Table of contents for 12-2024 in Best

Above, dear besties, is a picture of me as a llama. But here is the shocking bit, it’s a manipulated pic – that isn’t really me in the days when I was crossed with a llama! Hands up who owns a mobile and has never edited a photo? These days, we are all amateur photographers and I have certainly filtered the odd pic with my daughter. Why not? We all like to look our best (no pun intended). My ‘little girl’ is now in her 20s, but there were a few times when she was small that I would have happily swapped a stuck-out tongue for a smile! Or given a stained T-shirt a quick digital wipe! Along with our columnist Vanessa (see page 10), I am perplexed by the…

To say it’s not been plain sailing for ITV’s flagship daytime show over the past year would be a bit of an understatement, but This Morning proved it was far from a sinking ship last week when it debuted its new regular presenters – Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley – dubbed BenCat. Former GMB anchor Ben was already part of the revolving door of guest presenters since Phillip Schofield’s controversial departure last year, so it was all eyes on Cat as the newcomer on the show’s sofa, stepping into the shoes of Holly Willoughby, who departed last October after 14 years. And it seems the new presenter very much impressed. Her easy relationship with Ben and their relaxed interviewing style – and her dress sense – has left viewers branding…

She found fame playing Nancy in Oliver! after being discovered on the BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, and now lives in Lancashire with her fiancé Simon Booth and their menagerie of animals. Funny, frank and utterly down-to-earth, Jodie Prenger, 44, shares her thoughts on everything from meeting the Queen to a secret desire to open her own zoo… Jodie, do you love the glamour of showbiz? It’s a funny thing. My character Glenda is always done up, and recently I appeared in theatre in Gypsy. It was phenomenal – I’d always wanted to do it – but then the next day, I’m there in my wellies, with my hair scraped back, no make-up and cleaning out the chickens. That’s life to me. It’s not the glamour and the glitz,…

Former Spice Girl turned fashionista, Victoria Beckham, gave a firm ‘no’ when asked about the possibility of becoming a grandmother soon in a recent interview! The svelte 49-year-old mum-of-four – whose eldest son Brooklyn, 25, is married to American actress Nicola Peltz, 29 – had a severe reaction to the question she appeared to be very surprised at... despite being Brooklyn’s exact age when she had him with football legend, David Beckham. ‘What? Woah. Hang on!’ she exclaimed. ‘I don’t think it’s happening just yet, unless you guys know something that I don’t... It’s not h=appening just yet…’ Though it’s clear the idea of being a ‘Posh’ Granny has been far from VB’s mind, Brooklyn and Nicola, who got married in the spring of 2022, seem to have different ideas…

Cycling through the glorious French countryside, I marvelled at the golden sunrise. It was magical, even if my thighs were throbbing! My friend Doreen and I were doing a charity bike ride from London to Paris – a mere 270 miles. I’d always been a couch potato. But here I was, cycling to Paris in under 24 hours. What made the ride even more extraordinary was that just over a year earlier, I’d had my colon (large bowel) removed... My tummy problems started in 2004 when I was three months pregnant with my second child, Natasha. I noticed some blood, and feared I was losing the baby. But the blood was coming from my back passage. Initially, doctors suspected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But tests showed ulcerative colitis – my…

As a presenter on A Place in the Sun, Jean Johansson matches house-hunters with their dream homes, but her new role this week sees her introducing viewers to the homes they have never even dreamed of. Channel 4’s Key to a Fortune sees the 42-year-old presenter track down the rightful inheritors to properties owned by distant relatives who died without a will, then surprise them with their unexpected windfall. With the help of the show’s experts, the shocked benefactors have to decide whether to keep the property and unleash its full potential – or cash in by selling their newfound pile. Jean, who lives in a five-bedroom mansion in Ayrshire, Scotland, with her football manager husband Jonatan Johansson and their son, Junior, is in no doubt what she’d do…

Mini Earl Grey Loaf Cakes These pretty little cakes are delicately fragranced with Earl Grey tea and make a beautiful afternoon treat. Hands-on time 20min, plus infusing, cooling and setting. Cooking time about 25min. Makes 8 FOR THE CAKES 100ml whole milk TO DECORATE 1tbsp whole milk YOU WILL ALSO NEED 8 mini loaf cases, available from Amazon and baking stores 1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 and arrange 8 mini loaf cases on a large baking tray. For the cakes, in a small pan heat the milk and tea until steaming. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 20min. 2 In a large bowl using a handheld electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 4min. Gradually beat in the eggs.…

