Greater Manchester's latest coronavirus rates as more boroughs climb above England's average

K.J. Yossman As BBC Studios gears up for its annual showcase, where it introduces its upcoming hot projects to international buyers, U.K.-based Jonathan Blyth, BBC Studios’ director of comedy, and Kelly Miller, BBC Studios’ Los Angeles-based senior VP of scripted strategy, sat down with Variety to discuss what’s on their comedy slate, working with streamers and the biggest challenges they’re currently facing.What do you look for in a comedy?Kelly Miller (KM): It’s all about authentic storytelling, that lived-in experience, a talent who has something to say. Those are the comedies and the shows that are most resonant with audiences around the world, but particularly here in the U.S.Jonathan Blyth (JB): Talent is very much at the heart — front and centre.

The Tinder Swindler subject Shimon Hayut has said the women in the Netflix documentary “weren’t conned”.Hayut, who also went by the alias Simon Leviev in the recent film, recently spoke to Inside Edition about the allegations levelled against him by several women who met him on Tinder.The first part of the interview aired yesterday (February 21) with a second part due to be released today (February 22), also featuring Hayut’s girlfriend Kate Konlin.“I’m not this monster,” Hayut said of the claims of The Tinder Swindler. “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”The Netflix documentary alleges that Hayut convinced women he was the son and heir of diamond mogul Lev Leviev, before reportedly conning them out of millions of dollars.“They weren’t conned and they weren’t threatened,” Hayut said of the women featured in the doc, and said of the claims he was the son of Leviev: “No I am not, and I never presented myself [as such].”He went on to say he didn’t “feel bad” for the women who accused him as the allegatiosn were false, and said he is “a legit businessman” in terms of justifying his current lavish lifestyle.Hayut added: “I want to clear my name, I want to say to the world, this is not true.”Victims Cecilie Fjellhøy, Ayleen Koeleman and Pernilla Sjoholm recently set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repay their debts after being conned.“You’re probably here because you’ve heard about our story, and we appreciate you taking the time to search and find this page,” they wrote.“The past few days have been a whirlwind, and we three (Ayleen, Pernilla and Cecilie) have been completely shocked and floored by the flood of compassion and support from everyone.

Pale Waves have announced new dates for their shows in Dublin and Belfast.

Prominent Australian TV Executive and philanthropist Neil Balnaves has died aged 77 in a boating accident, his foundation has said.

America’s Got Talent judges have paid tribute to series star Jane Marczewski, who died on Sunday 19 February after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 31.

The Mysterious Girl singer celebrated Valentine's with wife Emily last week. Writing in his New magazine column Peter said : "Valentine’s for us is all about time together, we got each other a few little bits but the most special for me was the card Emily got me. " Peter added: "As part of this beautiful card, was hidden 12 things you love about your partner and she hid each one in different locations, and I had to find them.

Coronation Street star Kimberly Hart-Simpson has recently revealed she is returning to the soap.

A lad pointed a BB gun at a college student who had a ‘silly’ argument with his girlfriend before firing at him.

Rio Ferdinand has praised Manchester United starlet Anthony Elanga for seizing the initiative during his early days with the first-team squad.

Chris Sutton believes Manchester City could regret signing Jack Grealish rather than Harry Kane last summer by the end of the season.

The much awaited all-British heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte has now been confirmed with Whyte signing his contract.

Oti Mabuse has announced she is leaving Strictly Come Dancing after seven years.

Ex-England and Man United footballer David Beckham has splashed out on a lavish £5m super yacht, which he helped design! The multi-millionaire, 46, has enjoyed many sea-bound adventures with music legend Sir Elton John - so it’s no surprise he’s coughed up the cash to treat Victoria and the kids. It’s a whopping 100ft vessel which sources told the Sun: “It’s pretty plush by anyone’s standards.

Voluminous, extravagant hairstyles are always on the cards for RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants, but Michelle Keegan is giving our Drag Race UK Versus The World queens a run for their money with her guest judge look – well, if running were possible in 8-inch heels. The actress transformed her lengths with the help of hairspray and secrets (likely in the form of backcombing and extensions) to get ready for her one-off panel appearance.The full episode is yet to air, but we have been treated to an advance teaser where Michelle is shown looking nothing short of fierce with a voluminous updo.

