The trailblazing female duo’s days of effortlessly holding the BBC dance competition together are over. They open up on the joy of working together For the past 21 years, there has been only one ever-present on Strictly Come Dancing. It’s not dancer-turned-judge Anton du Beke, who usually got knocked out of the contest early. It’s not the panel’s panto villain, Craig Revel Horwood, who might be the longest-serving judge but took sick leave after testing positive for Covid in 2021. It’s not even trusty band leader Dave Arch, who didn’t join until series four. No, Strictly’s sole permanent fixture is Tess Daly. She took a few weeks maternity leave in autumn 2004 after giving birth to eldest daughter Phoebe but since then, the glitterball stalwart hasn’t missed a show, clocking up in excess of 500 episodes. It’s an astonishingly resilient record. Daly has been the linchpin of the ballroom behemoth since the very start. And now that she and co-host Claudia Winkleman have stepped down, it is truly the end of a TV era. Continue reading...

When the president targeted me and my TV show, millions said no. So don’t give up on us – and always remember, we’re not all like him I have no idea if you know who I am, but I was asked to deliver this year’s alternative Christmas message (which I’ve heard is a big deal) so I hope you do, but if not I host what you call a chatshow (we call it a talkshow) in what you call the colonies, I think? I honestly have no idea what’s going on over there. I do know what’s going on over here though, and I can tell you that, from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year. Tyranny is booming over here. Continue reading...

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we look at the impact of devolution on growing volatility of party political allegiance Next year will be pivotal in British politics, and 7 May will be the point around which things pivot. Elections to local councils, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh Senedd will give millions of voters across the UK a chance to express party preferences. Their verdicts could imperil Labour and Conservative leaders. In Wales, Labour might be sent into opposition for the first time since devolution. Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are set to make substantial gains. At Holyrood, the Scottish National party (SNP) is on course for a majority. That would be an extraordinary defiance of political gravity for a party weighed down by nearly two decades of incumbency. In England, both Labour and the Tories risk losing scores of councillors as their vote shares are gobbled up by the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Greens. Those results will be taken as evidence that Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch are failing as leaders. But it would be a mistake to filter the results only through that lens. The fragmentation of national allegiances began much longer ago. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Emergency services launched major search at Budleigh Salterton after reports of people in difficulty in the water Two men are believed to be missing in the water off a beach in Devon, after a number of people were reported to be in difficulty. Emergency services were called to Budleigh Salterton at 10.25am on Christmas Day following concerns for people in the water. Continue reading...

John Goldthorpe questions the rationale of the Social Mobility Commission’s latest report, while Chrispher Tanner says that Labour’s focus should be on equality rather than upwards mobility Alun Francis, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, says that Keir Starmer has no coherent plan for social mobility (Starmer has no coherent social mobility plan, says top government adviser, 21 December). That would indeed appear to be the case. But one can question how far a Labour government should be looking to the commission for guidance. What seems to not be widely recognised is that when in 2021 the commission was reconstituted by Liz Truss, as the then minister for women and inequalities, it took on a highly politicised form. Of its six current members, four have, or have had, Conservative party affiliations. The commission’s recently published annual report for 2025 provides some useful information on various matters, including regional differences in opportunity structures, youth unemployment and the Neet (not in education, employment or training) problem that the chair now emphasises. However, what also has to be noted from his foreword to the report is the distinct rightwing slant on social mobility that was initiated by his predecessor as chair, Katharine Birbalsingh, and that he maintains. Continue reading...

With the right funding, housing associations should be able to provide a refuge for those who have experienced violence, writes Helena Doyle The government’s new violence against women and girls strategy sets out welcome ambitions to strengthen protection and tackle misogyny, but the real test will be in delivery (UK government strategy to protect women and girls from violence ‘seriously underfunded’, 18 December). Housing remains one of the most critical yet underfunded parts of the national response to abuse. Without a secure home, survivors cannot rebuild their lives, access work or engage with support services. Every week, too many women and families seeking help are turned away because there simply isn’t enough safe, suitable housing available. A survivor can’t start again if they have nowhere to go. Housing associations are uniquely placed to bridge that gap – combining safe accommodation with specialist, trauma-informed support that helps people rebuild confidence and independence. Continue reading...

An anonymous reader says the pain of her estrangement from her son during the festive season is just part of the story In response to Jason Okundaye (Bad blood between the Beckhams at Christmas might seem trite. But here’s why it’s important, 23 December), I would like to say that heartbreak is not just for Christmas. As the mother of a son who has cut himself off from his parents (blocking us on social media and not responding to letters), I can categorically state that the pain is year-round. Like the Beckhams, our situation appears to have started at the time of a marriage, followed by a gradual realisation that for unknown reasons we were no longer acceptable as parents or in-laws, then an abrupt (and inexplicable to us) termination of all contact. Continue reading...

