration as Paramount makes a hostile tender bid for Warner Bros Discovery. If WBD’s shareholders accept Paramount’s bid, the federal government regulators would need to sign off on the deal.

Colbert had invited Talarico, who is running in the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, to appear on the “Late Show” for Monday night’s broadcast.

But early in that night’s show, Colbert said to his studio audience that CBS’ lawyers had told him “in no uncertain terms … that we could not have him on the broadcast.”

Colbert said the lawyers wanted to avoid running afoul of new guidance by the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr that suggests broadcast talk shows could be required to abide by the so-called equal time provision requiring broadcasters to give political candidates equal coverage if their opponents appear on air.

Colbert noted that he had put Talarico’s interview on the “Late Show” YouTube channel — the video has been seen more than 4.4 million times.

CBS, in its statement on Tuesday afternoon, denied Colbert’s main allegation that it had barred the interview from being aired.

“The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico,” the network said.

“The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett [D-Texas], and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” CBS said.

Colbert scoffed at the statement during Tuesday’s show.

“They know damn well that every word of my script last night was approved by CBS lawyers who, for the record, approved every script that goes on the air,” Colbert said.

“In fact, between the monologue I did last night, and before I did the second act talking about this issue, I had to go backstage,” he said.

“I got called backstage to get more notes from these lawyers. Something that had never, ever happened before, and they told us the language they wanted me to use to describe that equal time exception, and I used that language,” Colbert said. “So I don’t know what this is about.”

Colbert went on to say that he wasn’t “mad” at the network and does not want an “adversarial relationship.”

“I’m just so surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies,” he said.

“Come on. You’re Paramount. No, no, no, you’re more than that. You’re Paramount+,” Colbert cracked. “And for the lawyers to release this [statement] without even talking to me is really surprising.”

The host also noted that there has long been “a very famous exception to” the equal time rule, “and that exception included talk shows, interviews with politicians.”

“We looked, and we can’t find one example of this rule being enforced for any talk show interview, not only for my entire late-night career, but for anyone’s late-night career, going back to the 1960s,” he said.

Colbert said that Carr has “not gotten rid of” that exception for talk-show hosts “yet.”

“But CBS generously did it for him and told me, unilaterally, that I had to abide by the equal time rules, something I have never been asked to do for an interview in the 20 years of this job,” he added.

“Now, that decision, I want to be clear, is their right, just like I have the right to talk about their decision on air last night,” Colbert said.

Paramount did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Early voting in the Texas Democratic primary began Tuesday. Talarico is in a close contest against Rep. Jasmine Crockett. The winner will face the victor of the Republican primary between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.

Natalie Spooner isn’t just at the Milan Cortina Olympics to bring home another medal.

The Toronto hockey player is determined to make the most of her time at the Olympic Village — one bite at a time.

When she’s not on the ice, the 35-year-old has made it her mission to taste-test her way through the Games and share reviews on social media of some of the things she eats, ranging from chocolate pudding to pizza topped with potatoes.

“Why is there potato on a pizza? I guess in Canada we say, ‘Does pineapple belong on pizza?’” Spooner says in one post, smiling as she takes a bite. “Here, it’s, ‘Does potato belong on pizza?’”

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Last week, the International Olympic Committee said in a press release that more than 10,800 meals are served daily across the three Olympic sites in Milan, Cortina and Predazzo. In the Milan village alone, the kitchens serve around 3,000 eggs and 450 kilograms of pasta, the IOC said.

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The food in the Olympic Village has gone viral in more ways than one. The IOC announced in October that it had created a special pasta noodle shaped like the five Olympic rings.

The limited-edition dish was later served to the athletes in the village, resulting in a flood of social media comments from fans calling for the pasta to be available for the public to buy.

But for Spooner, a self-proclaimed “chocolate monster,” the sweet treats are definitely the highlight of the Olympic Village cuisine.

“This might be the best thing yet that I’ve found,” Spooner says in one video where she tries an Italian chocolate spread with a croissant. “That’s really good.”

Another post shows Spooner trying a chocolate lava cake, something she says is “famous” around the village.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” she says with a smile. “It’s gooey, it’s chocolatey … this is like hitting the spot right now.”

But not every dessert gets a gold medal — in one video, Spooner tries a chocolate soufflé, which she rates three out of 10.

