Table of contents for 13 January 2026 in Bella

After being single for over two years, insiders tell Bella that Zoe Ball is starting 2026 afresh after giving up her BBC Radio 2 show – and is getting more serious with her new romance. In November, the broadcaster, 55, hinted on her Dig It podcast that she’s in a new relationship with a man she has nicknamed ‘The Lodger’. And now, a source close to Zoe says, ‘It looks like he’s moved in. For the first time in ages, Zoe’s talking about the future again. She’s hopeful.’ Fans think the unidentified man – who Zoe revealed has ‘won more awards than I have’ – could be the same guy she was spotted with at Glastonbury 2025. And many pointed out that he looks rather like her ex-husband, Norman Cook,…

Cosy up Beat the chill with a sleek padded coat – perfect for running errands or going shopping Colour clash Cerise blue and chocolate brown is this season’s ultimate colour combination, and works best with simple, casual pieces Dress to impress Make this midi dress work during the warmer months by swapping ankle boots for ballet flats Wild thing Wear leopard print the grown-up way by teaming a silky skirt with simple, neutral-toned separates Very berry Daytime dressing needn’t be boring. Mix and match burgundy, red and pink hues to add interest to a simple outfit…

After the indulgence of the festive season, Bella has teamed up with Slimming World to bring you a heathy eating plan that’s even better this January! You’ll find dishes that are brimming with fresh flavours that will help you feel energised and motivated. This plan is designed to keep you full, happy and on track to achieve your 2026 weight loss goals, and you could lose up to 7lb in your first two weeks!* Choose one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner each day. You can repeat any meals you enjoy. HOW IT WORKS 1 Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, Food Optimising, has helped millions of people to lose weight over the past 56 years. It’s a flexible plan that’s centred around ‘Free Foods’, foods that are lower in energy…

Sprinting down the pitch, I was determined to tackle the opposition. Throughout my teenage years, I played hockey for my secondary school and was part of the team for my local area. I loved the sport and the regular training kept me fit and active. When I left school, I went to Cardiff University to study chemistry. I enjoyed the independence, but my activity levels dropped and I started buying convenience food as I was so busy studying and partying. I slowly crept up from a size 10 to a 14, but it wasn’t until I’d started work as a chemist in the nuclear power sector that my weight really ballooned. I lived alone and my new job was an hour from home. By the time I finally got back…

Harissa spaghetti Bolognese Serves 4 Takes 45min Calories per serving 480 Spray oil 1 onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 500g extra-lean minced beef 2tbsp tomato purée 1tbsp harissa paste 400g can chopped tomatoes, puréed until smooth with a stick blender 1tbsp dried mixed herbs 1tbsp balsamic vinegar 1tsp sugar Salt and freshly ground black pepper 300g spaghetti Chopped parsley leaves, or torn basil leaves, to serve Finely grated Parmesan cheese (optional), to serve 1 Spray a frying pan with oil and fry the onion for 8min until softened, then add the garlic and stir-fry for another 1min. 2 Add the minced beef and stir-fry, breaking up any clumps and browning the meat for about 5min. 3 Stir in the tomato purée and harissa paste and stir-fry for 2min. Add the tomatoes, mixed herbs, balsamic…

GET IN TOUCH Write: Have Your Say, Bella, The Lantern, 75 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 2PL. Email: bella.letters@bauermedia.co.uk facebook.com/bellamagazineUK twitter.com/bellamagazineUK instagram.com/bellamagazineUK £50 Star letter Kindness rules I loved reading ‘We took a homeless man in at Christmas – he stayed for 45 years’ (issue 49). Dianne and Rob Parsons are so caring and thoughtful to welcome Ronnie Lockwood into their home and make him feel so valued. The world would be a better place if it was full of people like them. I feel inspired to do more random acts of kindness in 2026. Mandy Melvin, Rossendale New chapter Sarah Ferguson’s past has come back to haunt her. Hopefully, her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie will not abandon her at this troubled time. If she’s to regain any respect with the…

