Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott are expecting a baby together (Picture: Mat Hayward/Getty Images for Audible)
Actress Aubrey Plaza hit the headlines earlier this week when it was revealed she is expecting her first child, having found love again with new partner Christopher Abbott.
The White Lotus star, 41, has not publicly announced anything, but a source has revealed the baby is due this autumn, adding: ‘It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year’.
The happy news comes just over a year after the tragic death of Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena, who died by suicide aged 47 in January 2025 — which has led to vile social media backlash to news of the actress’ pregnancy.
Others, however, have pushed back against this, with one asking bluntly: ‘What was she supposed to do? Be sad and miserable for life?’
While Plaza hasn’t made her relationship with Abbott public, the pair have known each other for several years.
When did Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott meet?
Plaza and Abbott appeared in the indie drama Black Bear which was released in 2020 (Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Plaza and Abbott have known each other since at least 2019, when they starred together in the movie Black Bear — a psychological drama which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
The movie stars Plaza as Allison, a film director seeking inspiration for her next project, who becomes trapped at a remote house, and caught up in the relationship of the couple who live there.
The actress, whose character suffers emotional torment at the hands of Abbott’s character, called the film ‘a real artistic labour of love’.
The pair later reunited, onstage, for an off-Broadway production of the play Danny And The Deep Blue Sea, about two troubled strangers who meet in a bar and spend the night together.
Plaza and Abbott first appeared onscreen together in 2019 (Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Plaza said of Abbott’s performance: ‘He cares but he also doesn’t care; it’s the best recipe for me. It’s fun and it’s also good and it’s also safe…it’s a hard combo to come by.
Abbott, meanwhile, praised Plaza, saying he and his co-star were both ‘unafraid to be ugly and weird and strange’.
‘We want to entertain the audience, but I personally want to entertain Aubrey,’ he said.
Plaza and Abbott have also appeared together off-Broadway (Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Who is Christopher Abbott?
The 40-year-old actor is best known for playing Charlie Dattolo, the boyfriend of Allison Williams’ character Marnie, in HBO hit Girls.
He appeared in the first two seasons of the show, with his character going through a journey which saw him break up with Marnie before returning in the second series as a wealthy app developer and reconciling with her.
Christopher Abbott is best known for his role in Girls (Picture: Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
After leaving the show he made a one-off appearance in the fifth and final season, in the episode The Panic In Central Park, where it was revealed his character had spiralled into drug addiction.
The actor’s film credits, meanwhile, include 2023’s Oscar winner Poor Things, supernatural horror film Wolf Man and the recent historical drama The Testament Of Ann Lee.
Who was Aubrey Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena?
Baena and Plaza were together for a decade before they married (Picture: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Jeff Baena was a screenwriter and director known for such projects as 2004’s I Heart Huckabees and the 2020 movie Horse Girl, as well as working with Plaza on the likes of Life After Beth and The Little Hours.
The pair had been together for a decade when they married in 2021, although it was reported that he was estranged from Plaza at the time of his death.
Aubrey Plaza spoke out about her husband’s tragic death for the first time last August (Picture: Laurent Hou / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement at the time she and her family said: ‘This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.’
The Parks and Recreation star first spoke out about the death in August last year, when she appeared on Amy Poehler’s podcast.
There, she described grief as a ‘giant ocean of awfulness’ and admitted sometimes she ‘just wants to dive in’.
She added: ‘Then sometimes I just look at it, and sometimes I try to get away from it. But it’s always there.’
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This review is based on the first three episodes of Twenty Twenty Six.
Twenty Twelve and W1A aren’t just good comedies, they’re great comedies, and that’s not an overstatement… that’s an uberstatement.
Through the eyes of Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville), our viewpoint character, these shows gave us a glance at the bafflingly weird world of corporate bureaucracy – first at the Olympic Deliverance Commission and then the BBC.
Both series were deliberately infuriating, sharply written and surprisingly heartfelt even while satirising the institutional dysfunction that cripples so many UK organisations.
So when John Morton, the genius behind this brilliant series, announced that he was working on a new show set in the same world, we were like ‘Great, yeah, cool’.
