Andy Burnham's A Bed Every Night scheme to be extended as numbers seeking help rises

EXCLUSIVE: Following a busy fall in both the film and TV worlds, Adrien Brody is looking to stay busy as he set to join Apple Original Films’ Ghosted, starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. Dexter Fletcher is directing. 

Today. “Because it really shaped me into the individual that I am.

XTR, the global nonfiction entertainment studio behind the Oscar-nominated documentary “Ascension,” has hired Abazar Khayami as head of studio. Khayami, who previously served as head of content at NTWRK, will oversee feature documentaries including development, production and execution and shepherd the dozens of films already in the company’s pipeline, the studio said Wednesday.“We are thrilled that Abazar has come on to lead XTR’s production studio during a moment of tremendous growth for the company,” said Kathryn Everett, XTR co-founder and head of film.

Luke Bryan enjoys a close and often hilarious relationship with his American Idol co-judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.MORE: Luke Bryan's five children and their mothers – and the heartfelt story behind his family unitIn a new interview with Good Morning America, the country superstar opened up about his relationship with Katy in the run-up to her Las Vegas residency and how that extended to her fiancé Orlando Bloom.WATCH: Chayce Beckham wins American Idol 2021"Anything Katy does, she sends stuff to create more anxiety," he said to the amusement of GMA hosts Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, who could be heard laughing in the background."She's like 'Wow. Big stage, be ready','Wow, get ready for the dry air of Las Vegas', I'm like 'Katy!'" he joked.MORE: Katy Perry reveals wedding news after claims she secretly wed Orlando BloomHowever, he revealed that there was nothing but love between the two, perhaps veering on being closer than you'd expect when Orlando comes into the mix."Me and her, even as years have gone, we have an even more fun friendship and a great working relationship," he gushed about the Firework singer.A post shared by Good Morning America (@goodmorningamerica)Luke joked about Katy being "jealous" of his relationship with Orlando BloomHe then added: "She's really a little jealous because she believes Orlando kind of…might have a little man crush on me. "Because Orlando came to Nashville and I had all these outdoor activities planned for him.

Nadya Suleman, a.k.a. “Octomom,” celebrated her octuplets’ 13th birthday this week. The proud mom took her eight youngest children — Nariyah, Isaiah, Maliyah, Jeremiah, Noah, Josiah, Jonah, and Makai — to a bowling alley, and then to a park, in Laguna Niguel, California to celebrate them reaching the milestone birthday. Photos, which can be seen HERE, show Nadya and the octuplets gathered together and smiling while holding bowling balls at the first celebratory event. The eight kids are truly so grown up — it’s crazy that they are now teenagers!

Better Things,” its original comedy series created by, executive produced by and starring Pamela Adlon.Adlon stars as Sam, a working actress raising three daughters in Los Angeles attempting to navigate her life and find fulfillment. Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood and Olivia Edward portray Sam’s daughter, who are each struggling to come of age, while Celia Imrie portrays Sam’s mother, who deals with increasingly difficult mental and physical health issues. Adlon heavily based the series on her own experiences as an actor raising three daughters.The trailer for the new season sees Sam working on a new movie, giving a presentation to an elementary school class and arguing with her daughters.

Miles Davis for a year in 1968, died today (February 9) of natural causes, close friend Danielle Maggio confirmed to Rolling Stone.Davis’ self-titled debut album arrived in 1973, which she then followed up the following year with ‘They Say I’m Different’. Her third and final studio album, ‘Nasty Gal’, was released in 1975.Though not commercially successful at their time of release, Davis’ music has gone on to be hugely influential in funk circles in the decades to follow.Born Betty Mabry, she appeared on the cover of Miles Davis’ 1968 album ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’, and was the inspiration behind his song ‘Mademoiselle Mabry’.“RIP Betty Davis, the original (and only) nasty gal, famed for being one of music’s greatest muses, but more importantly, one of the funkiest to ever do it,” journalist and author Jeff Weiss wrote in tribute to Davis.“Her first 3 solo records are sleazy, soulful and raw.

Spotify streams of Little Simz‘ music have soared over 350 per cent following her appearance at this year’s BRIT Awards.The rapper, who released her last album, ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, back in September, won the award for Best New Artist at last night’s (February 8) ceremony at London’s The O2. She also performed a medley of her tracks ‘Introvert’ and ‘Woman’.Her massive night has since prompted a huge spike in Spotify streams in comparison to other BRITs winners including Adele, Silk Sonic, Ed Sheeran, Dave and Sam Fender.There was a 812 per cent increase in streams of ‘Introvert’ and a 594 per cent spike for ‘Woman’, equating to a 365 per cent jump overall.Elsewhere, Adele, who took home three BRITs last night (Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year), saw a 137 per cent increase in Spotify streams following the awards, while Dave’s streams went up by 217 per cent. Fender’s music saw a 79 per cent jump.“As ever, the BRITs showed the incredible breadth of talent being fostered here in the UK, across every genre of music,” Tom Connaughton, managing director of Spotify UK and Ireland, said in a statement (via Rolling Stone UK).

Families of the 22 who died in the Manchester Arena bombing have reacted with anger and dismay after a second act of vandalism at a memorial for their lost loved ones.

Former Manchester City and England striker Trevor Sinclair has compared Manchester United youngster James Garner with club icon David Beckham.

