Table of contents for 18-2020 in Best

Last week, GMB host Susanna Reid, overcome with emotion, was trying not to cry mid-interview as she spoke via video link with D-Day veteran, Ken Benbow. They were talking about Ken’s late wife, Aida, after a beautiful video of him receiving a gorgeous gift to remember her by swiftly went viral. Susanna, 49, listened as the war hero recalled his life with Aida and their 70-year marriage together. She admitted that she and her co-host, Piers Morgan, had been incredibly moved watching the video of an assistant at Ken’s care home presenting him with a pillow with Aida’s face on it. Since moving to his nursing home, Ken had always slept with a picture of his late wife. But kind care worker Kia Mariah Tobin wanted to give him something more comfortable,…

Loose Women panellist and Rip-Off Britain host Gloria Hunniford is a showbiz legend. Now, having recently celebrated her 80th birthday with not quite the big bash she might have expected, she tells us breezily that she ‘doesn’t like focusing on numbers’. Still busy as ever, working from her home amid the current crisis, Gloria says she feels lucky to be here, and reveals a very exciting project for the future… Gloria, happy belated birthday! Thank you! I don’t like the number, but I’m very glad to be alive to celebrate it! I had lots of little things organised, and as the Coronavirus crisis developed, I kept plotting the course and thinking: ‘I was meant to be at the theatre tonight, I was meant to be at dinner that night…’ How did you celebrate? In…

1 Cut down on expensive cleaning products by using a superabsorbent e-cloth, £4.99, Lakeland. A damp e-cloth can kill up to 99 per cent of germs. 2 Get sinks sparkling by making a paste of bicarbonate of soda using water. Rub around sinks with a damp cloth. 3 Chuck your whites into the washing machine when you next use a colour run remover – it will brighten them no end. 4 Make your own window cleaning solution by mixing 60ml white vinegar (not malt, which has a strong smell) and 1 litre water, then put into a spray dispenser. This should last for months. 5 Place half a lemon into a small bowl of water inside your microwave and turn on the power for one minute. Any stale odours will disappear.…

Succulents are easy to look after and require little attention, so they make the perfect plants for novice gardeners. There are so many shapes and sizes to choose from that you will have quite a collection in no time at all. A pretty way to display succulents is in colourful cups and pots, either grouped together on shelves or clustered on a tabletop. 1 PUT SOME COARSE GRAVEL in the bottom of each pot to help break up the potting mix a little. 2 ADD A SMALL AMOUNT OF POTTING MIX to the bottom of the pots. Take the first plant from its plastic pot and loosen the rootball a little. 3 PLACE THE PLANT IN ONE OF THE POTS and press down quite firmly to anchor it in place.…

I sat on the bed with my daughter, Jessica, and tears streamed down our faces. She was just 18 and had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. It had spread to her lymph nodes and we were told she’d be infertile after treatment. ‘Your life comes first,’ the doctor insisted. Without treatment, Jessica, my youngest child and only daughter (I have two sons), could die – so there wasn’t a choice. But it was devastating for her to be told she would never be a mother. ‘I wanted to be a mum so much,’ my daughter wept. I felt her pain like it was my own. ‘You will be a mum somehow.’ I promised her, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes.’ It was a bold promise, and I had no idea how…

1 IMPROVE GROWTH Health issues aside, slow growth can be part of the ageing process. While we can’t turn back the clock, brittleness can be countered with a nail oil, applied several times a day, according to Marian Newman, manicurist and author of Nailed It. You could also invest in a nail growth product. ‘Lack of water intake can be associated with peeling and breaking nails, too,’ says nail expert Sabrina Gayle. GHI tested: Duri Rejuvacote 2, £10.80 (amazon.co.uk), helped nails to grow in as little as two to three days and 86 per cent of testers said they would continue to use this. 2 GIVE GELS A BREAK It’s worth remembering that incorrect removal of gel polish is known to damage nails. ‘When the colour is picked off, it…

HOW DO I MAKE HIM LISTEN? My dad – who is 81 and lives alone since my mum died a few years ago – is, well, a liability. He keeps saying he has ‘slept-in’ during the supermarket opening hours for older people, and he is walking to his local shops (about 20 minutes away) daily, saying he needs essentials. He is even inviting neighbours into his garden, saying it’s ‘fine’, because they are at least six feet apart! How do I make him listen, without scaring the life out of him? Jenny, Lincoln You hit him with a truth bomb and say this: ‘Dad, you are hale and hearty and that’s fantastic, but if you contract Coronavirus – and you massively increase your chance of being infected every time you…

Comedy cop drama Code 404 sees Daniel Mays star as John Major, a murdered policeman brought back to life as a robot. Mum-of-two Anna Maxwell Martin, plays his widow, Kelly. Tell us about your character. It becomes clear, I wasn’t happy with my marriage. John just thinks we’ll be together as we were before, not knowing that I’ve changed and moved on. And also, he’s a bit of an idiot… How do you like working with Stephen Graham, your on-screen love interest, and Daniel Mays? Those two? Urgh. It’s awful. No, it was great. I love working with Danny. I haven’t worked with Stephen before, and he was a dreamboat. What would you do if you were in this kind of love triangle? I’d just bonk them both, and see…

