‘He’ll get a reputation’ – Nigel Winterburn sends warning to ‘hugely talented’ Arsenal star

Myles Lewis-Skelly has enjoyed a rapid rise this season (Picture: Getty)

Nigel Winterburn has been impressed by the rise of Myles Lewis-Skelly but said the Arsenal full-back must be wary not to develop a reputation for being hot-headed.

Lewis-Skelly’s impressive debut season has seen him fast-tracked from a promising young talent to regular starter at left-back in Mikel Arteta’s side.

And while the 18-year-old has provided much-needed depth for a side often riddled with defensive injuries, he has also shown his age on several occasions.

Last month, Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card 17 minutes after coming off the bench against West Ham as the Gunners lost 1-0 at the Emirates.

And in midweek, he was hooked after just 35 minutes having been fortunate to avoid another sending off for fouling PSV Eindhoven defender Richard Ledezma while already on a booking.

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Lewis-Skelly could well return to the starting lineup for Sunday’s important Premier League clash with Manchester United, but Winterburn believes that, in the long run, the youngster must learn to refine his defensive tendencies.

‘He’s got huge talent that’s for sure. At the start of the season he wasn’t first choice left-back but now you’d have to say that he is,’ the former Arsenal full-back told Metro.

Lewis-Skelly was fortunate to avoid a third red card against PSV Eindhoven in midweek (Picture: Getty)

‘He’s just had a slight issue in the last few weeks with the sending off but he’s a young man and what he needs to do under the guidance of Mikel Arteta is to work on his self-control.

‘When you’re on a yellow card in this day and age, you can’t afford to be going to ground for a tackle and mistiming challenges because the likelihood is you’re going off. 

‘Once he got booked, I would have liked to have seen a senior player go over to him and tell him to stay on his feet and show the defenders into the areas where we are strong. Intercept but don’t tackle.’

Former Gunners left-back Nigel Winterburn wants to see Lewis-Skelly refine his defensive game (Picture: Getty)

Winterburn continued: ‘He’s had such a rise, he’s a huge talent, it’s just a case of trying to manage the game yourself in certain situations.

‘You can’t always be as aggressive as you want to be when you pick up cards, and you’ve got to manage the game slightly differently. He’s going to have to learn, otherwise he will get a reputation as someone you can wind up easily.

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‘But they’ll guide him and work on that. If you were asking me, I’d say work on training yourself to keep doing what you’re doing, but if you pick up a card, you need to be so disciplined and he will do that.’

Ian Wright, meanwhile, admitted that Lewis-Skelly was fortunate to stay on the pitch against PSV but suggested the teenager’s long-term future could be further up the pitch in Arteta’s side.

‘He could have easily been sent off and it’s just dependent on what ref you’ve got,’ he said on Wrighty’s House podcast.

‘We were fortunate to have that ref because you don’t want to have the narrative to be on Myles Lewis-Skelly, who is a young player, playing in multiple positions, finding himself in different areas of the pitch.

‘Do you know something? He’s a No.8, man. You can see that all day long. I can’t wait for that to happen.’

Nigel Winterburn was talking to Metro on behalf of betting offers.

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Pro-Ukraine protesters demand ‘Putin’s puppet’ Trump is stripped of state visit

Hundreds have gathered outside of the US Embassy (Picture: PA)

Hundreds of protesters have shouted ‘shame’ at a demonstration for the freedom of Ukraine outside the US Embassy in Nine Elms, London this evening.

The crowd gathered to call for the cancellation of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, offered by Sir Keir Starmer when he met with Trump in the White House last week.

John McDonnell MP was the first to take the microphone at the entrance of the Nine Elms building, condemning Trump for bullying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and withdrawing military support for the war-torn nation.

The message at the demonstration was clear – the United States cannot betray Ukrainians as the invasion enters its fourth year.

One issue that protesters here have been clear on – the use of seized Russian assets in Europe to fund Ukraine’s defence in the absence of U.S. military aid.