Sadly, though, his latest mockumentary, Twenty Twenty Six – which sees Ian helping organise the 2026 FIFA World Cup – struggles to escape the shadow of his previous work.
Now I should say that I don’t think Twenty Twenty Six is a bad show; in fact, I think it’s quite a clever and funny show.
The first two mockumentaries wrung a lot of comedic juice out of British politeness and prevarication.
Indeed, a character’s inability to say anything without contradicting themselves three or four times in a single sentence was one of the joys of W1A.
Twenty Twenty Six, however, is more of a fish-out-of-water comedy, with Ian now living in Miami and contending with American (and European, Canadian and Mexican) colleagues who may speak the same language but have a completely different style of communicating.
Meet the new team (Picture: BBC/Expectation Entertainment/Jack Barnes)
It’s a funny evolution of Ian’s normal predicament and makes the series every bit as toe-curlingly awkward as its two cringey predecessors.
There’s also plenty of servings of the usual delicious word salad, especially from David Tennant, who returns as narrator and the VP On Pitch Protocol Phil Plank, a former footballer who may be more out of his depth than even Ian.
I also really enjoyed the way the series played with different American stereotypes, be it the slick East Coast lawyer or his more eco-friendly West Coast equivalent.
It was a fun reminder that the US isn’t a monoculture.
Will’s back because of course he is (Picture: BBC/Expectation Entertainment/Jack Barnes)
However, of the new characters introduced, my favourites are easily the World Cup social media team. I’m not sure what Morton thinks of social media, but if I were a betting man, I’d hazard a guess he hates it.
Seriously, I’ve never seen such a withering take on the vapidness of social media journalism. It’s borderline cruel and all the more fun for it.
Ultimately, though, what teased the biggest smile out of me, while watching Twenty Twenty Twenty Six, was when the series went to the well and reminded us that humanity only has one common language: incompetence.
Yes, despite being set over the pond, Twenty Twenty Six embraces its predecessors’ prevailing spirit that if things can go wrong, they will go absurdly wrong, and it will somehow fall on Ian to fix things.
Speaking of Ian, Bonneville may have spent the last decade cavorting with Paddington Bear and shouting at Butlers in Downton Abbey, but the former Head of Values hasn’t lost his baffled charm.
There’s fun to be had in the culture clash (Picture: BBC/Expectation Entertainment/Jack Barnes)
He just plays bemused straight man so well, and his painfully patient form of exasperation never fails to make me smile.
Yet therein lies one of my two main rubs with Twenty Twenty Six, aside from the change in scenery (although it was filmed in Wembley), there’s a slight sense that we’re just playing the hits.
The jokes are still awkward, but it’s the same stuff Ian was dealing with in W1A, with a FIFA logo (or not as the case may be) glued over the BBC’s.
It’s not bad persay it’s just a little safe.
I get the feeling I’ve seen this before (Picture: BBC/Colin Hutton)
That’s perhaps most reflected in the decision to bring back Will – Ian’s personal assistant from the BBC.
Now I love Will, but his reason for being in the series is inexcusably thin, and he’s basically there to be the butt of jokes about nepotism and ineptitude just like in W1A.
Funny? Yes. New? Not at all.
What I think I find so disappointing about this, though, isn’t necessarily that they brought Will back; it’s that they didn’t bring Siobhan (Jessica Hynes) back.
Siobhan was always the Yin to Ian’s Yang, the thorn in his side, the funny one to his straight man.
They worked best when they had each other to bounce off, so the decision to have Twenty Twenty Six sing from the same hymn sheet as Twenty Twelve and W1A without her means you notice her absence all the more.
I miss our queen (Picture: Jack Barnes/BBC)
There are also a few jokes made about social politics – specifically the use of they/them – which I must admit landed with an absolute thud for me.
It’s not that I don’t think you can joke about pronouns, but it felt like such a 2019 gag.
All that aside, I did enjoy Twenty Twenty Six, and I’m looking forward to watching the last few episodes, especially as there are hints of a slightly deeper running thread teased in the first three episodes.
It’s just that for me, right, in my opinion, and I’m not being funny or nothing I needed this to be a lot funnier than it is.