If someone took your child’s life, could you find it within yourself not to hate them? And would you be willing to meet the killer’s family? In an extraordinary move, that’s exactly what Esther Ghey – mum of murdered teenager, Brianna – has done, despite the brutality that befell her daughter. On 11 February 2023, 16-year-old Brianna was lured to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington by someone she thought was a friend. That ‘friend’ was Scarlett Jenkinson. Scarlett had been expelled from her school and moved to Birchwood Community High, where Brianna was a student and Scarlett befriended her. Less than five months after meeting – and having plotted Brianna’s murder with another friend – Scarlett invited Brianna to the park and it was there that Jenkinson and her accomplice,…

JOIN THE FAN CLUB Peacock’s tails are called trains, with a males tail featuring up to 150 ‘eye’ feathers. It takes three years to get to full length, up to 1.6 metres! TWO’S COMPANY It’s not common for peacocks to mate for life, but according to Kent Life Heritage Farm Park, residents Penelope and Percy have been inseparable since they were little peachicks... SUPER CHICK! Sussanne, a peacock expert from Peacocks UK, is creating new breeds of peacocks every year. This is the first Purple Silver Pied peachick hatched in the UK. It takes seven years to establish a new peacock breed! STAR STRUCK Paul is one of four media-trained peacocks who reside at Peacocks UK. Their CVs include appearances on House of the Dragon, Bridgerton and Firebrand with Jude…

Paul Hollywood is back in the tent for the annual celebrity edition of Bake Off. Stars including Danny Dyer, Mel B, and Sara Cox are taking part this year, and while it’s all for a good cause – charity Stand Up To Cancer – Paul reveals that the race to be crowned the winner is as hotly contested as ever. But first, best wants to know all about the accolade which was recently bestowed on Paul himself, when he was named an MBE in the King’s New Year’s Honours list… Paul, congratulations! Did your honour come as a bit of a shock? I thought it was a wind-up by my agent when I opened the letter. I had to phone her and say: ‘Are you sure they’ve got the right…

BEST TRAVEL WRITER WENDY GOMERSALL TRAVEL SNAPSHOT Popular author, illustrator and natural scientist Beatrix Potter was born in London, but will be forever associated with our beautiful Lake District. Unspoilt nature here inspired her to write her wonderful Little Books, a well-loved collection of tales for children featuring adorable characters such as Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten and Mr Tod the Fox. When she died in 1943, properties Beatrix had bought to help preserve Cumbria’s landscapes passed to the National Trust, and it’s easy to create a Beatrix Potter trail visiting beauty spots, former homes and villages linked to her. Spend a couple of nights in fascinating Carlisle before heading home. The walkable city centre has a castle, cathedral and other historic buildings. INSIDER’S GUIDE Get a good overview of Beatrix…

Since she first came into the public eye as the student girlfriend of Prince William, Kate Middleton has lived her life in the full glare of public attention. And, over the years, she has become adept at living her life in the limelight and become one of our most respected Royals – combining grace and glamour with a relatable warmth – particularly when she is seen out and about with her three children, George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five. So it’s no surprise that after the shock announcement that Kate had undergone ‘planned abdominal surgery’, the news made headlines around the world. Human nature being what it is, people were naturally concerned and curious about what was wrong. Yet, rightly, the palace was adamant the precise nature of her…

NEED TO KNOW What is rosacea exactly? It’s a chronic inflammatory skin condition and usually it starts with flushing on the cheeks and chest. It can be a surface rash, rather like a cluster of red broken veins and usually dry to the touch. There may also be bumps under the skin, hay fever-type eyes and thickened skin. It mostly affects the cheeks, chin, nose and forehead, though it can also appear on the scalp, chest and back. Unfortunately, there’s no cure and if left untreated will only get worse. WHAT CAUSES IT? The straight answer is, no one really knows. It can run in families, but lifestyle choices can contribute. Diet is thought to be a factor, although this varies from person to person. Common culprits are cheese, yogurt,…

TOP TIP! Get creative for little ones! Don’t just treat them to chocolate, fill your bag with treats such as colourful stickers, puzzles and art supplies.…

Stepping onto the plane, we were heading off on our first family holiday since Covid. It was April 2022, and my husband and kids were really excited about our trip to Fuerteventura. I should’ve been too… only, I just didn’t feel comfortable in my body. Once we’d found our seats and strapped Emily, then eight, and Sam, five, in, I realised the seatbelt wasn’t going to fit around my middle. I was absolutely mortified. I didn’t want to ask for an extension. So instead, I sat up straight, made the seatbelt as long as I could and just about managed to fasten it. It’s safe to say, it wasn’t a comfortable four-and-a-half-hour flight. By the time we’d landed and reached our hotel, my stomach was in knots, I had a…

