‘Mayflies’ Star Tony Curran Boards Sky & AMC’s ‘Mary & George’ Alongside Nicola Walker, Niamh Algar, Simon Russell Beale

Emanuel Okusanya The fast-rising Afropop singer Ayra Starr says she always knew she was destined for greatness. It didn’t take long: She’d signed with the major African label Mavin, racked up hundreds of millions of streams, headlined a U.K. tour and gotten cosigns from many of her idols, all before her 21st birthday this coming June. After her debut single “Away” shot her to stardom in her native Nigeria, her hit single “Rush” has surpassed 100 million streams on both Spotify and YouTube, and she just dropped a tag-team single with labelmate DJ Big N and singer Oxlade called “How Many Times.” It all began simply enough: She’d been singing with her brother for most of her life, and one day when she was 18, “I posted a video — it was the first original song I posted online,” she recalls, “and the next day my executive producer called me and invited me to the studio. Literally three days later I was signed.” The label in question is Mavin Records, the powerhouse Nigeria-based company that launched the global careers of industry icons such as Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, Rema and others. Her career vaulted to the next level with “Bloody Samaritan” — an R&B banger that took off in the U.K. and caught the attention of Kelly Rowland, who later joined the remix and became a mentor to Starr. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – has now changed historical sides.  Wright is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios shooting high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. A timely tale because, as he puts it: “Populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.”  Aesthetically, the show will be “quite outlandish” with deeply saturated colors, punctuated by a “kind of techno score,” the director said during a recent set visit. Though “It’s not told in a vérité style,” Wright pointed out that “All the facts of what happened, they’re all there.” 

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Radiohead guitarist and Academy Award-nominated composer Jonny Greenwood has long had an affinity for Israel. Radiohead first toured the country in the mid-1990s and Greenwood married Israeli visual artist, Sharona Katan. Now Greenwood is pairing with acclaimed Israeli singer Dudu Tassa for a collaborative album, “Jarak Qaribak,” which is due out June 9 from World Circuit Records. The album’s debut track, “Ashufak Shay,” which loosely translates to “Your Neighbor in Your Friend” and features Lebanese vocalist Rashid al-Najjar, dropped last week. Produced by Tassa and Greenwood and mixed by Nigel Godrich, “Jarak Qaribak,” is a celebration of multicultural talent, bringing together singers and musicians from across the Middle East, including Egyptian vocalist Ahmed Doma, Palestinian vocalist Nour Freteikh and Safae Essafi, a singer from Dubai. There are songs on the album from countries such as Algeria, Jordan and Morocco.

Maisie Smith was spotted with her boyfriend Max George in Manchester as they headed to to the Trafford Centre for a three hour designer shopping spree on Tuesday afternoon.The former EastEnders actress, 21, wore a bright green tracksuit with a hoodie and matching sweatpants for the rainy shopping trip. She completed her look with a pair of Gucci trainers and accessorised herself with yellow beanie and yellow cross body bag. Meanwhile, Max donned a casual look in a pair of khaki cargo trousers and monochrome Nike trainers.

Harvey Keitel is to star in Sky/Peacock’s upcoming TV adaptation of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Prince George enjoyed a nail-biting day out with his father, the Prince of Wales, to watch Aston Villa’s win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The nine-year-old football-mad future king was seen in the stands with William and Villa chief executive Christian Purslow at Villa Park in Birmingham for the match, which saw both teams battle it out for victory.

Lily Allen doesn't know if she'd be alive today if she hadn't gotten sober. The singer was once synonymous with her wild party ways, and after finding fame in 2006 with debut single Smile, became a regular on the party scene. However, 37-year-old Lily kicked her drink and drug habit nearly four years ago, deciding to go completely sober, and says the decision changed every aspect of her life for the better.

EXCLUSIVE: Robert De Niro is attached to star in a Billy Ray-penned crime drama series that is in the works at Paramount+.

A shining example. Queen Consort Camilla is avoiding controversy with her choice of crown for her and King Charles III’s coronation.

Unforgotten remains front of mind for ITV.

Marks and Spencer is set to close the doors to multiple branches across the UK this year - with one location in Scotland shuttering soon.

With the King’s big day set to take place on 6 May, Dr. George Gross, a visiting research fellow in Theology at King’s College London, has identified two “real messages” behind the Queen Consort's choice not to commission a new crown for her Coronation.

The depositions of Gwyneth Paltrow's children are being used to defend the star in court as she's being sued for a 2016 ski accident that allegedly left Terry Sanderson severely injured. Moses' deposition is being read first and will be followed by Apple's.

The Last of Us has become Sky’s biggest finale audience for a U.S. debut series of all time.

Game of Thrones alumna Lena Headey has been tapped to headline Kurt Sutter’s Western action drama series The Abandons at Netflix.

Naman Ramachandran Ram Charan, star of Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning film “RRR,” has revealed the title of his next film. “Game Changer it is!!!!,” Charan said, revealing the title of the film on his birthday, March 27. The project identified as “RC15” until now, is directed by Shankar Shanmugam, known for his big-budget extravaganzas including “Sivaji,” “Enthiran” (aka “Robot”) and “2.0,” all starring superstar Rajinikanth.Game Changer it is!!!! https://t.co/VYxWN6p9Hp@shankarshanmugh @SVC_official @advani_kiara @DOP_Tirru @MusicThaman #GameChanger pic.twitter.com/JlY1T1Emjt The actor also unveiled posters from the film, saying “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift !!”

Succession is coming to an end with its fourth and final season.Created by Jesse Armstrong, the HBO comedy-drama series follows the internal power struggle within the Roy family, the owners of media conglomerate WayStar Royco, amid mounting concerns around the health of patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox).At the end of the show’s third season, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) tipped off Logan about the Roy siblings’ plan to prevent the company from merging with rival GoJo – creating a sharp dividing line between Logan and his children.Armstrong confirmed season four would be the show’s last in February. “You know, there’s a promise in the title of Succession,” he said.

Succession is coming to an end with its fourth and final season.Created by Jesse Armstrong, the HBO comedy-drama series follows the internal power struggle within the Roy family, the owners of media conglomerate WayStar Royco, amid mounting concerns around the health of patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox).At the end of the show’s third season, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) tipped off Logan about the Roy siblings’ plan to prevent the company from merging with rival GoJo – creating a sharp dividing line between Logan and his children.Armstrong confirmed season four would be the show’s last in February. “You know, there’s a promise in the title of Succession,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: Justin Johnson Cortez, series regular on the CW period drama Walker: Independence, is crossing over into the future as a guest star on Walker.

Gunter Nezhoda has died at the age of 67. Gunter was best known for starring on Storage Wars, with his co-star and son confirming the devastating news of his passing.The TV star was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2022 after 30 years of smoking. He's said to have flown to Utah for emergency surgery on his lungs after chemotherapy left holes in them, but sadly medics said there was nothing they could do for Gunter.