Twenty Twenty Six episode one is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer and will air on BBC Two at 10pm.
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The former Radio 2 DJ was sacked by the BBC over historic allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy
Husna Anjum, Mark Jefferies and Husna Anjum Senior Live News Reporter
16:38, 08 Apr 2026
(Image: PA)
A special episode of Great British Bake Off will not air having featured a recently terminated BBC star. Channel 4 announced today (April 8) that an episode of Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer has been pulled from schedule, as it featured Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills.
The 53-year-old broadcaster had been expected to appear in an upcoming celebrity special but the spin-off will no longer air following his sacking from the BBC. Prior to the scandal, Mills had filmed scenes alongside Rag n Bone Man, Edith Bowman and Aston Merrygold.
The episode that would have broadcast Sunday April 18, will no longer be shown. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it was not appropriate to screen Mills’ episode due to the ‘seriousness of the accusations’ against him.
An alternative episode of Celebrity GBBO will go out in its place The Mirror reports.
The statement read: “Having carefully considered the circumstances, we’ve taken the decision not to air the final episode of the 2026 series of The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, featuring Scott Mills. Acknowledging the seriousness of the accusations that have been made against Scott, we don’t believe it would be appropriate to air the episode at this time.
“An alternative episode of Celebrity GBBO will go out in its place.”
The former Radio 2 DJ was sacked by the BBC shortly before it emerged the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the 53-year-old in 2016 over allegations of serious sexual offences involving a teenage boy under 16 between 1997 and 2000. The corporation has since admitted it knew about a police investigation into allegations against Mills of a historical sexual offence in 2017, but said it “acted decisively” after receiving “new information” in the weeks before his sacking.
The “new information” was that the teenage boy at the centre of the investigation was under the age of 16. After losing his role on the Radio 2 breakfast show, Scott’s Eurovision podcast with friend Rylan Clark was also pulled.
Charities he worked with including Neuroblastoma UK and the MS Society UK also parted ways with the DJ. Mills has been an advocate for multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than a decade, having become an ambassador for MS Society UK as his mother, Sandra, was diagnosed with the progressive neurological condition.
On Wednesday last week, Mills released a statement through his lawyers saying he had been the subject of “rumour and speculation” since he was fired, and that he “co-operated fully” with the police investigation into allegations of a historical sexual offence.
A statement released through his lawyers said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.
“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully co-operated and responded to in 2018. As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.
“Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter. I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”
Claude may have made a mistake (Picture: BBC/Fremantle Media/Ray Burmiston)
Fans of The Apprentice have been questioning Claude Littner’s tribute to a candidate who died 11 years ago.
Earlier today, Claude, 76, paid homage to Stuart Baggs, a candidate who appeared on Series 6 of The Apprentice (UK) in 2010.
‘Sad news indeed about the passing of Stuart Baggs,’ it read.
‘A memorable interviewee on “The Apprentice”. He stunned me with his unforgettable response, claiming he was “a brand”…. brilliant👏. RIP🙏’
As touching a memorial as this is, there was just one problem: Stuart died 11 years ago in 2015.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Claude’s fans were quick to point this out online and tease The Apprentice legend about his mistake.
‘Why has it taken you 11 years?’ asked @Keith_Bredrin. ‘Yes, it was very sad, but he died in 2015, Claude,’ added @CiesseJay.
The tweet in question (Picture: @ClaudeLitner/Twitter)
@michaelmcguk meanwhile was perhaps the most excoriating, saying: ‘Didn’t he die 11 years ago?? This is pretty poor, Claude. Delete it and save some face.’
It was @ChrisDodd12, however, who perhaps summed the situation up best when he chimed in with, ‘You’ve had a shocker here, Claude.’
Still others pointed out that this probably wasn’t a mistake.
@woolyw0 wrote: ‘Some of the comments! Of course, Claude knows he hasn’t just passed away!
‘You are allowed to make a comment like that years after someone has passed! Some will just jump on any comment.’
Stuart (middle) was a fan favourite (Picture: PA)
Other fans pointed out that Claude was likely a reaction to a recent tweet by Lord Sugar that also paid tribute to Stuart.