‘These women, they were here and now they’re gone. The question is, where are they?’ That is a question that crime correspondent Geraldine Niland has been asking for three decades, ever since a spate of women went missing in, or near, the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland in the 1990s. All of them vanished, seemingly into thin air. After so many years, no-one has any clue what happened to them and the case, explored by the Sky documentary Six Silent Killings: Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle, continues to baffle the police and public alike. The first woman the documentary focuses on is Annie McCarrick. A 26-year-old American who had studied in Dublin and, after going home when she graduated, had returned to the Emerald Isle. She’d been in her Dublin flat for a…

Spiced Lemon Cheesecake This recipe uses a food processor to mix the ingredients rather than an electric whisk to prevent air being trapped in the cheesecake, this reduces the chances of the cheesecake cracking and gives a creamier texture. Hands-on time: 30min, plus (overnight) chilling. Cooking time: About 2¼hr. Serves: 8-10 FOR THE BASE: 175g ginger oat biscuits, we used Nairn’s FOR THE FILLING: 250ml double cream FOR THE TOPPING: 100ml double cream 1 Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan) mark 3. Lightly grease a 20.5cm-round springform tin and line base with baking parchment. Wrap a layer of foil tightly around base and outsides of the tin (to prevent filling leaking out). 2 For the base, whizz biscuits and sugar in a food processor until finely crushed. Add melted butter…

Content creator Amy Davies inspires 400K followers on her @littlehouseinlondon Instagram account, with snaps like these from her London home……

Cleo leant on the ferry rail, recalling Mike’s apologetic words: ‘Sorry, I just can’t make this trip.’ The ferry and hotel tickets were already paid for, so it was too late to cancel. Cleo had put on a brave face. ‘It’s OK, Mike. I know you’re up to your eyes in it with Luce and the twins. Let me make this trip for both of us.’ Reluctantly, he’d agreed. Cleo and Mike were twins themselves. When they were both 13, their beloved mum had died, leaving them alone with their grieving dad. ‘All the things she never got to do,’ he’d sighed. ‘The places she wanted to go. Did you know, kids, that she always wanted to travel? Before she had you two, I mean.’ He hadn’t meant to imply…

b est was lucky enough to catch up with Irish superstar Nicola Coughlan at a recent screening for her latest venture, Big Mood… The show sees best friends Maggie (Nicola) and Eddie (It’s a Sin star Lydia West) live in each other’s pockets through thick and thin – though, with Maggie’s bipolar disorder making an unwanted return, will their friendship survive? Here, the 37-year-old Derry Girls star tells us all about her real-life friendship with writer Camilla Whitehill – and why this project was a lot more relaxing than her corset-busting Bridgerton life… Hi Nicola! What were your initial thoughts when you read the scripts for Big Mood? Camilla has been a part of my life for a really long time, and I’ve known her for 15 years, coming up…

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Coleen Nolan has revealed that she’s taken a huge step towards improving her health – finally quitting smoking after decades of being addicted to the evil weed. The Loose Woman, 59, gave up her nearly two packs a day habit three months ago and went public about her victory in a video released last week to mark National No Smoking Day. ‘At my peak of smoking I was on about 30 probably a day, maybe 35,’ she explained, going on to describe how a terrifying health scare was what finally made her mind up. ‘I got quite ill recently and I literally couldn’t breathe. It freaked me out. I went to the doctor: “It’s a chest infection.” But what he started talking about was emphysema, COPD – “You’re on the…

I loved the whirlwind of family life. As Maeve, 15, and Liam, 21, grabbed breakfast, I’d reach over to kiss Dave, goodbye. ‘Have a great day. I love you,’ I’d say as I stepped towards the front door. Then, I’d picture Bob, my husband for 11 years, and I smiled. No one would be happier than him to see this. After all, it was what he wanted… It was May 2000 when Bob and I had our first date. I’d known he was clever; we’d met at the university where we were both mature students and teachers. But behind his biceps and earring, this 31-year-old was also the funniest and kindest guy. The sparks flew. A few dates later, Bob accepted a job a thousand miles away. ‘Aren’t you going…