Frankie Meehan on the decline of letter writing and Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights campaign Your editorial (22 December) declares that the “writing’s on the wall” for letter writing. In the month of Amnesty International’s annual Write For Rights campaign, I would like to suggest that the pen can still be powerful. Last year’s event generated 4.7m handwritten letters to human rights defenders and their oppressors. Every letter takes time, attention and physical effort. Leaders will always be more impressed by real letters than by easy clicks, and activists under pressure will always feel uplifted when they read personalised messages of solidarity. Frankie Meehan Singapore • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section. Continue reading...

Happy Christmas, glitterati! Tissues at the ready for Tess and Claud’s last hurrah. Join us for every minute of this tinsel-strewn tearjerker Season’s greetings, hoofing fans. Michael here – I hope you’re all enjoying some comfort, joy and purple ones from the Quality Street. You might just be weeping into the tin soon, because the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special promises to be a tinsel-adorned tearjerker. Yes, today’s edition is one for the history books: it’s the last time ever that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman present the BBC ballroom blockbuster before new hosts take over in 2026. After 21 years beneath the gliiterball for Tess and nearly as long for Claud, it’s truly the end of a twinkle-toed era. Continue reading...

We can share images and sounds, so why not smells? Dr Kate McLean-MacKenzie hopes her new atlas will make scents Christmas may be associated with the aromas of oranges and mince pies but our towns and cities also boast special scents during the rest of the year. Now, one researcher is publishing an atlas attempting to capture these quirky “smellscapes”. Dr Kate McLean-MacKenzie, a designer and researcher at the University of Kent, said she first became intrigued by the sense of smell 15 years ago. Continue reading...

Imran Ahmed, an anti-disinformation advocate, has filed a complaint after a dispute over freedom of speech and tech regulation A British anti-disinformation campaigner close to Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after being told he could face deportation from the US in a row over freedom of speech. Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a complaint against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal. Continue reading...

Are her recent candid remarks about Trump an attempt to distance herself from an increasingly unpopular president? She was now one of the family. When Donald Trump addressed supporters in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, in early December, he asked: “Susie Trump – do you know Susie Trump? Sometimes referred to as Susie Wiles.” The US president was referring to his chief of staff, who he said had persuaded him to return to the campaign trail ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections. But a week later, Wiles appeared at risk of becoming the family outcast. Continue reading...

High streets and online sellers set to benefit as cash-strapped consumers eke out post-Christmas bargains UK shoppers are expected to spend £3.8bn this Boxing Day, 2% more than last year, with online sellers experiencing most of that growth but high streets also enjoying a boost from a renewed appetite for post-Christmas bargains. Boxing Day remains one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but in recent years the dash for the high street has eased as more people opt to search for bargains from the sofa. Continue reading...

Research suggests fewer than one in 60 public sector workers share leave with partners when they have a baby Why shared parental leave is a monumental dud of a policy Experts have criticised a “lost decade” of progress on parental rights after Guardian research suggested that fewer than one in 60 public sector workers are sharing leave with their partners when they have a baby. Ten years after the introduction of shared parental leave in the UK, the policy’s architects said it had failed to deliver on its promise of “culture change” and called for bold measures necessary to allow more men – including middle- and lower-earners – to spend time with their babies. Continue reading...

Monarch urges people to draw strength from community diversity after a year marked by division and violence King Charles has called for reconciliation after a year of deepening division, saying in his Christmas address that people must find strength in the diversity of their communities to ensure right defeats wrong. The monarch cited the spirit of the second world war generation, which he said came together to take on the challenge that faced them; displaying qualities he said have shaped both the UK and the Commonwealth. Continue reading...

This year was a pivotal one, in which the issue of restorative justice began to frame the UK’s post-imperial relationship with the global south A little while ago, I was interviewed for a forthcoming book about reparations by a black British comedian and his co-writer. I approached it with modest expectations. It is a serious subject for me as a Caribbean man, and I wondered whether the complexity might be flattened or trivialised in the process. I got to read the book this week. In The Big Payback, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder take a complex, controversial and deeply contested subject and do something both rare and necessary: they break it down into its constituent parts and explain – debunking and demystifying along the way – why so many of the stock objections to reparations are intellectually incoherent, historically illiterate or politically evasive. Continue reading...

Exhibition of design flops should suit British sense of humour, says its founder, but also shows failure is a part of learning Britain has been mismanaging inventions and ideas with impeccable style for centuries. Next spring, we will finally get a museum to celebrate the results: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK. Its founder, Dr Samuel West, is anticipating a warm welcome: Britain, he said, was the museum’s spiritual home. “I’ve travelled all over the world with the museum but I’ve always wanted to bring it back home because of our black humour and our support of the underdog,” he said. “The Brits totally get it.” Continue reading...