“I would say this is a hockey puck,” Spooner laughs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The Wednesday letters page looks forward to a Pokémon Gen X reveal this month, as one reader imagines a Half-Life x Portal crossover game.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Top of the list
I realise it’s pointless talking about any kind of most anticipated game this year, when GTA 6 is out in November, but there are honestly a bunch of games I’m looking forward to more. I’m sure GTA 6 will look good, but I can tell from the trailer that it’s going to be the same old, same old.

I don’t hate it, but I’d much rather play Saros, Marvel’s Wolverine, and even Fable has me more intrigued. But the game I’m most looking forward to this year is Resident Evil Requiem, which is handy as it’s out soon.

I don’t think there’s any question that it’ll be worth getting, given the unanimous good previews and Capcom seeming to be on top of their game. The marketing has been good, without giving too much away, and I like the idea of the two characters being very different. I just hope I don’t get spoiled on anything this week, because I see copies are already out in the wild.
Damon

Empty shelves
Although I agree with the reader who said that the PlayStation 6 being delayed till 2029 is overall a good thing I think he’s overlooking the fact that if there’s no RAM – or hard drives – that means no PlayStation 5s either. We could be looking at a bit of a gaming apocalypse, where there’s no new consoles to sell and they can only sell games to their existing base.

That’s not good for any company that wants their graphs to go up but it’s probably especially bad for Nintendo, who have only just launched a new console, so there aren’t that many Switch 2 owners in the world. It’d be an understatement to say that increasing the price doesn’t seem like a good idea in that situation.

But it’s difficult. It’s not actually the companies’ fault but I bet they want us to pay for the trouble anyway. They’ll be gutted to miss out on all the new business GTA 6 will bring too.
Hammeriron

Still unbeaten
While we’re talking about so many anniversaries this year there is another one, although compared to Zelda or Resident Evil I guess it’s not that big. But I was surprised and alarmed to find that Uncharted 4 is 10 years old in May. In my mind it’s a relatively new game but… I guess not.

It is really good though, even though I don’t really approve of the more grounded, non-supernatural approach. The bit around the middle, in Madagascar, is still absolutely peak action gaming and I’ve not seen anything since best it.

Worse thing is though I’ve barely seen anything even try. Only Uncharted (and the money Sony give them) can do things this well and I’m shocked there’s been no attempt to make a new game since or for anyone to outdo them. Maybe the new Tomb Raider can take the crown, but they’d have to be doing really well to get that good.
Grackle

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Slow-motion storytelling
Since it’s cheap, I might check out ChromaGun 2, as I’ve never heard of the series before. But I do miss Portal. People have been talking about Valve not making games anymore, and whether they might come back with Half-Life 3, but I’ve never heard any talk of a Portal 3. I think that’s the one that really suffered from everyone leaving, because you can recruit people that make first person shooters pretty easy but people that can write comedy of the quality of Portal aren’t exactly common.

I always imagined there’d be a crossover game where Gordon Freeman meets Chell, which I think they were building up to at one point, but I really don’t know if they’d do that now. Even Half-Life: Alyx was six years ago now, so they’re not exactly rushing this, but I don’t have any faith it’s going to happen.

You need a bunch of games to build up to it and at this rate they’ll have just about got the prologue done when Gabe (and me) dies of old age.
Hake

Pre-existing prequel
As much as I’m looking forward to Resident Evil Requiem this month, I was secretly hoping that Capcom would re-release Resident Evil Outbreak in some way, to help promote it and to show who Alyssa Ashcroft is, because I’m sure many people do not know.

I always wanted to play the game online, but it didn’t have that feature when it was released in Europe, so I never got the chance. (I know the sequel had online but I didn’t have a PlayStation 2 by that point.) Maybe it was rubbish but that’s not what I hear and it always sounded a lot more interesting than the other multiplayer Resident Evil games Capcom has done.
Scooter

Generational interest
I hope that Gen X of Pokémon does get announced this month. By which I mean I hope they reveal some games that are actually worthy of the legacy and look like some actual money has been put into them. People are trying to guess what Nintendo will make their big Christmas game, but I think it’ll be Pokémon Wind and Waves, or whatever it’s actually called.

I feel nowadays that Pokémon games just come and go without as much fanfare as they used to, partly because there’s so many of them nowadays and only the uber fans can keep up with it all. It all seems kind of sectioned off from all the other Nintendo first party games, which is why I think Z-A didn’t really make much of an impression last year.

