Rylan Clark is said to be ‘devastated’ after close friend Scott Mills was axed from the BBC.

The radio star was sacked by the BBC last week after 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 police investigation was closed in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

And Mills’ close friends and BBC colleagues are said to be ‘shell-shocked’ over the news, and are now left with a ‘great deal of worry’.

One friend in particular is, Rylan, who has worked alongside Mills for several years and attended his wedding to husband Sam Vaughan in Barcelona 18 months ago, hailing it as the ‘best wedding ever’.

A source told the Daily Mail presenter Rylan has been left ‘devastated’ by the allegations, having worked together on Eurovision and often pairing up for BBC radio programmes.

‘Rylan and Scott are so close, they said.

‘They have done a lot of work together, but see a lot of each other socially, too. They always had each other’s backs. This will be rough for Rylan.’

In his first public statement since the news broke, released through his lawyers, the former Radio 2 breakfast host said he ‘co-operated fully’ with the police investigation into allegations of a historical sexual offence.

Mills 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.’

The BBC has confirmed it knew about the police investigation into Mills in 2017, but said it ‘acted decisively’ after receiving ‘new information’ in the weeks before his sacking.

Mills was questioned under caution by officers in July 2018 and The Sun has reported that Mills denied the claims at the time and informed the BBC.

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many.

‘We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.

‘What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values, and terminated his contracts on Friday March 27.’

The BBC added: ‘Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.’

The BBC said it ‘made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards’, and added that it set out ‘behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC’ and was ‘clear action would be taken’ if they were not met, last year, after an independent culture review.

The corporation has also apologised for not following up after a separate allegation of ‘inappropriate communications’ by Mills was raised last year.

Metro has contacted representatives for Rylan for comment.

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Some games are so old they’ve almost faded from memory, but one reader suggests remaking a ZX Spectrum classic that was one of the first ever isometric video games.

Back in 1983 Ant Attack came out. A game created for the ZX Spectrum by Sandy White and published by a company called Quicksilva. Ant Attack is listed on the Guinness World Records website as the first isometric game to exist for home computers. Isometric games present their worlds at a slant and create a three-dimensional effect without perspective projection. Ant Attack’s slanted world is the city of Antescher.

First you choose: Girl or Boy (g/b)? Press the relevant key on your keyboard and a short paragraph sets the scene:

‘After a long journey you see your destination. The high walled city of Antescher. As you stand at the gate you hear a call of distress, irresistible to a HERO like you. You must answer it.. Good luck!’

Antescher seems entirely empty at first. An eerie maze of geometric structures and blocks. However, venture forth at your peril because in Ant Attack you’re never alone for long. Giant ants scurry in from nowhere, homing in on you in seconds. Any contact with the insects and you’ll be bitten. Prolonged exposure means being eaten alive.

You might get lucky and manage to paralyse an ant by jumping onto its back, but your primary defence against the aggressive inhabitants of Antescher are grenades. You can hurl grenades with varying amounts of effort and so determine how far the grenades go and where they land and explode.

The goal in Ant Attack is to find and liberate helpless members of the opposite sex. A clue to the next captive’s location is provided by the game’s scan indicator, which turns green if you’re walking towards them.

Locate a horizontal captive, free them, lead them back out of the city to safety and you score points. After that you re-enter Antescher to search for another captive who might be lying trapped and helpless anywhere within the desolate conurbation. And while all of the above transpires a countdown counts down. From one thousand to zero. When the timer reaches zero it’s game over, for you and for the existing prisoners of Antescher.

Back when it first came out I owned, played, and loved this game. Visually and in terms of atmosphere the location of Antescher is iconic. No other game looked like Ant Attack at the time. And the whole concept of exploring a mysterious city while being pursued by giant ants was both scary and cool.

The brilliant cover art by David Rowe also probably sold the game to 13-year-old me before I even loaded it from its cassette tape for the first time. I seem to remember that Ant Attack reviewed well in the press. I avidly read game reviews in magazines back then.

