I survived the Daz Games Panic room at Alton Towers and escaped my deepest fears

Three beloved rides at Alton Towers are to close permanently in the next few days as the theme park prepares to close for the rest of the year.

Strictly Come Dancing fans were asking 'has anyone else?' after being surprised by an 'intruder' during the latest live show. The BBC One dance contest was back on screens on Saturday night (October 28) with a spooktacular Halloween special.

Both Manchester sides will be looking to get bragging rights at Old Trafford when Man United welcome rivals Man City. Six points separate the two sides after the hosts picked up back-to-back league wins while City were on the receiving end of two defeats in their last five matches.

Pep Guardiola could make several changes to his Manchester City starting XI for the derby showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The scrapping of HS2 has left Greater Manchester with an ‘opportunity’, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has told council bosses.

Supporters want to see Pep Guardiola make six changes for the Champions League contest against Young Boys while seemingly keeping one eye on the Manchester derby this weekend.

Households across England have been warned that some major recycling changes will take place in a few years.

"I dreamed of being on Coronation Street and pulling pints in the Rovers," Ryan Kay says when asked about how he got into styling. The cobbles are a far cry from how he actually spends his days, but he does spend them with a soap star or two - as the stylist behind the likes of Gemma Atkinson and Lucy Fallon.

A man from Wythenshawe has completed the massive achievement of cycling just under 1200 miles across 11 countries in just over two weeks.

Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a move for young Benfica midfielder Joao Neves next summer.

The owners of an iconic ballroom dating back more than 100 years say its future as a dance hall is assured, despite a planning application to turn part of the building into a house of multiple occupation (HMO). Fears were raised on social media that The Grand Palais in Swinton would close its doors when the proposals to convert part of the building to a five-bedroom HMO were posted on the Salford city council planning portal.

The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer have shared details of a joint tour in the UK and Ireland next summer.Both bands played headline sets at California’s BeachLife festival last year and will come together again for a short tour that kicks off in Birmingham on June 7, 2024.The US acts will then take in shows at London’s The O2, Dublin’s 3Arena, Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, Manchester’s Co-op Live and Cardiff Castle across the rest of the month.Tickets for the UK and Ireland 2024 tour go on general sale this Friday (October 20) at 10am BST here. There is also a pre-sale at the same link opening this Thursday (October 19) at 10am BST.The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer’s 2024 UK and Ireland tour:JUNEFriday 7 – Birmingham Utilita ArenaSaturday 8 – London The O2Monday 10 – Dublin 3ArenaWednesday 12 – Glasgow OVO HydroThursday 13 – Manchester Co-op LiveFriday 14 – Cardiff CastleIn other news, last month The Smashing Pumpkins re-staged the release show that they held for their ‘Siamese Dream’ album 30 years ago and performed numerous rarities at the event.Taking place on September 17, the band had the tea house made to look like the original Tower Records set.

Aaron Nemane was always encouraged to play with personality coming through the ranks at Manchester City and it's his personality which has helped him shape a promising career that perhaps could hit further heights.

It might have been dwarfed by events at the season's end but Manchester United's most successful campaign could easily have been derailed by takeover talk.

For Manchester’s many bars, restaurants and pubs, we are coming up to what can be a bit of an uncertain period.

A Salford councillor is stranded in Jerusalem with his wife and eight children amid the turmoil in Israel with missiles flying overhead. Independent member of the city council, Coun Andrew Walters, flew out to the Middle East for the Jewish festival Yom Kippur a few days ago with his wife, Chana, and children before Hamas launched their devastating attack.

Emmerdale's Super Soap Week continued on Tuesday (October 10) with a nailbiting stunt that kept fans of the programme on tenterhooks. The ITV soap showed Chloe Harris driving a car with Mackenzie Boyd and Charity Dingle in the backseat.

Bolton’s link to the rest of Greater Manchester could end up being the unlikely beneficiary of the scrapping of HS2 as plans to bring the Metrolink tram service to the town look on the cards. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to invest nearly £4billion on improving connectivity in the Northern towns and cities when the HS2 link from Birmingham to Manchester was axed last week.

Big Brother has made its long-awaited return as sixteen new housemates have entered the house.

Emmerdale stars Emma Atkins, Lawrence Robb and Jessie Elland have divulged some of the behind-the-scenes details from filming their first major stunt. Despite being on the soap for more than 20 years, Charity Dingle actress Emma has never been part of a big showpiece like next week's Super Soap Week.