The 30th anniversary is going to put a lot of eyes onto it this year, so this is moment to go all out and make something more than an easy cash-in. It feels like that’s what Pokémon has been for so long now and it’s a shame because I have very fond memories of playing it as a kid and now my kid is the right age to give it a go. But they know the toys and the cartoon but not really the games.

I don’t like to push thing on them, and I’m actually interested to see what they pick up on and what they’re aware of and not. I’ll see if they’re interested in the Pokémon Presents when it gets announced and what they think of whatever’s in that.
Belsh

Twin Snakes
Never mind delisting PlayStation 3 games as soon as a new release is announced, I didn’t realise the new Metal Gear Solid Collection wasn’t remasters. So it’s just a straight port of Metal Gear Solid 4? That is disappointing, to say the least.

With this and the Rainbow Six Siege crossover Konami are clearly building up to doing more with Snake and co. but I can’t imagine it going well. For better and worse there was just too much of Hideo Kojima in those games and trying to copying him, or not making it weird like he would, both seem like a bad idea.
Iceman

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Smash Street Fighter
With all the success Nintendo have had with their Super Smash Bros. games, why haven’t Capcom done something similar with the Street Fighter games?

It would still play as a traditional Street Fighter game (1v1 on a 2D plane) but have all fighters with all their individual fighter colours, outfits, all variations of their stages, music, backgrounds, bonus stages, fighting styles, and so on and would surely be amazeballs!

Maybe in order to not overwhelm the player with all that content, these could be either unlocked through gameplay or (the most-likely route of) DLC.

I have been re-playing the Switch version of Street Fighter 30th Anniversary recently and thought it’d be great if all these games could merge into one.

The PS1 version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 remains my favourite Street Fighter game to this day, which sadly isn’t in this compilation.

I’m not sure if to include the Marvel or other non-Capcom characters for fear of the licensing.
LeeDappa

GC: We’re not really sure what you’re after, you mean just more guest characters? Between them, Street Fighter 5 and 6 have featured fighters from games including Final Fight, Rival Schools, and SNK’s Fatal Fury. We’re sure there’ll be more over time.

Inbox also-rans
I’m still trying to get over the idea of paying £12.1 million for a Pokémon card. What would you even do with it? I’ve seen the card and more than half of it’s Japanese writing, which I’m will to bet Logan Paul can’t read.
Badgerman

Just beat Donkey Kong Bananza. That was an excellent final boss fight and last couple of levels! The game had some ups and downs but overall, really liked it.
Pinky

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

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If a car is wedged in a ditch, you could gather ten people to haul it out with steady, shared effort.

Or you could stand back and watch one Herculean figure strain every sinew, determined to prove they can do it alone. But the car ends up back on the road either way.

In one version, the task disappears and the road trip continues; in the other, the labour itself becomes the spectacle.

That has always been my hesitation with one-person shows. However impressive the feat, the sheer scale of the exertion can eclipse the narrative you came to see.

Instead of surrendering to a story, theatre-goers find themselves watching the trapeze artist and half-bracing for the fall.

That tension hums through the West End’s new adaptation of Dracula at the Noël Coward Theatre, where Cynthia Erivo plays not one role but 23.

Over two relentless hours she shifts between Van Helsing, Mina, Jonathan Harker, Lucy, Renfield, Seward and Dracula himself, barely pausing for breath and never meaningfully leaving the stage.

The production, which opened on February 16, is directed by Kip Williams, a theatre-maker known for his fusion of live performance and video design. Here, that signature style is pushed to its most extreme.

Williams builds the show around a complex dialogue between live action and pre-recorded film, meaning Erivo must not only carve out distinct physical and vocal identities for each character, but also hit cues with forensic precision so that filmed versions of herself can respond in perfect time.

Cameras track her constantly, capturing footage that is projected instantly onto a towering screen, while other sequences have been pre-shot and must align seamlessly with her live delivery.

Certain characters exist only in the filmed realm, never quite sharing the same physical space as the live body before us, a subtle nod to vampiric lore in which some creatures cast no image in mirrors.

Visually, the result is often beautiful, and the solo conceit dovetails neatly with the novel’s epistolary structure: whoever is ‘writing’ a journal entry or letter exists live before us, while the recipients materialise on the vast screen behind, flickering into being like thoughts made visible.