To flesh out my fond but fairly ancient memories of Ant Attack I was able to find a browser emulation of the game. Initially playing Ant Attack in 2026 proved awkward for me. Years of being spoiled with joypads, decent game cameras, and general ease of use meant that I felt severely hampered by Ant Attack’s keyboard controls and its limited viewpoints.

The game felt a bit laggy too. And thanks to those giant ants most of the time you’re operating in a state of panic. Faced with the prospect of death by mandible it’s easy to turn and speed walk the wrong way or blow yourself and your liberated captive up with a poorly thrown grenade.

But then again, this game is 43 years old, and I only played an emulated version. Regardless of its age Ant Attack probably still plays better on an actual ZX Spectrum. This classic and interesting game deserves to be remastered. It would be great if Sandy White’s groundbreaking creation was available on modern consoles and therefore became known and loved by gamers who aren’t yet in their fifties.

Regarding a possible remake/remaster, I don’t think Ant Attack’s graphics would need to change much, if at all. The visuals of this coding miracle (all that good stuff generated in just 48K) are so stylish and appropriate to the game’s story and concept they are etched forever in my mind.

Being chased through a geometric city by giant killer ants is one memory that tends to stick with you.

By reader Michael Veal (@msv858)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

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Paul McCartney is opening up about how his wife helped him deal with the breakup of The Beatles.

In the documentary, “Paul McCartney: Man on the Run,” director Morgan Neville spoke with the 83-year-old musician about his life after The Beatles, and how a mantra he learned from his late wife, Linda McCartney, helped him cope, teaching him “not to be too uptight.”

“In a situation like that you lost your job, you can get uptight very easily,” he said. “One of my favorite expressions of hers was, you’d be saying, ‘Oh, I don’t know. I’d love to do so and so, but I can’t. I can’t,’ and she’d say, ‘it’s allowed.’ It’s like all the weight just went off. It’s allowed. Yeah, of course it is. So those kind of things really impressed me and I think probably made me think a lot more was allowed than was.”

Linda and Paul met in 1967, while she was working as a photographer, and were married two years later in March 1969. Throughout their marriage, the two welcomed three children: Mary, Stella and James.

Paul says his wife’s motto helped lift a weight off his shoulder. (Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images)

PAUL MCCARTNEY REVEALS EXPLOSIVE ‘F— YOU, JOHN’ MOMENT AFTER BEATLES LAWSUIT

In the documentary, Paul called Linda “a freeing influence,” saying that while she grew up in a “posh” area of New York and “was on track to become the sort of company wife,” that’s not what she wanted.

“She liked rock and roll, and she would do things like sneak out of the house late at night to and drive into New York with a boyfriend,” he said. “So there was a lot of freedom in her thinking, so I think that’s really was good for me.”

A few years after The Beatles broke up, Paul formed the band Wings, with Linda joining full-time as a keyboardist and also providing vocals.

PAUL MCCARTNEY SAYS YOKO ONO CLAIMED JOHN LENNON ‘MIGHT HAVE BEEN GAY’ AFTER HIS DEATH

Wings went on to become one of the biggest bands of the 1970s, with hits like “Band on the Run,” “Live and Let Die” and “My Love,” and two Grammy Award wins.

Paul and Linda later formed the band Wings, with Linda providing vocals and playing keyboard. (David Redfern/Redferns)

When thinking about that time, Paul says when he listens to the music and hears “these beautiful harmonies coming from Linda,” he still stands in awe of her talent.

“I think wait a minute there was no auto tune. We didn’t have any of…that’s real,” he said. “She hadn’t had any lessons and it was just a love of singing. I liked her voice. Her style was not operatic. It was not blues.”

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Paul and Linda were married for nearly 30 years before her death in 1998 at the age of 58, following a battle with breast cancer.

During an interview with BBC Radio Scotland’s Ricky Ross Meets Paul shared that following her death, “I think I cried for about a year on and off.”

When looking back on his time in Wings, Paul is still in awe of Linda’s voice. (Rob Verhorst/Redferns)

“You expect to see them walk in, this person you love, because you are so used to them,” he said. “I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing except it seemed the only thing to do.”