The wife of William Shakespeare takes centre stage in a rich, sensitive examination of parental grief, sensitively narrated by Jessie Buckley The jury is still out on the merits of Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, which arrives in cinemas next month, but there is no arguing with the quality of the source material. Maggie O’Farrell’s lyrical and immersive novel, which won the Women’s prize in 2020, imagines the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway, and their grief over the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, from the plague in 1596. The book opens with the young Hamnet realising his twin sister Judith is unwell and searching for an adult to attend to her, while unaware that he is the one who is fatally ill. Shakespeare – who is never named and instead referred to as “the husband” or “the father” – is depicted not as a literary superstar but a flawed man who is rarely home. The focus is on Hathaway, a free-spirited woman with deep connections to the landscape. The narrative shifts between her childhood, the early years of her marriage and the aftermath of Hamnet’s death, during which Shakespeare writes one of his greatest plays, Hamlet (records state that the names Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable in those days). Continue reading...

Low-cost tech and joined-up funding have reduced illegal logging, mining and poaching in the Darién Gap – it’s a success story that could stop deforestation worldwide There are no roads through the Darién Gap. This vast impenetrable forest spans the width of the land bridge between South and Central America, but there is almost no way through it: hundreds have lost their lives trying to cross it on foot. Its size and hostility have shielded it from development for millennia, protecting hundreds of species – from harpy eagles and giant anteaters to jaguars and red-crested tamarins – in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. But it has also made it incredibly difficult to protect. Looking after 575,000 hectares (1,420,856 acres) of beach, mangrove and rainforest with just 20 rangers often felt impossible, says Segundo Sugasti, the director of Darién national park. Like tropical forests all over the world, it has been steadily shrinking, with at least 15% lost to logging, mining and cattle ranching in two decades. Continue reading...

Fears for transparency and governance after closure of public log meant to curb ‘abuses and excess’ in boardrooms UK-listed companies will be able to bury controversies over executive pay for the first time in eight years, a thinktank has warned, after the Labour government shut down a public tracker meant to curb “abuses and excess in the boardroom”. The public register was launched under the Tory prime minister Theresa May in 2017 to name and shame companies hit by shareholder revolts at their annual general meetings (AGMs). That included rebellions over issues such as excessive bonuses or salary increases for top earning bosses. Continue reading...

It was the second-largest lottery windfall in US history, with a lump-sum cash payment option of $834.9m A Powerball player in Arkansas won a $1.817bn jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner. Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previously expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9m. Continue reading...

Marina Lacerda urges him to answer questions as Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer says anyone who accepted former royal’s denials ‘should be ashamed’ One of the victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has called for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions in the US, while a lawyer for the former royal’s accuser said those who had previously believed his denials “should be ashamed of themselves”. Speaking to the Guardian after the release of some of the Epstein files, the tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier, Marina Lacerda, an Epstein survivor, said Mountbatten-Windsor should be “brought to justice”. Continue reading...

Strange folk, lost pop, disco oddities and, um, Dido – here are the forgotten tracks that became this year’s most replayed revelations • The 50 best albums of 2025 • More on the best culture of 2025 I grew up listening to the Mamas and the Papas’ hits but had never heard their albums before this year. I had no idea anything as creepy as Mansions lurked within their sunny oeuvre. Its sound is ominous, its mood one of stoned paranoia, its subject rich hippies sequestered in the titular luxury homes, haunted by the sensation that the flower-power dream is going wrong. Continue reading...

Revelation of Instagram spurs retired Catholic devotees in Abruzzo to gain millions of views with upbeat videos For years, the mostly closed-off lives of the nuns living in a retirement home in Raiano, a mountain village in Italy’s Abruzzo region, followed much the same daily rhythm. They woke early, prayed, went to the chapel, had lunch, and perhaps whiled away the afternoon reading. Continue reading...

Winger was important part of Brian Clough’s famous side Scored in Scotland’s 1981 win over England at Wembley John Robertson, the Nottingham Forest and Scotland legend, has died at the age of 72. Robertson was a hugely important part of the great Forest team that under Brian Clough rose from the second tier of English football to win multiple major honours, most famously back-to-back European Cups. Robertson assisted the decisive goal in the first triumph in 1979 and scored the decisive goal in the second, contributions that mark him out as one of the most remarkable players in British football history. He earned 28 Scotland caps, most notably scoring the winning goal in a Home Championship victory over England at Wembley in May 1981. Continue reading...