Yesterday, the business mogul tweeted: ‘Whenever it comes to Interviews week, my mind goes back to the dear departed Stuart Baggs – RIP. Such a great character on #TheApprentice.’
Stuart, who founded his broadband business when he was just 13, is something of a legend in The Apprentice fandom.
Known as Stuart Baggs ‘The Brand’ after he defiantly told Claude he was a brand in his own right, he was known for his enthusiasm and exuberance.
The would-be tycoon made it all the way to the semi-finals, where his hopes came crashing down during the interview process.
He was eventually fired by Lord Sugar, who told him he was ‘full of sh*t’ and left the process.
Undeterred, he continued to run his business until he died in 2015 after suffering an asthma attack when he was just 27-years-old.
In a Facebook post from the time, his sister Charlotte wrote: ‘Today, my dearest brother Stuart Baggs gained his wings. To say we are all shocked and devastated is an understatement.
‘Love him or hate him, he touched many people’s lives from his TV antics to his amazing work with Bluewave Communications.”
‘He was the biggest character and will leave the biggest hole behind. Not knowing what or why makes it all the harder.
‘Can’t explain how proud I am of him. He was the king of following his dreams and making them happen.’
Metro has reached out to Claude’s reps for comment.
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Playground Games has revealed the full map for Forza Horizon 6, which encompasses Tokyo and the Japanese Alps.
Beyond the actual racing, one of the fundamental joys of Forza Horizon is exploring the vast recreations of real-world locations.
Past games have been set in Mexico, the UK, Australia, France, Italy, and the US, but the upcoming sixth instalment is heading to Asia for the first time, with the Japanese setting being highly requested by fans.
Developer Playground Games has now revealed the size of the map in Forza Horizon 6, and funnily enough it’s based on the same Kantō region which inspired Pokémon Red and Blue.
‘This is Horizon Japan!’ a tweet from the game’s official X account reads. ‘From the iconic downtown streets of Tokyo City all the way to the snowy Japanese Alps, Forza Horizon 6 introduces our most dense and vertical map yet.’
The map itself, if you compare it to the actual Kantō region in Japan, focuses on Tokyo and the Kanagawa prefecture. However, with the inclusion of the Japanese Alps at the top, it’s clear they’re taking some creative liberties in terms of 1:1 realism.
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Forza Horizon maps are fictionalised, truncated versions of a country, and for the sixth entry, the game’s art director, Don Arceta, has promised to showcase both the urban and rural parts of Japan.
This is Horizon Japan! From the iconic downtown streets of Tokyo City all the way to the snowy Japanese Alps, #ForzaHorizon6 introduces our most dense and vertical map yet.Which roads are you most excited to cruise and drift with your friends? pic.twitter.com/78GmkqzsWt
Speaking to Xbox Wire last year, Arceta said: ‘From the neon lights and towering buildings of Tokyo City – one of our most detailed and layered environments to date – to the serenity and natural beauty of Japan’s rural and mountain areas, we think players will be blown away by the open world of Japan that we have built.’
While Forza Horizon 6 is coming to PlayStation 5 following its launch on Xbox Series X/S and PC on May 19, 2026, there is no word yet on whether it’ll come to the Switch 2.
In the past, Microsoft has talked about its plans to support Nintendo’s console, but it hasn’t delivered much so far, outside of ports of South Of Midnight and next month’s Indiana Jones And The Great Circle.
Forza Horizon 6 might be technically too demanding for Nintendo’s hybrid, but not necessarily, as the console has been able to run the likes of Resident Evil Requiem and Star Wars Outlaws surprisingly well.
Also, it’d be a chance to actually have a Pokémon crossover – even if it’s just car livery – which Nintendo probably would agree to, as they already allow Zelda references in the Switch port of Skyrim.
While that’s not going to happen any time soon (even the PlayStation 5 version is coming out after the Xbox one) reliable leaker billbil-kun has revealed that Forza Horizon 6 will be getting a limited edition Xbox wireless controller and headset.