Last week, Prince Harry, 35, sent out mixed messages while isolating in LA with his wife, Meghan, 38, and their 11-month-old son, Archie. While putting out a statement that they ‘will no longer be engaging” with any British tabloid papers, he also quietly took the time to video-call a nurse in Nottingham looking after seriously ill children back at home, through his role as patron of the charity WellChild. The Prince, who has stepped down as a senior Royal, hearing of the fears of families reliant on carers, hosted the call from his LA bolthole with ventilation specialist, Rachel Gregory, who explained the obstacles of caring for sick children in their homes during the Coronavirus crisis. ‘These children need round-the-clock care, 24 hours a day. You can’t expect parents to…

TOP TIP! A printed T-shirt is bang on trend and a brilliant way to update your wardrobe on a budget. TOP TIP! Get out of your jeans and try a pair of wide-leg trousers. These will look great with trainers or flip-flops and a simple white T-shirt.…

Former Hollywood ‘It’ couple Bruce Willis, 65, and Demi Moore, 57, divorced 20 years ago. But that hasn’t stopped them going into quarantine at the latter’s Idaho estate, with their adult daughters – Rumer, 31, Scout, 28, and Tallulah, 26. They look like the perfect family in their lockdown pics, such as the snap of them all beaming, in matching green and white striped pyjamas. In another cosy pic of them reading, the caption says, ‘Family book club…’ and ‘Family bonding <3’, which sent fans into a frenzy… One commented of Demi and Bruce, ‘Still the perfect couple!’, another adding, ‘Love everything about this.’ What’s odd is, Bruce left his current wife, English actress Emma Heming, to self-isolate in LA, with their daughters, Mabel, eight, and Evelyn, five. Surely, some…

SOAK YOUR BODY! If you’re in desperate need of pampering, look no further than your own cupboards to make your own bath mix. Ingredients: ½ cup baking soda½ cup sea salt½ cup Epsom saltsA few drops of bubble bath Combine all the ingredients in a plastic freezer bag and shake well. Pour the whole mixture into a warm bath and soak. Why it works: Baking soda is a deodoriser and freshens the skin. Fizzing Epsom salts soothe aching muscles, loosen stiff joints and detox the skin. Their key ingredient is magnesium, a powerhouse mineral that regulates hundreds of enzymes in our bodies. Once out of the bath, apply a layer of body lotion to lock in moisture. TOP TIPS • While you’re having a soak or chilling, practice deep breathing;…

Last time we caught up with Anthea Turner, she was starting her 60th year and, jokingly, holding auditions for hubby number three. It worked. By the time she appeared on This Morning last week, she was happily engaged to tycoon Mark Armstrong, and looking far younger than her years. Viewers took to Twitter with compliments such as, ‘Anthea Turner turning 60?! Does NOT look it…’ and ‘Wow’. The celebrity Queen of Clean is currently starring in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Channel 4, Mondays, 9pm) – which sees famous faces put through their paces by ex-Special Forces soldier Ant Middleton. And, as she prepares to celebrates her big birthday on 25 May, Anthea admits she’s the oldest person to ever take part in the show, which this series includes Katie…

TIME FOR THE ‘BIRDS AND BEES’ CHAT? I’m not a naive mum, thinking my 12 and 14-year-old daughters don’t know what sex is – but with more time on my hands, I’ve been wondering about how I approach that age-old ‘birds and the bees’ conversation. Now that we’re all stuck at home and chatting more, it feels like the right time. They get taught the science side at school – but the emotional side of sex is totally neglected, and I want them to feel safe and comfortable approaching me about things. How would you go about this? We’re a close family, but to be honest I don’t even know if they’ve had crushes (or dates!) yet… I think they’d be mortified if I just started talking about sex with…

DAWN WARD rose to fame as one of the original cast members of the hit ITV show The Real Housewives of Cheshire alongside her husband, former footballer Ashley Ward. As the show enters its fifth year, the 46-year-old mum-of-four opens up about life under lockdown, her friendship with Gemma Collins - and her new career as an Insta chef… Housewives is back for its 11th series. Why is it still such a huge success? We have a lot of humour in the North of England, a dry sense of humour. We still have our disagreements and scraps, but we’re not afraid to say how it is! Plus, we don’t sound like the Queen; I think people can relate to us. Yes, we have nice lifestyles, but we also face the same life…

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TAURUS 21 April – 21 May Taureans are a fixed sign to you can have a tendency to get caught in a rut but don't! Instead focus on a new creative adventure - what would it be? From art to keep fit online classes, whatever you decide on, it will be like a breath of fresh air and will get you back on track in the coming weeks. LEO 24 July – 23 August Time always seems to go too fast when you have the chance to do what you want to do. The hours will fairly zip by when even working from home will feel like pleasure. Getting paid to exercise your creativity will feel like an answer to a prayer. Some good news will relate to your partner…