Grazia Issue 812

welcome to the issue

there’s something deliciously satisfying about September – a feeling that autumn heralds a fresh start, of sorts. This year, as we edge tentatively into a bit of normality, the promise feels even more precious. And yet, if you’re anything like me, after 18 months of disruption you might be struggling to get your head around what to shop, see, read and watch. So our autumn hot list (page 44) is here to help, rounding up the best new appointment TV, including the much-hyped return of Sex Education. On page 38, our cover star Aimee Lou Wood shares some secrets from the new series. Meanwhile, if you’re excited about the return of boots, coats and knitwear, see page 60 for our breakdown of the key trends ahead. And bone up on…

over to you...

Have your say… Email us at feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GraziaUK LANGUAGE BARRIER Totally agree with Polly (Why Latin is probably not the way to level up education; 23 Aug). I’m an Essex comp girl and proud of it. When I worked in the City in the ’90s, priority was given to Oxbridge types and I never understood why. Comp kids are more streetwise and resilient and less intimidated by the opposite sex. I went on to be HR manager at a top investment bank with no degree, although I did have patter, charm and an assured handshake. Who needs Latin? Pah! Cheryl LATE BUT GREAT I loved Doree Shafrir’s article (Confessions of a late bloomer; 23 Aug). I did everything ‘late’ – first boyfriend at 19, university at 21,…

star letter

FABULOUS FORTIES I couldn’t agree more with Elizabeth Day, ‘Things got so much better in my forties. This is the time of my life’ (6 Sept). I’ve been inspired by her podcast and her celebration of things going wrong. Turning 40 can feel like a huge deal – well, it is. But I’ve found it to be my best decade yet. My career is in better shape, I know what I want from life and I’ve hit my peak confidence. Holidays, friendships, fitness are all much better. I feel more adventurous. I also look better. I tell myself, ‘It took me 40 years to look this good!’ Hope…

grazia view

“Everyone must fight the rollback of women’s rights It was a dark day for progress when Texas turned back the clocks and banned abortions from as early as six weeks, with no exceptions, even for rape or incest. The landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling – enshrining a woman’s right to choose a termination – was reversed overnight when the (mostly male) US Supreme Court failed to block the brutal new law. It sounds like dystopian fiction, but is all the more horrifying for being real. From Texas to Poland to Northern Ireland (where abortion is now legal, but access is still an issue), this is an insidious erosion of women’s rights. We need everyone – not just women – to stand up for our reproductive freedom.”…

introducing the next pandemic. it’s not cool, but it is going viral

I’M SITTING in the corridor of my local hospital’s imaging department, waiting for another test on the lump in my breast. The lump I’d thought was nothing – I’d had it for years, have had it checked before – then couldn’t find, anyway; ah, but, no, cos then I woke at 3am, had an anxious grope, realised it definitely was there, had possibly (probably? Definitely!) changed/grown/become itchy, and oh God, oh God, it was time to ring the doc, except it really wasn’t: it was 3am. Now? I’m an hour into tests, boob-flattening contraptions, ultrasound gloop. ‘Pretty sure it’s nothing sinister,’ says one consultant after another, after the GP who referred me, ‘but let’s just send you through for another round of tests, eh?’ It’s like a shit version of The X…

chart of lust

1. Up SANDRA OH The Chair (Netflix) is about as hilarious and concise an assessment of our current cancel cultural strife as you can get, and Sandra Oh is impeccable within it. 2. Up AQUAMAN Aka Khal Drogo of Game Of Thrones; aka Mr Lisa Bonet; actually: Jason Momoa. Currently Baba Voss in season two of Apple TV’s V good SEE. Big fans of his… work. Big, big fans. 3. Non-mover STANLEY ‘THE TOOCH’ TUCCI Actor, foodie, cocktail-making heart-throb (google his Negroni video for details). Our paths crossed recently, and let us say: we were not disappointed. Not at all. 4. Up HELEN MIRREN Have we ever been more in need of images of a resplendent dame on a Venetian canal in a bejewelled bodice, double-handing a clutch? We think not. 5. New in PHOENIX RAEI Detective from the outrageously compulsive Clickbait. Some might…