Both will be released at the same time as the game, on May 19, with the controller expected to cost $89.99 and the headset $134.99. No UK prices have been leaked but similar accessories were released for Starfield at launch, which cost £69.99 and £114.99, respectively.
Exactly one year after the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” premiered, its sequel is making its way to Hulu.
“The Testaments,” a new 10-episode series, is based on Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” sequel novel of the same name and takes place years after the action of the original series.
“One Battle After Another” breakout Chase Infiniti leads “The Testaments” as Agnes MacKenzie (also known as Hannah, the daughter of June/Offred on “The Handmaid’s Tale”). The series follows teenagers Agnes and Daisy (Lucy Halliday) as they come of age in Gilead, grappling with the bleak future and navigating the halls of Aunt Lydia’s prep school for future wives.
Ann Dowd is set to reprise her “Handmaid’s Tale” role as Aunt Lydia in the new sequel.
‘The Testaments’ release date
The first three episodes of “The Testaments” were released on Hulu today, April 8, and are available to stream now.
How to watch ‘The Testaments’ for free
If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
‘The Testaments’ episodes
“The Testaments” will have 10 episodes dropping weekly after today’s three-episode premiere. Here’s when new episodes will come out.
Episode 1: “Precious Flowers” – April 8
Episode 2: “Perfect Teeth” – April 8
Episode 3: “Daisy” – April 8
Episode 4: “Green Tea” – April 15
Episode 5 – April 22
Episode 6 – April 29
Episode 7 – May 6
Episode 8 – May 13
Episode 9 – May 20
Episode 10 – May 27
‘The Testaments’ cast
Ann Dowd is the only cast member from “The Handmaid’s Tale” reprising her role in “The Testaments.” Here’s who else you can expect to see in “The Testaments”:
Ann Dowd is the only cast member from “The Handmaid’s Tale” reprising her role in the sequel. AP
Chase Infiniti as Agnes MacKenzie (known as Hannah Bankole in “The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Lucy Halliday as Daisy
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
Rowan Blanchard as Shunammite
Eva Foote as Aunt Estee
Kira Guloien as Rosa
Amy Seimetz as Paula
Brad Alexander as Garth
Birva Pandya as Miriam
Zarrin Darnell-Martin as Aunt Gabbana
Mattea Conforti as Becka Grove
Shechinah Mpumlwana as Jehosheba
Mabel Li as Aunt Vidala
Isolde Ardies as Huldah
‘The Testaments’ trailer
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square said Tuesday it is planning to buy Universal Music Group in a cash and stock deal.
UMG will form a newly merged company with Pershing Square and list on the New York Stock Exchange, according to the terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year.
“Since UMG’s listing, Sir Lucian Grainge and the company’s management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster and generating strong business performance,” said Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman in the Tuesday statement.
“However, UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction.”
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The Great Escape – they don’t make ’em like that anymore (LaunchBox)
The Tuesday letters page recommends Screamer despite the relatively high price, as one reader laments the rising cost of amiibo.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Full Spectrum warrior Really enjoyed the Reader’s Feature at the weekend about Ant Attack and I agree it was a classic that needs more recognition today. It’s definitely one of the best games on the Spectrum but it had me thinking about what my actual favourite is.
I’d say Elite, Chuckie Egg, Knight Lore, and School Daze are all up there, but I think my favourite might be The Great Escape. Another great isometric game but so complicated for Sir Clive’s tiny little 48K monster.
There’s not really anything like it nowadays, which is probably true for most of the games I’ve listed. I’m still upset there isn’t a modern Elite game on consoles and stuff like Knight Lore… I guess modern action adventures are in the same area but nothing has ever been quite the same since all these old UK developers gave up the ghost. Franky
Back to front We wall knew something funny was going on with Resident Evil Requiem’s story and ending and I think it’s just as simple as they were running out of time to make it out for the 30th anniversary. It’s such a shame because for the first six or eight hours of the game are pretty much perfect, then it slowly bleeds out.
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It’s not enough to ruin the game or anything but when you get that close to nailing it, it feels really frustrating. I think it’s too much to hope for a director’s cut that retcons things but maybe next time Capcom should consider making the games backwards – starting with the final scenes and boss battles and working back from there.