That interplay between presence and projection creates a hierarchy of perspective in which only one viewpoint feels fully corporeal at a time, meaning we are always anchored to a single consciousness, one pen scratching across paper, while the others hover just out of reach.

Additionally, the scale of the projection ensures there are few bad seats in the house, and the interplay between live and filmed action enables flourishes that would be impossible in a conventional staging.

For example, a dreamlike sequence between Dracula and Lucy layers recorded and live movement to disorienting effect, while a brief moment in which Erivo steps to the lip of the stage and sings as Dracula, stripped of technological scaffolding, feels quietly spellbinding precisely because it breaks the pattern.

And of course, Erivo’s excellence is the least surprising element of the evening.

She is magnetic, meticulous, and emotionally lucid throughout, finding flashes of humour and menace even while juggling an almost unmanageable technical load.

At their best, her transformations between characters can be startling, with Jonathan’s nervous energy giving way to Mina’s controlled intelligence with such clarity that it is briefly possible to forget they share a body.

At the same time, the feat has inevitable limits. There are moments that could be deeply resonant in the hands of an actor of Erivo’s ability, that instead seemed rushed or surface-level.

Some male characters, particularly Seward and Harker, blur at the edges, and the first appearance of Van Helsing in long white hair and beard drew involuntary giggles.

There is something faintly cartoonish about some of the disguises, and in those moments, you can sense how precarious the whole enterprise is.

The production lives on a knife’s edge between audacious and absurd, and every so often it wobbles, threatening to tip from bravura into unintended comedy, and this is in part because the technical demands are so formidable.

Each exchange with her on-screen counterparts depends on near-perfect timing, and as a result, over the evening, there were perhaps a dozen noticeable slips: a stumbled word, a rushed beat, a pause hanging slightly too long.

In another context that might feel disruptive, here it seemed remarkable that there were not more, given that Erivo is effectively reciting the better part of a novel while executing intricate blocking and rapid costume shifts.

Still, you could argue that the one-person conceit does more than showcase stamina; it reframes the story in a way that feels thematically pointed.

Dracula is a tale of repression, contagion, and desire pushing against propriety, of identities splitting under pressure.

Watching a single performer embody predator and prey, purity and corruption, shifts the drama inward. Mina and Dracula sharing a face makes their connection feel less like a battle across a room and more like a struggle within one psyche.

The constant doubling — a live body here, a filmed apparition there — reinforces that sense of fragmentation, as though we are witnessing a mind at war with itself.

And with Erivo, openly queer and fluid in her masculinity and femininity, inhabiting every role, the novel’s homoerotic undertones surface with a clarity that feels both modern and radical.

By the final stretch, though, I found myself increasingly aware of the human cost, and when the standing ovation arrived — thunderous and prolonged — the applause carried a note of secondhand exhaustion.

In the foyer afterwards, conversations revolved less around Lucy’s tragedy or Mina’s ordeal than around how Erivo could possibly sustain this for the duration of the run.

In the end, the car does get moved out of the ditch. The narrative lands, the imagery lingers, and the audience leaves impressed – but I would be curious to see this adaptation distributed among a full cast, released from the tension of its own audacity, with some breathing room for a towering talent like Erivo to really act.

Still, if you arrive at the Noel Coward prepared to marvel at the feat as much as to lose yourself in the tale, you may find the sheer audacity of Erivo’s undertaking is worth the cost of admission.

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Tens of thousands of people are being asked to turn up to Pitbull’s BST Hyde Park concert in bald caps to break a Guinness World Record.

In recent years, fans of Mr Worldwide – real name Armando Christian Pérez – have attended his concerts dressed exactly like him.

This primarily includes donning a bald cap to emulate his signature hairless style, as well as a pair of aviator sunglasses, and a white shirt with a leather jacket. Some even go so far as to grow a goatee, or even just draw one on.

Although no-one can quite pinpoint where the trend started, the singer himself has expressed his delight at seeing his fans commit to the costumes.

Now, the singer is encouraging those with tickets to his upcoming BST concert to make sure to attend dressed in his likeness.

Today it was announced that the gig will see an attempt made to break an official Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps during his headlining show on Friday July 10.

The idea of a world record was first suggested by Radio 1 Breakfast host Greg James on air.

A long-time fan of the Cuban- American rapper and singer, James had previously called for the attempt to be made as soon as the show was announced last October.