Dani Dyer may have had to bow out of Strictly due to injury last year but she’ll be facing a new challenge this month as she takes part in the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. But the former Love Island winner, 29, doesn’t think her actor dad Danny, 48, would ever sign up – despite his tough guy persona. ‘When I told him I was doing it, he literally bowed down to me,’ she laughs. ‘He’s like, “I can’t believe you, you cannot be my child!” He will never do that kind of show – it just won’t happen. Imagine if he was getting shouted at? He just wouldn’t put himself through it and doesn’t know why anyone would want to.’…

After the upheaval of last year, including the scandals, strained family ties and relentless scrutiny, those close to the Prince and Princess of Wales say William and Kate have entered this new year with a renewed sense of unity. And sources tell Bella that the secret behind the calm is what Palace insiders are referring to as Kate’s magical promise – a vow to stand by her husband no matter what as he prepares to reshape the monarchy in 2026. A source says, ‘The chaos of 2025 brought them closer than ever. Kate knows the weight on William’s shoulders, especially with the shake-up that will change the world forever when he eventually becomes King. Her promise to him is simple but powerful: ‘I’m with you, in every decision, every change,…

She shot to fame in the Carry On films in the ’70s and now Sherrie Hewson is making a name for herself in the world of podcasting. The actor, 75, is hosting new fortnightly podcast Very Very Sherrie, and promises that ‘nothing will be off-limits’. ‘I say it like it is,’ Sherrie says. ‘I’ll be talking to good friends of mine, putting the world to rights and just having a laugh.’ With a glittering career that involves walking Coronation Street’s famous cobbles as Maureen Holdsworth, a two-year stretch on Emmerdale as Lesley Meredith, and this year leaving Hollyoaks after playing Martha Blake for a year, we’re sure that soap-royalty Sherrie will have plenty of tales to tell. Here, the Benidorm legend tells Bella about plans to bring back the hit ITV…

With my granddaughter on my hip, I whizzed a spoon through the air towards my grandson, telling him to open wide. I had a big family, having first become pregnant at 19. I was a mum to Sheana, Heath, Kallum, Deina, and Gabriel, then aged between 14 and 34. I’d spent the best part of 20 years changing nappies and now, as a grandmother of 12, I was at it again and loved every minute. But when granny duty was over, life felt lonely. My marriage had ended recently, and the kids were grown up. I couldn’t help wondering what my next chapter would bring. So, in 2020, I realised I wanted some romance and joined a dating app. I matched with a man called Emeka, but I hit a…

Hearing the front door open, I heard my mum’s voice call out. ‘Come and help put the shopping away,’ she shouted. But when I crowded round the bags with my siblings, instead of helping put the food away, I stashed my favourite crisps in my cardigan pocket and sneaked away to hide them in a cupboard. No one knew about my secret stash. I’d never had a good relationship with food, turning to it for comfort from an early age. I simply never seemed to feel full. I’d tried going to weight-loss groups with my nan in my early teens, but nothing worked. My self-confidence was at rock bottom and I kept myself to myself, even standing at the back of family photos. Like the other girls in my school,…

As I reached for the hair dryer, I felt a wave of dizziness rush over me. I was always too busy to eat properly and as a hair and beauty therapist, I’d been so busy making other women feel their best that I’d not had time to look after myself that day. It wasn’t something new. My relationship with food had been bad since my teens. When I was 15, I wore a size 16 and was known as the ‘fat, jolly, ginger one’ and, desperately self-conscious, I turned to fad dieting and my weight plummeted. Aged 19 and a size eight, I got a job in the hair and beauty salon of a cruise liner. I travelled all over the world and felt so lucky but I didn’t spot…

Should he get to decide? Q My husband and his daughter (my stepdaughter) haven’t been getting on well recently. She’s been to therapy and has been trying to be honest with him about how some of his behaviour has made her feel. He was quite a different father to her than he has been to our three kids. He wasn’t happy in the marriage, had a short fuse, and worked away a lot of the time, so just wasn’t there for her. I’m not making excuses for him – I really see where she’s coming from. But he’s a proud, stubborn man, and has been finding it hard to hear. They end up getting into arguments because he won’t accept what she’s saying. We’ve been invited to her wedding next spring,…

