Here’s how The National Lottery is helping to fund the things that matter most

The PS5 is still very much one of the most sought after games consoles, and is sure to be at the very top of hundreds of Christmas lists this year. However, it can be expensive - particularly when you want to buy games and accessories to go with it, so you have to look out for money-saving offers.

Emmerdale fans couldn't be more on the same page when it comes to Faith Dingle. Viewers of the ITV soap have been left devastated as they watch the much-loved character start to deteriorate following her terminal cancer diagnosis.

Strictly Come Dancing could be picking up the phone in anticipation of the 2023 series after Martin Lewis broke his usual serious character on Good Morning Britain. The money-saving guru was back fronting the ITV news programme today (September 21) alongside Susanna Reid.

Marta Balaga “The Woodcutter Story,” a Finnish drama with a surreal touch, has been sold to Australia (Palace Films), Baltics (Estinfilm), Sweden (Njuta), Germany (Eksystent) and France (Urban), Paris-based Totem Films shared exclusively with Variety. Directed by Mikko Myllylahti, it sees a good man who runs into bad luck: he loses his job and his wife leaves, but Pepe (Jarkko Lahti) is trying to keep his head high. Even when strange things start to happen in his sleepy village. The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week, screens Wednesday at the Helsinki Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. It will have its North American premiere at Chicago Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival.

Lise Pedersen French director Julien Villanueva whose animation and VFX outfit Circus Studio has worked on the likes of “Lego City Adventures”, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “White Fang,” has pitched his first ever original TV series project at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. “Dr Bob is a very simple concept,” he joked to the crowd of industry professionals gathered at the pitching forum in the southern French city. “It’s like Freud meets Kermit the Frog,” he explained about his show, a sitcom centered around Dr. Bob, a wacky psychologist who goes to extremes to make his patients happy, which often leads to radical consequences.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s biggest film group Toho announced that it has taken a controlling stake in TIA (previously Toho Interactive Animation), a production company behind the “100 Nichikan Ikita Wani,” film and anime series “iii icecrin,” “iii icecrin2” “Ninja Collection” and “That Is the Bottleneck.” Originally known as I&A, the company was established in 2017 by ILCA and Anima. The name changed to TIA after Toho bought a nearly 35% from the two founders in 2020. Toho has now bought out Anima’s stake, giving it a 67.4% majority holding and cause to rename the company again, this time to Toho Animation Studio. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Naman Ramachandran Executive producer Mary Burke has launched production company Public Dreams Ltd, which aims to bring together the best of film and TV talent to produce distinctive, ambitious, commercial content for the British and global markets. Burke launches the company after five years as senior executive at the BFI Film Fund and 13 years at Warp Films where she amassed more than 40 TV and film credits including “Submarine,” “Saint Maud,” “Phantom of the Open,” “Brian and Charles,” “God’s Own Country,” “Colette” and “Ammonite.” She has won a BAFTA Scotland best feature award for “For Those in Peril” and a BAFTA Cymru in the same category for “Submarine.”

Lise Pedersen Oscar-winning animation film producer Nicolas Schmerkin (“Logorama,” 2010) has revealed his Paris-based outfit Autour de Minuit has signed a pre-development agreement with Franco-German TV channel Arte for its latest project, “Fucking Cat”, which is being pitched at this week’s Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. An adaptation of Belgian author Stéphane Lapuss’ “Putain de Chat” comic book series, “Fucking Cat” tells the story of Moustique, the talking cat, who, like all cats, hates humans and would like to get rid of his master but faces the dilemna of how to become master of the world without giving up his cat food. Both Lapuss and co-author Lionel Bonnal will assist in penning the adaptation. 

Marta Balaga Finland’s Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture (AVEK) and Finnish Cultural Foundation are launching Kehittämö – Talent Development Lab, Variety has learned exclusively. Described as Finland’s first audiovisual development program, it will provide aspiring creators with financial support – €55,000 each, bringing the yearly budget up to half a million – and mentoring from international experts, including Karol Griffiths, who has collaborated with the Coen brothers, Gitte Hansen and Alex Szalat, the head of Docs Up Fund. “[It will allow us to] bring high quality fiction and documentary films, media artworks and other audiovisual works to the culture-loving audience. AVEK has excellent understanding and wide networks in the sector and working with them will bring added value to the Cultural Foundation’s work,” says director of cultural affairs Juhana Lassila.