Soon after, Pitbull got in touch with him to confirm he was keen to get involved.

‘Guinness Book of World Records, get ready for all the Bald-E’s that’ll be putting it down on July 10th at Hyde Park,’ he’s now declared.

‘Every time you put on that bald cap, you know you’re about to have the time of your lives. We appreciate the love, the commitment, and the support. More than anything, we just want to say thank you. Dale!’

However for those wishing to take part, the official record comes with all-important rules, being that ‘all participants must wear bald caps secured firmly on the head, with hair tucked under at the front and top (hair may hang from the back)’, and everyone must be together at the same time, as ‘all participants must be gathered together and in position simultaneously and remain so for a minimum of one minute’.

Ahead of the attempt, AEG Presents European Festivals director of talent Darcey Jackson said: ‘We’re so excited to host a [Mr] world [wide] record attempt at Pitbull’s show in BST Hyde Park – the highest number of people wearing baldcaps!

‘We’ve broken a few world records in the past, but this will really truly be the time of our lives. We cannot wait to welcome you all to Hyde Park for what will inevitably be an incredible show. Come one, come all, come bald.’

Meanwhile Guinness World Records adjudicator Will Munford said they were ‘looking forward’ to seeing the attempt play out.

‘What better way to be part of something amazing than coming together with other fans to celebrate your favourite artist. Best of luck to all of those taking part on the day!’ he added.

BST has a standard capacity of 65,000. Pitbull’s headline show will also see him joined by special guest Kesha, with several support acts to still be announced.

Other headliners for this year’s BST Hyde Park festival also include Garth Brooks, Lewis Capaldi, Maroon 5, and Mumford & Sons.

Last year, Pitbull played three nights at the O2 in London. Speaking to the BBC around that time, he said it made him ‘very, very happy’ to look into the crowds and see people dressed like him.

‘Every time I’m at a show, I let them know that when you put on a bald cap, I hope you’re ready to have the time of your lives – it feels deeper than just music,’ he said.

‘It’s the ultimate trophy to be able to go on stage and see all the hard work that you put into the music.

‘I’ve been in the game for 25 years and to see every demographic, everybody [dressing up] at the shows is priceless.’

Throughout his career, Pitbull has sold over 25 million studio albums and over 100 million singles worldwide.

Mr 305, as he is also known, came to the charts with collaborations with some of music’s biggest names in the noughties.

This included Ne-Yo, Kesha, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez for some of his best-known hits including Timber, Give Me Everything, Hotel Room Service, and On the Floor.

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A ‘perfectly executed’ teen romantic comedy that was a modernisation of a Shakespeare play is now streaming for free in the UK.

Released in 1999, 10 Things I Hate About You marked the break-through for actors Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, it was inspired by Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew.

Retold in a late-1990s American high school setting, it followed new student Cameron James (Gordon-Levitt) who becomes smitten with Bianca Stratford (Oleynik) and attempts to get bad boy Patrick Verona (Ledger) to date her unsocial sister Kat (Stiles) in order to get around her father’s strict rules on dating.

In the years since it was released, the film has become a cult classic and is often referred to as one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. This week it was added to Channel 4.

‘As satirical as it is romantic, this is one teen film that is wise enough to span generations in its appeal,’ The Los Angeles Times wrote in its review at the time of the film’s release.

‘Takes an old story and proves the themes are timeless by applying them to a modern setting,’ Movie Views shared.

‘Smartly paced, fun and funny, this is just as enjoyable for adults as it is for its intended teenage market,’ Radio Times added.

Reflecting on the film’s cultural impact, Teen Vogue once ranked it the number one movie on its list for best teen romance movies, and GQ included the film on their list of the best 90s movies, while Harper’s Bazaar had it on their list of the best movies that defined the 90s.

‘One of, if not the best romance-comedy movie of all time,’ viewer John recently posted on Rotten Tomatoes.

‘Hands-down one of my all-time favourite movies. It’s the perfect blend of wit, charm, and heart, all wrapped up in a late ‘90s high school setting that still holds up today,’ Hannah wrote.

‘The writing is refreshingly sharp for a teen comedy, offering a modern twist on Shakespeare. It’s not just the clever dialogue – it’s the strong cast and killer soundtrack that really make it stand out,’ Julian added.

In 2012 it was announced that a standalone sequel to the film, titled 10 Things I Hate About Life, was in development – with director Gil Junger set to return.