It’s been 15 years since we last saw Denise Welch flounce down the school corridors as Head of French, Steph Haydock on Waterloo Road. Now, she’s back, slipping seamlessly into Miss Haydock’s iconic high heels and reviving her saucy sense of humour. Bella caught up with Denise in sunny Los Angeles, where the Loose Women star spilled the beans on her nerves, nostalgia, and the real reason she’s thrilled TV’s naughtiest teacher is running rings round Manchester once again… Denise, what was your reaction to getting the call to return to Waterloo Road? Well, it was quite random and quite bizarre, it’s not something I was waiting for! The show came back because families rediscovered it in lockdown and it took off again. I knew some of the originals were…

Denise Welch has long been toying with the idea of moving Stateside and it appears the Loose Women favourite is now taking the decision seriously – with insiders claiming she can’t wait to be an ‘amazing granny’ to son Matty’s future kids. ‘Denise openly admits that mothering hasn’t been her proudest achievement, and she wishes she had done a few things differently, so now she’s vowed to be an amazing granny and wants to be there from the start,’ a source tells Bella. ‘Being an honouree Granny to husband Lincoln’s [Townley] grandkids has taught Denise so much, so she feels ready to embrace the transition from mother to grandmother. She’s set her sights on the next chapter for her eldest Matty [Healy, who’s had huge success with his band The…

Simon Cowell’s good friend Sinitta has voiced her concern for her ex after he fell down a flight of stairs last October, forcing him to miss filming for Britain’s Got Talent. Sinitta, 62, revealed, ‘I was a bit concerned about him being so unwell that Stacey [Solomon] had to step in. I think he loves work, and I think he thrives on it. He would go stir-crazy if he wasn’t working.’ Simon, 65, has suffered a string of health woes over the years. In 2017, he was forced to pull out of The X Factor live shows after he fainted due to ‘low blood pressure’, and in 2020, he broke his back after a near-fatal bike crash. In 2024, he was forced to miss more BGT auditions due to migraines.…

She shocked fans last July when she announced she was separating from her husband Patrick Kielty, and now sources tell Bella that Cat Deeley, 49, has made finding a new man one of her top priorities before her milestone birthday in October. The source says, ‘Cat has joked about not getting any younger with the big 5-0 staring at her this year, so she’s told pals a toyboy could be on the horizon. She has no intention of living life as a ‘spinster’, she is physically glowing and has more energy now than she had in her twenties. She wants a new man that can make her laugh. ‘Pals are encouraging Cat to spread her wings and dip her toe into the dating scene, but she finds the whole meeting…

Caressing the soft, tiny head of my newborn daughter, I could barely believe that my dream had come true. I’d always imagined having three girls and now, in February 2021, here was our third daughter to join her big sisters, Connie, three, and two-year-old Freya. Our little Ruby was so small, with wisps of blonde curly hair. ‘She’s perfect,’ I whispered to my husband, John. Life with three children under the age of four was anything but calm, and I loved every moment. But in the first few months, Ruby was sickly and I blamed colic. By September, though, when we were on holiday in Cleethorpes, I noticed that she was pale and tired. Back home, the GP suspected a water infection and prescribed antibiotics, but she failed to improve.…

Prevent irritation Ideal for those with sensitive skin, this unscented cream is full of skin-loving butters for ultimate hydration. Plus, it sinks in almost immediately, leaving behind no greasy residue. Marks & Spencer Skinkind Sensitive Smoothing Hand Cream, £8.50 Repair instantly If it’s instant relief you’re after, CeraVe has got you covered. With ceramides and hyaluronic acid, this hydrating pick works to restore the skin’s barrier and melts into cracked, dry palms in a flash. CeraVe Soothing and Repairing Hand Cream, £8 Lock in moisture A quality formula that’s rich with sweet almond oil, offering results that last. It leaves skin soothed and nourished for hours, and also smooths out any rough, coarse texture around knuckles. Margaret Dabbs Bare Hands Conditioning Cream, £6 Treat dryness If you’ve been struggling with…