A taxi driver was taken to hospital with a head injury after he was attacked in a back street in Cheetham Hill on Tuesday evening.

direct to your inboxCalls have been made for almost £2bn in business rates relief handed back by major retailers to be used to help millions of workers excluded from financial aid during the Covid-19 pandemic.Supermarket chains Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and B&M have agreed to repay a combined £1.8bn tax break funded through the public purse.Tesco chairman John Allan said the company was ‘conscious of our responsibilities to society’ and hoped the money would go to businesses and communities in need.Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, has described the windfall as a ‘golden opportunity’ for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to support 2.9 million people who have fallen through the cracks of government support.They include the

The government took into account the potential economic impact on the capital in sparing London from tough Tier 3 restrictions.But the same analysis wasn't applied to Manchester and the rest of the country.That's according to furious Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham who described the alleged differing approach as 'unacceptable' as MPs prepare for a key vote in Parliament today (Tuesday).Last week Boris Johnson's government announced that Greater Manchester would be placed in the toughest Tier 3 restrictions even though the coronavirus infection rate here, although still high, is falling fast.It means pubs and restaurants must remain closed here but they can open in Tier 2 areas like London when the national lockdown ends

including Greater Manchester where cases are falling rapidly.Michael Gove was reportedly among those arguing London should be under the strictest measures due to the high infection rate in several boroughs.The M.E.N has attempted to contact Downing Street for confirmation that the cabinet received a briefing note on potential job losses in London and whether similar impact assessments were made of other regions.So far, we have had no response.The Mayor Andy Burnham tweeted the Mail's story and said: "So it would seem the Government added an extra point to their five criteria - just for London.

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heading for tier 3 restrictions when lockdown ends next week, pupils are continuing to be sent home from primaries and secondaries across the region. We reported at the weekend how many feel schools are 'descending into chaos' and concerns are growing over Year 11s being expected to sit exams next year despite missing out on large chunks of classroom learning time.

Andy Burnham wants Greater Manchester to be moved into Tier 2 within a fortnight if the region's coronavirus infection rate continues to fall.The Mayor was reacting to the government's decision to place the region in Tier 3, the highest category of restrictions under the new system due to take effect on December 2.It means all hospitality venues will have to stay closed except for takeaway and delivery services.Other areas with high infection rates, including Liverpool and London, have been placed in the Tier 2 category that allows venues to open if they serve a substantial meal.Parts of Greater Manchester, including Stockport and Trafford, have infection rates that are below the national average.Mr Burnham appeared to accept that the

government announcing this morning that Manchester will be placed in Tier 3 when national lockdown ends on December 2, the mayor says the 'halfway house approach' taken to lockdown is partly to blame.Reacting to the news that the region now faces the toughest measures for at least another fortnight, he told the Manchester Evening News: "It was a personal view and maybe not everybody's view, but I think schools should have been included in the national circuit break, because actually it would have benefited schools as well."People talked about kids spending time out of the classroom, but they are spending time out of the classroom and actually it probably would have helped everybody if we'd got the cases down much lower and then schools

Andy Burnham says it is ‘more likely than not’ that Greater Manchester will be put into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions despite falling infection rates.The mayor is expecting that the new measures, due to be shared with leaders tomorrow, will be applied consistently across the city-region.But the government has been urged to look at Greater Manchester’s position in two weeks when the first review of the revised arrangements takes place.There are widely-held expectations that almost no regions in England will be in anything lower than Tier 2 once the national lockdown ends on December 2.Greater Manchester had been in Tier 3 before the lockdown after reporting some of the highest Covid-19 rates in the country.Things have changed

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.A joint statement issued by the four UK governments said they had been working closely together to find a way for family and friends to see each other, recognising it must be “limited and cautious”.Boris Johnson warned families they must make a “personal judgement” about the risks of coronavirus to vulnerable loved ones when forming a Christmas bubble.“We can’t afford to throw caution to the wind.

Grant Shapps had appeared to blame the row for Greater Manchester's high coronavirus infection rates.

hereLast month Andy Burnham and other local leaders spent two weeks negotiating with the government for better financial support to help businesses that would be forced to close, the self-employed and others who lose income, before Tier 3 was eventually imposed. Mr Shapps responded by saying 'individual negotiations' last time led to rates not being 'gotten on top of as quickly as possible'.He said that Liverpool, which agreed to Tier 3 'quite quickly' had seen cases come down quickly and called the city 'a success story'.He added that the government had seen that 'elsewhere' things hadn't been as successful and that regions that were slower to go into Tier 3 did not see cases reduce.Ms Burley responded: "So just to be clear, it's Andy

coronavirus restrictions.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged to help almost three million people across the UK who have been ‘excluded’ from vital support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.People who are newly self-employed or freelancing are currently ineligible for the bailout schemes offered by the government.Others who are affected include people on maternity or paternity leave whose earnings may have dropped since going on leave are also affected traders whose profits exceed £50,000, and company directors relying on dividends affected by the economic impact of coronavirus.The mayors of Greater Manchester, London and the Liverpool city-region - Andy Burnham, Sadiq Khan and Steve Rotheram - have called on the chancellor to help those who have 'fallen through

at the latest Greater Manchester press conference, Mr Burnham said the hospital situation may be stabilising but stressed it is ‘early days’ in terms of positive trends.

Andy Burnham has warned against the introduction of ‘permanent’ coronavirus restrictions once the national lockdown ends.The mayor of Greater Manchester says talks are underway between local leaders and the government about what will happen after December 2.Changes to the national tiered system of restrictions were being considered according to Mr Burnham, though he admitted that it was likely that the city-region would remain in Tier 3.In their decision-making the government has been urged to consider the fact that Greater Manchester has been under tighter measures for four months.A ‘clear downward trajectory’ in Covid-19 cases across the region could also work in their favour, suggested Mr Burnham.But he told a press conference on