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The couple’s eldest daughter, Mary, followed in her mother’s footsteps, growing up to be a photographer. Their middle child, Stella, famously went on to become a fashion designer, calling herself “one of the first nepo-babies” in an interview with Time in 2023.

Paul has three children, including fashion designer, Stella McCartney. (Dave Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Stella McCartney)

Their son James is now a musician, having partnered with his father’s former bandmate, John Lennon’s son, Sean Lennon to write the 2024 song, “Primrose Hill.”

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Paul also shares daughter Beatrice, with his second wife, Heather Mills, and was also stepfather to Linda’s daughter Heather from her previous marriage.

Polymarket removed a forum related to the rescue mission of U.S. military servicemembers amid political pressure, the latest sign of mounting scrutiny around prediction markets.

U.S. and Iranian military forces are searching for a missing American airman after its F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday. One crew member has been rescued, but another is not accounted for.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., decried the Polymarket page that allowed users to bet on which day the U.S. would confirm the rescue of the two airmen after an American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran. The lawmaker called the page “DISGUSTING” in an X post.

“They could be your neighbor, a friend, a family member,” Moulton wrote on Friday. “And people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved.”

In a response on X, Polymarket said: “We took this market down immediately as it does not meet our integrity standards.”

“It should not have been posted, and we are investigating how this slipped through our internal safeguards,” Polymarket wrote.

In a separate X post, Polymarket said it doesn’t “make money or charge any fees on any geopolitical markets.”

In an email to CNBC, Moulton said, “Polymarket didn’t take that market down because it violated their standards. They took it down because we called them out.”

Moulton also said that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the authority to regulate prediction market platforms, but it is doing nothing.

“That needs to change, too,” he said. “Yesterday, there were 219 active bets in Polymarket’s ‘war’ category. Today, there are 223. This is spreading, and Congress needs to act.”

Moulton last month banned his staff from using prediction market platforms like Polymarket or Kalshi, a policy that his office believes is the first of its kind in Congress.

“Constituents that we serve should trust us to make decisions based on the right thing for do for our nation, not based on how bets might turn out,” Moulton said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Moulton also said on X that Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Donald Trump, “is an investor in this dystopian death market and may have access to intelligence that isn’t public yet.”

Requests for comment from Trump Jr. weren’t immediately returned to CNBC.

The Massachusetts lawmaker is part of a growing chorus of voices in Washington calling for stronger oversight of these betting platforms as interest swells.

A group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation late last month that would bar prediction markets from allowing wagers on elections, war and government actions, in addition to sports.

In February, six Democratic senators urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to clarify that it will prohibit any contracts related to an individual’s death. These contracts “present dangerous national security risks,” the lawmakers wrote.

The CFTC on Thursday announced lawsuits against three states over what it saw as efforts to circumvent the organization’s sole regulatory authority over prediction markets.

The NFL has also asked prediction market operators to keep specific event contracts that the league deems “objectionable bets” off their platforms. The league outlined examples of event contracts that could be easily manipulated, inherently objectionable, related to officiating, and knowable in advance — and asked that operators refrain from offering such trades.

— CNBC’s Dan Mangan, Azhar Sukri and Luke Fountain contributed to this report.

Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.

You know when an act comes with a ‘Don’t try this at home’ pre-warning, things are about to get interesting – and that’s certainly one way of describing this Britain’s Got Talent act.

This weekend’s auditions saw Leroy Patterson take to the stage, having travelled over from Los Angeles, California, by himself to showcase his… talents.

Well, he admitted it was more a display of ‘stupidity’, with which angry viewers agreed after branding his performance ‘vile’ and ‘horrific’.

The auditionee didn’t divulge any details about what his act would contain beforehand, meaning judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, KSI, and stand-in Stacey Solomon were taken aback when he began stripping.

Standing in just his underpants, the 42-year-old explained that he was about to demonstrate ‘three very important safety tips’.

But these weren’t demonstrations on handwashing or crossing the road. Instead, Leroy took the first lesson as an opportunity to say: ‘If you find yourself in front of a pile of mousetraps, do not do this…’

He proceeded to, you guessed it, throw himself down stomach-first onto the traps, causing hosts Ant and Dec to wince and the audience to gasp.