Evan Rachel Wood and Thomas McDonell were cast in the lead roles, and although filming began on the project, it was eventually halted and the movie was shelved indefinitely.

More than a decade later, in May last year, it was announced another sequel was in development – this time called 10 Things I Hate About Dating.

That film will again see Junger serve as director, while this project will be based on Jean-Baptiste ‘Molière’ Poquelin’s The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover.

When the movie was announced, Junger said he would love to see the cast from the original movie reprise their roles, either with cameos or as supporting cast members.

‘I would love to work with Julia again. She shaped the lives of millions of women. That Kat character really spoke to young women in a very powerful way,’ he told People.

‘If it resonates with [the original cast] and I can have some cameos or even real parts, I’d love [that],’ he added.

The movie is set to be the first in a trilogy of sequels, with the additional projects tentatively titled: 10 Things I Hate About Marriage, and 10 Things I Hate About Kids.

Following Ledger’s death in 2008, Junger also said the new film will also pay tribute to him.

‘I think that’s a beautiful idea, and the answer is now going to be yes…he deserves to be loved.’

10 Things I Hate About You is now streaming on Channel 4.

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The Monday letters page realises that the next gen Xbox will be able to play PS5 games, as one reader hopes Bluepoint Games isn’t working on God Of War.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Nintendo logic
So, Sony has had a successful State of Play, their best in years I’d say, and Xbox’s was good too (I’ll be honest, I can’t remember anything about it, but I remember the buzz was decent). That means that Nintendo is the next one to have a showcase, but we still don’t have a date for it.

I’ve seen some rumours that it’ll be March, but I feel that’s just the obvious guess anyway. But my question is what will they be talking about? All we know about from them at the moment is Fire Emblem and Splatoon Raiders and while I don’t think many people here would consider them a particularly big deal you just don’t know with Nintendo.

But surely they must be preparing to announce at least one new triple-A game (or whatever you’d call them with Nintendo). It’s probably not Animal Crossing or Zelda, because the timings don’t work out, so to me the two obvious options are Super Mario or Smash Bros.

You might say Mario is the most obvious, but Nintendo has been so weird about it so far I don’t think there’s any guarantee they’ll suddenly become predictable. My bet would be on Smash Bros., with some new characters and other minor new content. Not the most thrilling choice, in my opinion, but the logical choice. I would expect it to be the big game for Christmas.
Ishi

Perfect prelude
There was a lot of good stuff at the State of Play but it didn’t shake my opinion that Resident Evil Requiem is the most exciting game at the moment and the one I’m most looking forward to. The new footage looked great and so has everything else before it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game not make a single mistake before release and always look like a must have.

If it turns out to be a dud after all this I will actually be really impressed that Capcom has been able to hide it so well. I don’t expect that will be the case though and while I’ll still wait for the reviews I’m predicting this will be one of the best game of this year and probably the whole generation. Don’t let me down now!
Purple Ranger

Stuck in Sparta
I tend to agree with the Reader’s Feature about God Of War. Sons Of Sparta looks bad and a remake trilogy does sound like a big wasted effort, given those earlier games were nothing like the new ones in terms of gameplay or story. It’d be tragic if Santa Monica Studio were wasting their time on it, but it’d be just as bad if it were Bluepoint Games, doing it – which is something I’ve heard fans talking about.

It’s not that remaking the game itself is a terrible idea, it’s just that by doing that you’re locking out talented developers for five years or more. Developers that could be busy moving the franchise forward or just generally not redoing something that already exists and you can play as remasters. I just don’t see any good outcome, because if they get a no-name dev, like with Sons Of Sparta, then that drastically decreases the odds that it will be any good.
Focus

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Two Keanus
I didn’t think much of the state of play. The hair on the back of my neck when the John Wick trailer started playing. It would have been obvious to anyone that has watched at least one of the films it was a John Wick game.

But that’s tempered by the fact that I’m an old gamer that remembers when movie tie-in was just another way of saying a game was a poor quality, rushed cash-in. Remember The Matrix game?

GoldenEye 007 was the first game I remember that was based on a film that turned out to actually be good.
TomTom

For the love of the game
Interesting comparison of Sony and Valve’s attitude in the Reader’s Feature at the weekend. I would not have thought of the comparison myself, but it does work. I think the problem for both companies is that ordinary games – basically anything but a mega hit – have become too small for them to bother with.