As my stomach rumbled, I reached for a diet milkshake. Aged 18, I was unhappy with my weight and had tried one fad diet after another. I’d been a competitive dancer as a child, but after quitting aged 13, the weight had started to creep on. Now I was wearing size 14 to 16 clothes and hoping for a quick fix – but it wasn’t sustainable. I went to Coventry University and got a degree in occupational therapy, before getting a job within the NHS. Aged 25 I had my first daughter, Imogen, followed by my son, Archie, when I was 27, but sadly my relationship with their dad ended. On top of the pressure of being a busy single mum, I suffered with an auto-immune disease which left me…

Speedy mushroom ragù (vegan) Serves 2 200g dried pasta (like pappardelle) 1-cal cooking spray 1 celery stick, thinly sliced 1 large carrot, diced 1 garlic clove, crushed 60g frozen chopped or sliced red onion 300g sliced mushrooms 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, suitable for vegans 300ml boiling mushroom stock (or vegetable stock), suitable for vegans 1 tbsp miso paste 2 level tsp mushroom paste Chopped fresh parsley, to serve 1 Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, then drain and set aside in the pan, covered. 2 At the same time, spray a large frying pan with the cooking spray and put it over a medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, garlic and onion, and cook until beginning to soften, stirring occasionally. 3 Add the mushrooms to the veg pan, increase the heat…

This beautiful handmade jug is perfect all year round Create depth in your home by using these shades on different walls Colour drenching is still on trend and navy blue is the way to go…

For the week 6 - 12 January AQUARIUS 21 January - 19 February After a busy start to the week you move into 2026 with a strong craving for some much-needed time to yourself. This will help you to recoup your energy and also give you the chance to do some serious thinking, particularly on the 2nd. Theme of the week: Relaxation 0906 650 7240 PISCES 20 February - 20 March Anxieties loom large as the week begins, but are things really as dire as they seem? Right now it’s very easy to allow difficulties to appear much more serious than they truly are. Look for practical solutions where possible. Theme of the week: Keep calm 0906 650 7241 ARIES 21 March - 20 April You’re putting on a brave…

PRIZE crossword WIN £200 Solve the crossword to find, reading from top to bottom in the shaded squares, the name of a British writer and comedy star. This is your competition entry answer. See the ‘How to enter’ panel, below right. Across 1 Julia - - -, star of After The Hunt, pictured below (7) 4 Wise saying such as ‘A stitch in time…’ (7) 8 Hot sauce named after a state of Mexico (7) 12 Dregs, lees (8) 14 Festive event usually incorporating an elaborate procession (8) 17 US actress, Goldie - - - (4) 18 Flashdance… What A Feeling singer, - - - Cara (5) 19 Back of the neck (4) 20 Japanese religion (6) 21 Messiah composer (6) 23 Boredom, listlessness (5) 25 Garlic mayonnaise (5) 26 Brainless Wizard Of Oz character? (9) 27 Leyton - - -, London football club (6) 29…

DAVID BECKHAM Carefully covering his Goldenballs, David, 50, stripped off while taking a cold dip – but the photo had the opposite effect on us! SUSANNAH CONSTANTINE The former What Not To Wear expert, 63, seems a lot more peaceful in cold water than we would be! Susannah has said ice baths have had a ‘positive impact’ on her mental health. EMMA WILLIS Perhaps the 49-year-old is using her ice bath to brace herself before taking on the challenge of replacing Zoe Ball on Radio 2 later this month. FEARNE COTTON Taking her cold swimming outside, podcast presenter Fearne, 44, braved the sea for a cold dip. She has previously hailed ‘Ice Man’ Wim Hof as her inspiration. HOLLY WILLOUGHBY Former This Morning host Holly, 44, tried to stay as…