Stacey immediately pressed her red buzzer, which didn’t faze Leroy, who moved onto his second demonstration – sitting down on a strip of carpet tacks.

He closed his eyes as he did so, visibly shaking afterwards and clearly in pain.

‘Why would you do that?’, asked Amanda, with Alesha exclaiming: ‘What is happening?’

For his big finish, Leroy made his way to a tunnel of wheat strimmers, which he turned on and ran through – but not before shoving a bunch of flowers into the blades to illustrate the danger.

‘Is he still alive?’, Ant McPartlin asked the camera afterwards while the crowd screamed and KSI groaned.

Leroy covered his body and was, as you’d expect, uncomfortable, but still made his way to centre stage to take a bow.

Surprisingly, he earned rapturous applause and was sent through to the next round, with boxer-turned-YouTuber KSI telling him he wanted something to ‘make [him] squirm’.

He might have to work harder to get the likes of Alesha on board, though, as the long-time judge gave an emphatic ‘no’, saying: ‘For me, it’s not entertaining.’

Alesha wasn’t the only one who had to watch through her fingers, as viewers took to social media during the episode to criticise the inclusion of a ‘self-harm’ act.

‘That was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen on this show’, wrote @RyanSoapKing25 on X.

‘What the hell was that? There was NO NEED’, raged @2001joe_mendy.

‘So we’ve just seen a man self-harm on #BritainsGotTalent & you are voting him in. This is all that’s wrong with the world right now’, vented @cookmandy, accusing ITV of becoming ‘desperate for ratings’ as numbers dwindle.

‘Absolutely vile that self harming act. Should be embarrassed’, echoed @kazuma_kir12053.

‘That was a serious OFCOM complaint performance. Horrific!’, @JackieA954 said.

Of course, this is far from the first time a dangerous act has appeared on BGT.

Over the last 20 years, millions have tuned in to see escapologists risk their lives and daredevil magicians defy all health and safety protocols in the hopes of winning a place at the Royal Variety Performance.

In 2010, gymnastics troupe Spellbound also won the show, having stunned viewers with their daring routines that involved risky flips and spins. Simon Cowell even called one of their performances ‘one of the most astonishing things [he] has ever seen’.

Other controversial acts included 2019’s Andrei Gomonov, who threw knives at a board while Simon stood in front, and 2023’s Andrew Stanton, who was called ‘disgusting’ after lifting Amanda up using his eye sockets.

Unfortunately, though, things don’t always go to plan.

Thrill-seeker Jonathan Goodwin made his debut on the talent show seven years ago, making it to the finals and becoming the first-ever act to be ‘buried alive’.

Also an America’s Got Talent star, Jonathan retired in 2021, having been hospitalised after sustaining serious injuries during a rehearsal for AGT: Extreme, which included a broken spine and third-degree burns.

After getting crushed between two cars as they caught fire, he was left paralysed from the waist down.

ITV has been contacted for comment.

Britain’s Got Talent continues next Saturday on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Actor John Lithgow said much of J.K. Rowling’s views on transgender issues have been “twisted and misrepresented,” despite his own disagreements with “much” of what the author has said.

“I do disagree with much of [what she has said],” Lithgow told journalist David Remnick late last month.

“Much of it, I think, has been twisted and misrepresented, and she has sort of doubled down on it at her own cause.”

Lithgow, 80, who is set to portray Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming “Harry Potter” HBO television series, said he was aware of the controversy surrounding Rowling before signing on, and even faced pressure to walk away from the project.

JK ROWLING CHALLENGES PAST ‘HARRY POTTER’ FILMMAKER TO SPECIFY WHICH OF HER BELIEFS ON GENDER ARE OFFENSIVE

John Lithgow is set to play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

“I was urged to walk away, and I was not about to do that,” he said, explaining that he felt “the reasons to do it were much, much stronger” than objections to Rowling’s comments.

After Lithgow explained his decision, Remnick pressed further on Rowling’s rhetoric, noting how “surprised” he has been by the “ferocity” and, at times, “cruelty” in the tone of her public comments.