This seems a mistake to me though, as in Sony’s case they lose out on a key incentive in buying their console. But for both companies it’s a waste of talent and knowledge that has taken years to build up and is no longer being used properly. As long as a profit is made why not make them anyway, for the kudos alone?

That worked for Astro Bot, which wasn’t a big hit but made people think better of Sony for a while. Soras will probably be similar, but I feel we need a lot more of that, multiple times a year.
Tenna

Only on PlayStation
Perhaps I’m just being slow here, but I realised that if the next gen Xbox is just a PC in console’s clothing, as it were, then that means that all PlayStation 5 games will, eventually, be on Xbox. I guess it doesn’t really mean much, since Microsoft doesn’t get a cut of the sales or anything, but we may finally have our all-in-one single format (except for Nintendo, but that was never going to happen).

For years that seemed like something to really wish for but now that it’s actually close to happening it feels like nobody will actually care. In the end, the PC has been the single format all along (especially for those using emulators) and Microsoft putting the Xbox logo on a different machine isn’t going to change that.

I think we’ll soon begin to realise that, in terms of consoles, single format domination is a bad thing. People are upset about Sony not releasing more first party games but now that the Xbox has slipped into irrelevance they have no incentive to change.

Why spend all that money when you’ve already proved it doesn’t matter to whether your game Is a success or not? Sony won by doing nothing so there’s no incentive to do more next time.
Tom Meadows

Last gen
I’ve been watching Nioh 3 a bit on Twitch and wondered whether or not it should have been a dual console release. I can’t see any reason it couldn’t work on the PlayStation 4. Surely they could lower the resolution or whatever it was that stopped a version on PlayStation 4. It seems like Sony left money on the table with this decision. To me at least it still looks the same as Nioh 1 and 2.

Pretty sure there’s still millions of PlayStation 4 users out there.
Bobwallett

GC: It’s not Sony’s game.

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Positive recap
I’m still thinking about Thursday’s State Of Play, because it was more than a few steps ahead of the usual disappointments that we are usually served by Sony. It absolutely began with a bang. Death Stranding 2 on PC; Ghost Of Yōtei: Legends in March; Kena 2; the reveal of a John Wick game, with Keanu Reeves returning in the role of the Baba Yaga. Silent Hill Townfall was revealed and it’s first person; that was quite the surprise. It’s also set in an island inspired by Scotland, so that’s a nice change of pace to see locations from Japan to the UK being used. It’s a very fresh take on the series.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is free from PlayStation 3 jail. I’ve wanted for this for many years and to see it finally happen is just unbelievable. Saros continues to look stunning and I can’t wait for it, personally. Pragmata looks charming and I actually have played the demo; very enjoyable and a fun hacking romp – Diana is a charmer as well. Project Windless is quite interesting. A chicken with a bone to pick and dual swords. Yep, I’m sold.

The anime titles and Marathon were my low points. I’m not particularly interested in either title. Control: Resonant and 007 First Light continue to impress. Crimson Moon sounds like a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing more. The final reveal was the remake of the God Of War trilogy, which was a win for me personally. It’s obviously years away, and it did just begin development, but spoken as a massive fan of the franchise I’m absolutely pumped for this.

However, it was disappointing to see no Phantom Blade 0 at the event. At least pre-orders could have been revealed. Since it does have a release date, after all. We didn’t see Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 or Kingdom Hearts 4. That was a let down on Square Enix’s part. Maybe we’ll see those at the Tokyo Game Show.

Wolverine will be shared in the spring, so I wasn’t expecting that. All in all, it was a fantastic event and the games look very stellar. There’s much to be excited for and I can’t wait to see more. I’ll also say that I would have liked to see more from Judas and Tides Of Annihilation and Lego Batman, but I can wait longer. To a wonderful 2026 and the release of Resident Evil Requiem in two weeks!
Shahzaib Sadiq

Inbox also-rans
I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the Highguard dev complaining about ‘gamer culture’. It’s not my type of game, so I wouldn’t be interested in it whatever happened. But I never saw any explanation for why everyone turned on it except that they were hoping for something else to be revealed at The Game Awards – which is hardly the developer’s fault.
Kakem

Am I the only one that thought the latest trailer for Marathon made it look like Splatoon? Not necessarily a bad thing but why do they have blue blood?
Gonk

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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