Also, I cannot believe it’s not relatively easy to find someone in Japan that’s good at making boss battles. There must be ex-Treasure people and the like everywhere. It’s weird that’s been a problem with the series basically from the beginning. Focus
The Legend of Elden Ring Video game movies are not something I’d normally get excited about but it looks like Elden Ring could be the one to break the curse. I know they’ve been getting better lately but they’re still not actually good, but I hope that this could be the one, especially if Alex Garland is a fan.
The set footage isn’t much to go on but it does look exactly like the game so that’s got to be worth something, even if it is a fairly easy thing to recreate at that scale. It sounds like it and the Zelda movie might come out at more or less the same time, which is going to be interesting.
I imagine to ordinary movie reviewers they might seem very similar concepts, but I can guess which one is going to come out better – and it’s not the one by Nintendo. Bluek
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Rising prices I have just bought the Mario & Luma amiibo, which is my first amiibo I have bought with the new higher prices. I have attached a couple of photos so readers can compare their size with the cheaper amiibo. The Mario & Luma amiibo cost me £24.99 including delivery, the Super Mario amiibo on its own cost £12.99 and the Tom Nook one cost me £10.99.
As you can see, the packaging for the Luma amiibo is quite a bit bigger than the lower priced amiibo. I have included a Switch game in the photo so people have an idea how big the amiibo are. I bought the new amiibo as I am a big fan of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.
I will be more selective of what amiibo I buy in future, because of the new higher prices. I hope the amiibo for Resident Evil Requiem are not £24.99 each, as that will be £50 to own them! Nearly as much as purchasing the game! Andrew J.
GC: The prices are shocking but we’ve got to admit, that Mario & Luma one is nice.
Remember when amiibo used to be surprisingly cheap? (Andrew J.)
It’s annoying that they’re actually pretty good (Andrew J.)
Too much money That is very surprising to find that Take-Two has laid off their whole AI team. You would’ve thought they would’ve kept it going just to tick a box when attracting investors, but maybe they really don’t need the money.
If that is the case, and it’s not just that the boss has a pet hate, I wish we’d see this in other things they do. Like wasting money on weird ideas and indie games. But I can’t remember the last time Take-Two published anything that wasn’t just a sports game or something from Rockstar Games.
They might not need an AI department but you always need new and interesting games. Heck, I’d settle for a new Bioshock if nothing else. Danson
Man attic After making an obvious and cheap gag about the size of the PS5 Pro yesterday, I felt it only fair to show you can fit these modern consoles in quite easily under the TV and while big don’t quite deserve the reputation they seem to have.
This modest space, an attic conversion, has a PS4 Pro, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, plug tidy box behind the Series X, Switch 2 behind the TV, PlayStation VR 2 in a case behind some classic gaming tat and all the controllers, games and charging leads in the box. The TV stand was £50 five years ago from Argos.
I will say though both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 look better stood up but I can’t imagine that’s the most convenient why for most to store them. So for me make the PlayStation 6 and Nextbox with horizontal as the design focus. Simundo
It fits! (Simundo)
Luck of the draw I don’t know if it’s on sale or if it’s that dynamic pricing but I got Astro Bot off the PlayStation Store on Saturday for £32.99.
It’s as good as everyone says it is. Been a while since I’ve enjoyed a game this much. Holds up very well against Super Mario Odyssey. Tom Thomas
GC: We think it’s dynamic pricing (which is disgusting) as it’s £42.59 for us, at a 29% discount.
A real scream I bought Screamer over the weekend, as I love arcade racers and I’ve been loving it. My only issue with gameplay was the twin stick turning, which I just couldn’t get the hang of. But thankfully you can map both sticks just to the left stick and it was a gamechanger, it feels much more natural. So if anyone is put off by the controls you can change them.
There’s a lot of mechanics to learn, which offers strategy to the racing, but another nice touch is in private matches or split-screen you can turn off anything that others feel complicated and just have a standard racer, which is cool.