JK ROWLING SLAMS GLAMOUR UK’S WOMEN OF THE YEAR COVER FEATURING NINE TRANS WOMEN

J.K. Rowling arrived at the world premiere of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore” at the Royal Festival Hall on March 29, 2022, in London, England. (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Lithgow responded, “Yes, I’m surprised by it, too, and disappointed by it.”

Rowling, who authored all seven books in the “Harry Potter” series, has angered transgender activists for years with her outspoken opposition to transgender ideology and her defense of women-only spaces.

ACTOR JOHN LITHGOW DEFENDS JOINING ‘HARRY POTTER’ SERIES DESPITE JK ROWLING’S TRANS BACKLASH

Actor John Lithgow reportedly considered walking away from his role in the upcoming HBO series based on J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books. (Christopher Polk/Variety)

She has taken to social media multiple times to weigh in on issues relevant to the subject, including transgender athletes in women’s sport, biological men entering female-only spaces and the legal definition of a woman while providing support for other women who have opposed transgender ideology.

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Lithgow previously said he had considered walking away from his role due to Rowling’s views, according to The New York Times, which cited his “interest in queer culture” while delving into the topic.

Lithgow noted that non-binary actor Aud Mason-Hyde, his co-star in a separate project, called his decision to join the Potter show “disconcerting” and “vaguely hurtful” and, because of the pushback, he “considered quitting the series but decided not to” and pushed forward, well aware of possible ramifications.

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“Every interview I will ever do for the rest of my life this will come up,” he told the outlet.

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

With Nintendo rumoured to be planning a remake of one of their most beloved video games, a reader suggests a number of changes for a modern version of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.

Nintendo don’t make a lot of remakes, but it’d be wrong to say they don’t ever do them. They are usually for more minor games though, like Super Mario RPG and a few Kirby games. It’d also be wrong to say there are never leaks about their upcoming games. It’s not common, unlike with other publishers, but it does happen – with Donkey Kong Bananza having been leaked years ahead of time, even if the information was a bit vague.

The latest leak didn’t really have any information though, beyond the fact that a remake of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is coming. There’s no hint of who’s making it or how far it’ll go in changing things. Will it be a Resident Evil 2 style deal or something closer to the 3DS version of Ocarina Of Time, which was really just a remaster.

I have no idea, but naturally I’m hoping it’s as big budget an effort as possible, which seems likely if it’s supposed to be their key Christmas game. If it is that kind of effort though that implies changes – just like the Resident Evil remakes – and I have some ideas for what they could be.

I will say from the start, that I’m hoping the changes will be relatively minimal. I don’t think there’s any need to change the combat or (with one exception) the dungeon designs, but there is a lot of fine tuning that would be useful. However, another thing I don’t want them to change is the creepiness and weirdness of the game, which is more extreme than most of the modern ones – so it’ll need actually scary ReDeads and keeping the Forest Temple as it is.

The first change I’d make is simple: voice-acting. The most recent games have been slowly adding more but while I absolutely agree that Link shouldn’t talk everyone else should. It just spoils the immersion when they don’t, and I don’t believe they have it that way for any reason other than Nintendo don’t like spending money on actors.

Another big decision is the art style. It’s hard to tell whether the original was meant to be photorealistic or not, given the limited tech, but while it’s close I’d say it was stylised a bit and it should stay that way. Looking at character faces in particular, you can see a subtle cartoonish effect and I’d like them to keep that.

Some basic changes would be making Hyrule Field bigger and/or filled with more things and generally ensuring that the whole game is just one big open world, just with the same design as the original. That should be no problem given the last two games.

One of the biggest problems I can foresee is that Ocarina Of Time is a lot more complicated than a modern game, especially in terms of dungeon puzzles. It wasn’t considered particularly hard at the time but nowadays people aren’t going to be used to the lack of hand-holding.

The infamous Water Temple is going to flummox any younger gamer, so I think that either has to be changed or, and this would be my preference, they have alternative versions of the dungeons and maybe the game as a whole, with a lite mode that’s easier and simpler and the full fat version.

There’s a lot of other stuff that could be added, like new side quests (the original doesn’t actually have many), more monsters everywhere (again, there’s not many, which is probably because of the limitations of the N64), and maybe even a new dungeon (a lot of fans think there should’ve been a Light Temple).