Clutching Bagpuss in my arms, I looked at him lovingly as my dad’s business partner, Oliver Postgate, took a picture. ‘Well done, Emily, keep this up and you will have earnt yourself a bag of sweets,’ my dad Peter smiled. It was 1972 and at age seven, I was given a starring role in the Bagpuss series. The sepia-tinted photographs at the beginning of each episode showed me (as myself ) cuddling the famous pink and white striped cat. He resided in an unusual shop I ‘owned’. Everything in the window was something that somebody had once lost. I’d bring broken objects for Bagpuss to mend with the help of six mice, featuring tales from other abandoned toys – including Professor Yaffle (a bookish wooden woodpecker), Gabriel the toad, and…

GETTING STARTED 1 Easter can be a tricky time of year for chocolate lovers watching their weight. You can’t move for Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies or cakes when you go shopping. 2 The variety of chocolate mini eggs available, with a choice of flavours, make them the perfect Easter treat for those of us who want to lose weight or keep it off (as long as you snack sensibly). We’ve devised a diet that includes plenty of mini eggs to help satisfy chocolate cravings and you could still lose up to 1st along the way. HOW IT WORKS ● Follow our plan (opposite), which includes a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack (from the snack box opposite) and mini eggs each day. ● Don’t skip food or add sugar or sauces unless…

Breakfast Trifle This recipe makes enough granola for the trifle, but you can easily double it while making so that you have some spare for snacking. Hands-on time 30min, plus cooling. Cooking time 35min. Serves 8. FOR THE GRANOLA 100g rolled jumbo oats FOR THE COMPOTE 300g fresh or frozen raspberries FOR THE TRIFLE 1.2kg low or full-fat Greek-style yogurt 1 Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan)/mark 3 and line a medium baking tray with baking parchment. For the granola, in a medium bowl, mix the oats, hazelnuts and spices, until combined. Add the oil, apple sauce, honey and a pinch of salt and mix until well coated. 2 Spread the granola out in a single layer on the lined tray and bake for 35min, turning once. Remove from oven…

They do say that the ‘Ides of March’ can be a bit of a ‘Debbie Downer’ , and far be it for me to go along with any doom and gloom – but just in case, I’ve been taking extra precautions. Namely slipping in an extra ‘jumping about’ class at my nearly local church hall to get my juices ever so slightly active. It’s a good car drive away, (I don’t mean good as in quality because there are two sets of road works, countless zebras to navigate and getting there and going home, is quite a risk). Anyway, there I was on my mat, when Angela (the teacher) told me I’d have to ‘double up’ with the arm weights this week. Keen to please, I looked around and took…

UNI DROP-OUT NEEDS TO GET A JOB My 20-year-old dropped out of university last year, which was absolutely fine – as long as she at least got a weekend job while finding her feet, which is what she promised me. Has she so much as even pretended to be job hunting? Not in the slightest… She just sleeps in until lunch time and gets drunk most weekends. Our relationship is now hanging by a thread because of it. As a mother of girls yourself, what would you say to her? Denise, York You are the parent. Behave like one. Don’t allow your daughter to take advantage of you. She is home. She has settled in. The time has come for her to build a career, or at the very least…

ARIES 21 March – 20 April Yay – the Sun moves into your sign on Wednesday, and if you’re not feeling a little more upbeat and confident then you’re dwelling on past shortcomings and guilt-tripping yourself. Just stop, OK! The eclipse of the Moon in your relationship zone shows you need to pay attention to your dearest. It’s now that matters. TAURUS 21 April – 21 May The lunar eclipse on the 25th threatens little snags, equipment malfunction and disruption to your routine. Things happen for a reason, and you are being taught not to sweat the small stuff. You have pals who take friendship seriously and you can rely on them to help, so reach out and don’t be too proud to admit when you’re struggling. GEMINI 22 May…

WIN 1 X £200, 2 X £100 OR 3 X £50 PRIZES The answer will appear in the shaded boxes and this is your prize answer. Enter by using the number at the top of the grid or at hearstmagazines.co.uk/bestcross1224 ACROSS 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 17 20 21 22 23 24 DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 13 14 15 16 18 19 Which violet variety of quartz is the traditional birthstone for February? The answer will appear in the shaded squares. ANSWERS MEGA CROSSWORD 07/2024 PRIZE ANSWER: GOLDEN EYE ACROSS 4 Slight, 7 Exposure, 8 Via, 9 Pump, 10 Puzzle, 11 Because, 12 Panel, 15 Blend, 17 Costume, 20 Public, 21 Norm, 22 Age, 23 Scramble, 24 Attach DOWN 1 Excuse, 2 Complain, 3…