The biggest problem is the price. £60 is a lot for a racer which is trying something new and I feel it’s putting a lot off. I managed to pay for half of it with Microsoft Points, so it only cost me £30. I think it should have been £40 and it looks like the game is suffering because of it, which is a shame as it’s up there with Split/Second: Velocity and Blur for me. Rob
GC: We agree entirely. It’s a great game but the price is a big ask for an IP most people have never heard of.
Inbox also-rans That Jesus: The Journey game has got to be some kind of failed superhero game they found the code for or something. Like you said, I don’t see how this stuff gets on PlayStation Store in the first place. Can I just upload some pirated ROMs and Sony will leave them up for six months until they realise what they are? Campbell
Never heard of the dude that died but Double Dragon was always a favourite of mine when growing. So kudos to Yoshihisa Kishimoto and shame he went so relatively young. sniperboy
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Darwin’s Paradox – seagulls are a bigger danger than aliens (Konami)
In the tradition of indie classics such as Limbo and Inside, comes a new action adventure starring a cartoon octopus caught up in an alien invasion.
We don’t actually play that many video games that are truly awful, since there’s usually nothing of note about them to make a review worthwhile. There’re occasional exceptions, like the mind-bogglingly terrible Code Violet and the baffling MindsEye, but most of the worst games are just worthless slop of the sort Sony is currently trying to clear out from the PlayStation Store.
The majority of video games aren’t unusually good or bad, they’re somewhere in the middle. And so it can be difficult to know which are worthy of further investigation, given there are dozens of new indie games released every week, even at quiet times of the year.
We’re not familiar with French developer ZDT Studio, since this seems to be their debut game, but since the graphics for Darwin’s Paradox looked good, the publisher is Konami, and octopuses are cool we decided to give it a go. In the end we wish we hadn’t, not because it’s terrible but because it’s so deeply average.
Maybe average isn’t entirely fair. The graphics are really good for an indie game and on paper your octopus powers are all very neat, including the ability to camouflage yourself; shoot out ink to cover your escape; and walk along any surface, including the ceiling, like a spider (which we’re pretty sure octopuses can’t do, but whatever).
Darwin’s Paradox is, rather randomly, named after Charles Darwin’s discovery that tropical seas don’t seem to contain enough nutrients to sustain coral reefs, despite the fact they’re teeming with life. That has nothing to do with the game, other than the octopus you control is called Darwin, whose friend is captured by secret aliens running a food processing company and planning to invade Earth.
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What this translates to in gameplay terms is a 2D platformer influenced by the likes of Limbo and Inside, but swapping melancholic mystery for cartoon silliness. Darwin spends a surprising amount of time on dry land but whether he’s hiding from guards or trying not to get eaten by a moray eel everything works in the same general way.
His camouflage ability is basically a cloak of invisibility and as long as you activate it in time you become completely invisible to enemies. Although it does take a while to complete, so you spend a lot of time slowly inching your way across the screen, spending more time going into camouflage than moving or hiding.
Spraying ink is only good for masking your movement underwater but the gob of liquid you shoot out can be aimed quite precisely and so ends up getting used to activate switches and machinery when you’re on land. Although you don’t have any offensive abilities at all.
The game doesn’t press our buttons (Konami)
The climbing on any surface gimmick is used a surprising amount and while it seems quite clever at first it’s fiddly and inconsistent. Not enough to be a total wash but certainly enough to irritate, with sticky and slow movement that makes you constantly wish you could just get back in the water, where you’re much more mobile. The worst thing, though, is the game is filled with trial and error traps that often cannot be foreseen.
The checkpointing is generous enough that you don’t usually have to repeat too much but it’s still frustrating getting caught out by something you couldn’t have anticipated, especially as it happens so often. Even without this, the puzzles just aren’t interesting enough to engage you, as the solution is usually instantly obvious but pushing items where you want them or getting a pixel perfect jump just right is frequently more difficult than it should be.
As the scope of indie gaming begins to grow wider, from tiny games made by a single person to those whose scale begins to rival low-end games from traditional publishers, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to judge how fair their price tags are.