On a story note, I’d also like some clarification on what happens to Navi at the end, hopefully leading into a tease about a Majora’s Mask remake. I never liked that her fate was never revealed.

Considering how beloved the game is and how many later ones copied it, especially Twilight Princess, I don’t envy whoever gets the job of doing the remake but I can definitely say that I will be there day one.

By reader Onibee

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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A casting call for a ‘young trans woman’ to star in Majesty has been shared by ITV.  

The six-part series about Queen Elizabeth I is searching for a ‘leading role’, as per its call-out. 

In 2024, it was announced that the broadcaster had commissioned a period drama about the late royal. 

Now, the ITV casting call says it is ‘particularly encouraging submissions from actors who identify as transgender women’.

ITV previously said about the programme: ‘Far from being a historical account of Elizabeth’s early years, Majesty is a bold, intriguing reimagining of her life based upon conspiracy theories which surrounded her as a youth. 

‘Was the Virgin Queen hiding a profound secret? And how did this overlooked, embattled princess become the most powerful ruler England has ever known?’ 

The call-out describes the characters’ traits as ‘intelligent, compassionate, brave, witty, charming, and likeable’. It also states she ‘begins as a bright child and grows into a strong young woman’.

It’s currently unspecified whether the role ITV is seeking to fill is Queen Elizabeth I herself. However, it has been widely reported by various publications, including Attitude, that it does, indeed, suggest as such.

Showrunners William Harper, Joan Rater, and Tony Phelan previously remarked of the drama: ‘Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations. 

‘Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference.’ 

Was Queen Elizabeth I trans?

Elizabeth I ruled from 1558 to 1603 and was known as the Virgin Queen. She is reported to have been resistant to marriage, and she did not have children.

Of course, given the time period, it’s nearly impossible to know for certain whether the Queen identified as trans. While accounts of transgender people have been identified going back to as early as 1200 BCE Egypt, historians have only traced the first use of the word ‘transgender’ to a 1965 psychology textbook.

However, Chief Minister Sir Robert Cecil is recorded to have once said about Elizabeth I: ‘More than a man, and, in truth, sometimes less than a woman.’ 

Additionally, the ‘Bisley Boy’ myth is an old legend that claims, aged nine, Princess Elizabeth I was killed by the plague in London and ‘replaced by a young boy’.

According to the story, the child grew up to rule as Elizabeth I. 

She is still widely considered one of the most famous monarchs in history, partly because of her defeat of the Spanish Armada and the ‘golden’ period for culture during which she ruled.

Filming for the series chronicling her life will take place between July 20 and the end of October this year, with applicants needing to be 16 by the time this begins.

Metro has reached out to ITV for comment.

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With nearly five decades in the entertainment industry under her belt, Jamie Lee Curtis knows the drill when it comes to navigating Hollywood beauty standards. 

During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” the iconic actress, 67, opened up about the “fakery” that is Hollywood, explained why she “succumbed” to the pressures of looking a certain way and revealed how she managed to discover self-love amid aging. 

“S— happens, aging happens. I mean, it’s coming for all of us, by the way,” said Curtis. 

JAMIE LEE CURTIS STUNS IN LINGERIE PHOTO; FANS SAY SHE’S ‘STILL GOT IT’

Jamie Lee Curtis says plastic surgery made her feel “fraudulent.” (Getty Images)

“But that’s not what Hollywood is all about,” Obama responded. 

“It’s not just Hollywood,” said Curtis. “It’s also the technology, it’s also social media, it’s also filtering. It’s what we used to call airbrushing is now just filtering. It’s all fakery. It’s just the fakery, it’s the cosmeceutical industrial complex, which is as insidious in many ways as the military industrial complex is about money. So it’s just about f—ing money, right?”

“And it’s the idea that you’re going to tell someone that ‘this is going to change you and make you better, and therefore, better means you’ll be more loved, you’ll be more successful.’ So it’s this cycle of bulls—, but it preys on our base insecurities. For many people, it’s what they look like.”