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has shared a statement responding to a recent viral TikTok alleging that he had an affair.Earlier this week, Levine was accused in a TikTok video by Instagram model Sumner Stroh of having an affair with her. “At the time, I was young, I was naive, and, I mean, quite frankly, I feel exploited,” she said.“I was having an affair with a man who’s married to a Victoria’s Secret model,” the message began.Stroh went on to allege that she and Levine were in a relationship for a year, and that after they stopped seeing each other, Levine – who is expecting his third child with wife Behati Prinsloo – allegedly sent her a message saying: “OK serious question.

Wet Leg have covered Ashnikko for Spotify Singles – listen to their take on ‘Daisy’ below.The duo are currently on a US tour behind their self-titled debut album, which they recently restarted after cancelling a number of gigs due to “mental and physical health” issues.Discussing their Ashnikko cover, the band’s Hester Chambers said: “I remember going to stay with Rhian around the time we recorded ‘Chaise [Longue]’ with Jon McMullen and she had told me about this artist she’d been listening to loads. She sang and played ‘Daisy’ on the guitar in the morning while we had coffee.

Every so often, albeit very rarely, a track comes along that changes the trajectory of an artist's career forever. A song that cements their status and elevates them to entirely new levels. Their Someone Like You, New Rules or Thinking Out Loud.

Alton Towers fans are shocked by a sudden closure announcement for one of its most popular roller coasters.

A Pro-Kremlin political analyst claims it's 'possible' Russian President Vladimir Putin would be willing to use nuclear weapons against Western countries including Britain.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Variety special “Adele: One Night Only” and docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” also scored five trophies, though they won’t figure in the Primetime Emmy ceremony. Those wins, along with the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show’s victory for variety special (live), led some to quip that the Creative Arts Emmys felt more like the Grammys.

? As in Adele Paul and Rich Paul? It's paul-ssible!  After winning a Creative Arts Emmy for her November 2021 special Adele One Night Only, the mononymous singer posted an Instagram slideshow that has fans wondering if she and her might have tied the knot.“Bloody hell I’m pleased as punch! Thank you @mrbenwinston for dropping this round to me this afternoon!! Trust me to officially have an EGO

In his role as one of this year’s ambassadors for UK National Album Day, Sam Ryder has announced a special launch show at London’s Lafayette later this month.I’m not sure that’s really in the spirit of a day that celebrates the art of the album. Everyone should be at home listening to albums, right? Though I guess the gig is not actually happening on the big day itself, so maybe it’s alright.And there is an album connection with the show, so that’s probably enough to swing it.

Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series: “Abbott Elementary”Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: “Succession”Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: “The White Lotus”Outstanding Period Costumes: “The Great”Outstanding Contemporary Costumes: “Hacks”Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes: “What We Do in the Shadows”Outstanding Period and or Character Hairstyling: “Bridgerton”Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series: “How I Met Your Father”Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming: “Euphoria”Outstanding Sound Mixing for A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: “The White Lotus”Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series: “Stranger Things”Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation: “Only Murders in the Building”Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy: Laurie Metcalf, “Hacks”Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half Hour): Christian Sprenger, “Atlanta”Outstanding Cinematography for Single-Camera Series (One Hour): Marcell Rév, “Euphoria”Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Lee You-mi as Ji-yeong, “Squid Game”“I’m so happy, thank you,” she said when accepting her award.Outstanding Special Video Effects in a Season or a Movie: “The Book of Boba Fett”Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode: “Squid Game”Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program: Wade Allen, “Barry”Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Anthology Series or Movie: “Stranger Things”Outstanding Stunt Performance: “Squid Game”Outstanding Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic): “Pam and Tommy”Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic): “Euphoria”Outstanding Prosthetic

It was a “bittersweet” night for the team behind Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama won his first Emmy for his narration of Netflix’s five-part documentary series, Our Great National Parks.

K.J. Yossman Actor, writer and director Diane Morgan was in her teens when she first tried her hand at improv, an experience which first gave the “very shy, very quiet” 15-year-old a chance to step out of her shell and play a different character. “I think my whole world opened up, basically,” says Morgan of that moment, ahead of receiving Variety and the Edinburgh TV Festival’s 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award. “I’d always been completely invisible and then, suddenly, I was the funny one.” So it was unsurprising when Morgan decided she would try to pursue it professionally, even if it wasn’t the most obvious choice for a girl from Bolton. “I always thought I’d make a career out of it, even though everyone was telling me I wouldn’t make a career out of it and that it was insane,” she recalls. “Because I was from Bolton, and, you know, [most] people wanted to be hairdressers.”

José Andrés, Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Serena Williams and Venus Williams will be honored at the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of a Nation Awards on Nov. 12.