Darwin’s Paradox is relatively expensive and it’s only around six hours long and yet you can see where all the money went, as the cartoonish visuals are excellent and mixed in with almost photorealistic backdrops. That said, it’s never actually funny, no matter how often Darwin’s googly eyes try to emote as he’s being pecked to death by birds or squished by alien machinery.
Despite its attempts to provoke a reaction we found it impossible to hold any strong feelings about Darwin’s Paradox. It’s competently made, very pretty, and almost completely uninteresting. The dull and long-winded puzzles are the biggest problem and give the impression that the whole game was designed around the visuals, with everything seemingly having been worked back from there.
That’s never been a good way to make a video game and while this is an acceptable enough way to waste away a rainy Sunday afternoon, that’s about as positive as we can be about it.
Darwin’s Paradox review summary
In Short: A more family friendly attempt to mimic the likes of Limbo and Inside but while the graphics are impressive the gameplay feels stolid and poorly paced.
Pros: The visuals are fantastic, in terms of both the main characters and the backdrops. Interesting array of abilities, especially the wall-crawling and ink-spitting.
Cons: Everything in the game has been seen and done better before, with dull and long-winded puzzles and tedious stealth sections. The graphics are cute but there’s no real jokes and a weak ending.
Score: 5/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC Price: £19.99 Publisher: Konami Developer: ZDT Studio Release Date: 2nd April 2026 Age Rating: 7
Being published by Konami means free Metal Gear references (Konami)
SNL star Chloe Fineman is facing growing criticism for a story about pulling down a child’s pants (Picture: Getty)
Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman is facing backlash after the resurfacing of a tale where she discussed ‘pantsing’ a six-year-old during summer camp.
The 37-year-old US comedian, who joined the SNL cast in 2019, recently took part in a Vanity Fair ‘How Well Do You Know Each Other’ interview alongside co-stars Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla, Jane Wickline, and James Austin Johnson.
In a since-edited out clip from the 22-minute video, which has now resurfaced on social media, Chloe asked her fellow NBC comics if they knew which job she was once fired from (and later rehired) with a ‘bonus point’ if they could reveal why.
This led to her sharing the story of how she lost her job as a summer camp counsellor when she was 16.
I was fired as a camp counsellor. I pantsed a boy. He would lift my shirt all the time. It was a different time.
‘He would be like: “Hey, could I have a hug?” And then I’d go to hug him and he’d lift my shirt, like a d**k.
‘And then I was like: “I’m going to get back at you.” And so we were on a hike, and I was like: “Hey, Ollie, go look over there. It’s a hawk.” He looked and then I yanked his pants down, and then I was fired.’
She joked that the six-year-old boy’s ‘little ding-a-ling was out’ as he wasn’t ‘wearing underpants’ with Padilla responding: ‘Oh, honey, I think you’re on a list somewhere.’
Her other co-stars gasped in shock at the tale, with many covering their faces, with Fineman claiming it was ‘a different time’.
The original clip is now circulating on social media, with fans also sharing their horror at Fineman attempting to share the anecdote humorously.
She is best known for being part of the SNL cast but has also featured in several movies and TV shows (Picture: NBCUniversal Media, LLC)
‘This is such a disturbing thing to admit in an interview and omg the uncomfortable laughter among the cast mates, I feel so bad for them,’ X user Kylie wrote.
‘Can’t comprehend how any public figure in 2026 would share this story proudly and publicly, regardless of whether or not they personally think it’s an issue,’ sarahlovesnimbus added.
‘This is so much worse than I thought,’ cellularsodacan added.
‘I am actually stunned she pulled the “it was a different time” line here,’ Jessi reflected.
This is not the first time the screenstar has shared this story. She also recounted it on the Jake Shame podcast, Therapuss, last May, which is still on YouTube in full.
She also told the same story on the Jake Shane podcast last May (Picture: 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC)
The tale is told in much the same way, with similar details.
Beyond SNL, Fineman has also starred in several major movies and TV shows, including Freakier Friday, Big Mouth, Despicable Me 4, Babylon and Dickinson.
She is set to star in the upcoming Amazon Prime sequel, Red, White and Royal Wedding.
Metro has reached out to Chloe Fineman’s representatives and Vanity Fair for comment.
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