Curtis, who’s been open about her past cosmetic procedures, said that while she’s “never been pretty,” she’s learned that all the plastic surgeries, fillers and more will never address the core issue: self-esteem. 

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Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut in 1978 by starring as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” (Paul Harris/Getty Images)

“Now, I’ve never been pretty,” she said. “And I’m saying it out loud … I wasn’t pretty like that. I wasn’t pretty the way girls are pretty. I was cute. I can look good. I can fully look good, but that was not my ticket. And that’s very important for me because that was never the thing I relied on.”

“I have succumbed, and have talked about it many times, to trying all the things,” she continued. “I’ve sucked the fat, I’ve cut the fat. I’ve tried to do the things that people do that everybody’s doing, and it doesn’t work. There are many things that happen.”

“It doesn’t work, first of all, because of the self-esteem issue,” she added. “Because you ultimately are looking in the mirror and realizing you’ve used something outside of yourself to change something to make you ‘better.’ But you’re not better because you’re still the same person as you were before.”

Jamie Lee Curtis spoke out about her stance against plastic surgery. (Getty Images)

“I think it actually makes you feel fraudulent, and I think that it creates self-hatred,” she said. “And for me, accepting that I look the way I look is part of self-love.”

Curtis also spoke about the moment she realized that comparing herself to others was going against everything she was preaching. 

“People were comparing themselves to me the same way I would compare myself to someone else,” said Curtis. “I know what it feels like to look at a picture of a beautiful woman and go, ‘I’m never going to look like that.'”

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Curtis decided to pose in her underwear, completely unfiltered, in a photoshoot for More magazine in 2002 while promoting her , “I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem.”

The iconic actress said she had to learn what self-love looked like over time.  (Gilbert Flores/Getty Images)

“I realized I was a liar,” she said. “Because if I was paying attention to what I wrote [in my children’s book], I wouldn’t have done plastic surgery. I wouldn’t have done liposuction.”

“So I said, you know what? I’m going to take a picture of me in my undies with no good light, no makeup, no hair,” she continued. “I’m going to stand there au natural, and you’re going to take my picture, and then you’re going to let me get all dolled up, but you’re going to have to print those two pictures side by side, and you’re going to have to say how long it took, how much money it took, how many people were involved.”

“But that was even then me understanding that what we’re selling is fraudulent,” she added. 

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All PS5 consoles should be £90 more expensive from today, but you can still pick up a console for much cheaper at certain retailers.

The most expensive console generation just became even more costly following a £90 price hike across all PlayStation 5 consoles, but not everyone is following Sony’s rules. Or at least not yet.

The increase officially came into effect on Thursday, April 2, bumping up the price of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition to £519.99, the PlayStation 5 slim with a disc drive to £569.99, and the PS5 Pro to a whopping £789.99. Additionally, the PS Portal went up by £20 to £219.99.

While this increase has been rolled out on PlayStation Direct, other UK retailers, beyond Sony’s remit, are yet to put up their prices.

Over on Argos and Smyths, you can still pick up PlayStation 5 consoles at their cheaper price, from before the increase. This means you can buy the digital edition for £429.99, the PlayStation 5 slim for £479.99, the PS5 Pro for £699.99, and the PS Portal for £199.99.

On Smyths, the PS5 Pro is discounted by £10, bringing it down to £689.99. Additionally, the retailer is selling bundles for the other systems, including a PlayStation 5 slim disc console with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 or Astro Bot for £519.99 (the same price the system alone is meant to be following the price hike).

However, the cheapest place to buy the PlayStation 5 digital edition or the standard console on their own is EE.co.uk, which is selling them slightly below the average, at £419 and £465, respectively. Although you will need an account for that.

Over on Amazon (at time of writing), the price increase has come into effect on the standard disc console, but not the digital edition – so it might be connected to their current stock allocation. As such, if you’re interested in buying one, you’re better off acting fast.

Other retailers like John Lewis and Currys are also yet to bump up the price. You can find a list of the best deals at UK retailers below.

Best PS5 digital edition prices

Best PS5 standard edition prices

Best PS5 Pro prices

Best PS Portal prices

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