Kate Garraway has given an update on her husband Derek Draper’s health while revealing she’s managed to sleep for the first time in two years after taking a break from caring for her ill husband. Derek, 54, contracted Covid-19 in April 2020 and went on to spend over a year in hospital battling the virus. Since leaving hospital, Derek has needed 24 hour care from home, a large majority of which has been done by devoted wife, Kate, also 54.

Eamonn Holmes has rushed to the defence of Rylan Clark after an online troll accused the former X Factor star of faking illness. Rylan sparked concern last week after sharing a snap of himself in hospital, and has since gave a health update to his fans and said he was “resting”. His most recent trip to hospital came after he received medical attention last month following his split from husband Dan Neal last year.

Holly Willoughby made a super stylish return to ITV's This Morning as she and co-host Phillip Schofield returned from their week off from the show. Starting the week off by embracing a Spring-inspired look the mum-of-three stunning in a short floral mini dress from Whistles.

Good Morning Britain viewers were taken aback as Richard Madeley got stuck straight in to an interview with John Barrowman.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates are continuing to fall in every borough in Greater Manchester except one, the latest figures show.Bolton is one of just 11 places in England where the number of cases has increased.Public Health England figures show in the week to February 10, Bolton's rate was up 1% to 276.1 cases per 100,000 people.The current national average in England is 157.3.Bolton's rate is actually lower than the figure of 218.7 published on Saturday, despite today's chart showing an increase.That's because we report the week-on-week change as that gives a more accurate reflection of the general trend, compared with the day-to-day change which can fluctuate more according to one-off factors.That means the rate

transmission rates went up in the week ending February 7. The infection rate in Bolton has risen by 6 per cent to 288.6 cases per 100,000 people, according to Public Health England figures.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates are continuing to fall in most areas of Greater Manchester as a result of the third national lockdown.In the week ending February 4, only one borough saw a small rise in the proportion of cases per 100,000 people.There were 799 new cases in Bolton in the most up to date reporting period, a one per cent rise on the previous seven days. Every other borough saw a drop in cases, the latest Public Health England figures show.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates continue to fall across most of the region - but one borough has seen a slight rise in cases.There were 799 new cases in Bolton in the week to February 4, a 1% rise on the previous seven days.Every other borough saw a drop in cases, the latest Public Health England figures show.But Oldham's infection rate, while continuing to fall, is now above the national average of 211.8 cases per 100,000 people.Salford saw the smallest drop in cases, down 1% to 272, while Tameside experienced the biggest fall, down 32% to 197.4.Tameside, Bury (down 24% to 202.1) and Trafford (down 17% to 195.5) are the only three boroughs below the national average.In Manchester cases were down 10% to 270.4, while

direct to your inboxThe coronavirus infection rates have fallen again in all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester.While five boroughs in our region all have higher transmission rates than the national average, the downward trend in cases continues.Manchester still has highest infection rate in the region, the latest Public Health England figures show.The rate was 291.6 cases per 100,000 people for the week ending January 31, the most recent set of figures available.The city's rate has dropped by 12 per cent week-on-week.In Salford, the rate stands at 280.9 per 100,0000 - a drop of 15 per cent.Bolton's rate has fallen by 13 per cent to 272.6 while Tameside's has dipped by 17 per cent to 263.1 per 100,000.Trafford saw the biggest fall in cases

direct to your inboxFour boroughs in Greater Manchester now have a higher coronavirus infection rate than the national average, the latest data shows.The latest Public Health England figures show that Manchester, Tameside, Salford and Bolton all have higher transmission rates than the average for England.Though rates are still continuing to fall in every borough.Manchester continues to have the highest infection rate in the region.It was recorded at 294.3 in the week ending January 29.But its rate has dropped by 18 per cent week-on-week.In Tameside, the rate stands at 284.8 - a fall of nine per cent.Salford's rate has fallen by 20 per cent to 279.7 and Bolton's has dropped by 17 per cent to 275.4.All four of these boroughs have a higher

direct to your inboxSalford now has the highest coronavirus infection rates in the region overtaking Manchester, the latest data shows.The latest Public Health England figures show that rates in every area are still continuing to fall.The overall rate for the region currently stands at 304.7 per 100,000, a fall of 19 per cent week-on-week.This is lower than the national average which was recorded at 353.7 per 100,000 in the week ending January 24.The rate appears to be falling faster nationally than in our region, though, dropping 25 per cent week-on-week.Across Greater Manchester, Covid-19 infection rates are going down in every borough.Salford now has the highest infection rate in the region, rrecorded at 330.3 in the week ending January