‘Try negotiating while being shot at,’ one placard read. Another said: ‘Down with Russian and U.S. imperialism. End all occupations. Look back. Solidarity with all oppressed people.’

Signs reading ‘Kick out the Kremlin loving Klown’ and ‘Trump-Putin what an ugly cowardly team’ also waved above the crowd.

Protesters have held handmade signs to show support for Ukraine (Picture: Gergana Krasteva)

Ukrainian flags were waved proudly by protesters (Picture: AFP)

Protesters chanted ‘Ukraine is not for sale’ before one speaker called Trump’s policies ‘gangster capitalism’, drawing attention to his desires to take over Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Any admiration for the White House seemed to have changed among Ukrainians with the change of leadership in the Oval Office.

During Trump’s most recent state visit to the UK in June 2019, he was met by tens of thousands of protesters.

Zoey Gardner, one of the organisers of Stop Trump’s Visit, threatened much larger mass protests in the capital if the visit goes ahead.

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‘We shouldn’t be rewarding him with a visit to London and a dinner with the King,’ she told Metro.

‘If the visit does go ahead, then I promise we will organise much bigger mass protests. He’s chosen his side. Sadly, he’s chosen Putin’s side. And we need to wake up and recognize that that’s the case, that he’s not our ally.

‘And if he’s not our ally, then we should not be honouring him in this way with a dinner with the King and a state visit.’

Calls to cancel Trump’s state visit were echoed (Picture: PA)

Some signs were especially witty (Picture: PA)

Armorer Wason told Metro: ‘The thing I feel most strongly about is that Trump is asking Zelensky to thank America.

‘Trump should be on his knees, thanking Zelensky for holding the line against Putin’s Russia, making so much sacrifice in Ukraine, which is helping all of Europe and even America.’

Tanya, a Ukrainian woman whose husband is on the frontline in Pokrovsk, told Metro: ‘It’s very difficult ito be here, it has broken my heart because every time when you check the news, you understand how it changes every time and in every minute you can lose your country, you can lose future of your kids. But we are not small people. We all have a voice.

‘I don’t have any illusions about the Trump administration. Putin was best friends with him before, and in every speech, Putin says trump is great.’

It appears the UK isn’t excited about his return, with the explosive conversation between Zelensky and Trump in the White House last week sparking outrage from those in the UK, and other Ukrainian allies.

Zelensky met with Trump in the Oval Office hoping to sign a crucial minerals agreement that would guarantee America’s continued support in Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia.

But tensions between the two leaders soon boiled over, and the conference quickly descended into a shouting match unforeseen on the world stage before which saw Trump yelling at Zelensky to make a deal with Russia or count the US out.

‘You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,’ Trump told Zelensky on Friday in the Oval Office.

‘If we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it will be pretty.’

Trump also told Zelensky ‘you’re not acting at all thankful’ and that the meeting would make ‘great television’ after it concludes.

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Sega tops Metacritic list of the best game publishers for third year

Metaphor has kept Sega in the race (Sega)

Metacritic has released its annual rankings of the best game publishers of the year and there’s not a big name American company in the whole top eight.

Last year may have been dismal for the games industry in terms of sales and layoffs, but there were still plenty of great games to sink yourself into.

The positives from last year have been collated into Metacritic’s annual ranking of the most successful video game publishers. The list is based on the site’s average review score across every game released in 2024, which is converted into points based on different brackets for ‘great’ titles (above 90), ‘good’ (75 and up), and ‘bad’ (below 49).

Last year’s list was topped by Capcom thanks to Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6, but Sega has clawed itself back to the top in 2024.

Sega’s win is mostly thanks to Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio, which earned a Metacritic score of 94. Other games from the company last year include Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (87) and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (89), with Sega’s average landing at 82.9 based on 12 games.

Sega is now the first company to top the list three times, following previous wins in 2021 and 2016.

Infinite Wealth was a hit among critics too (Sega)

Last year’s winner Capcom was close behind in second place, with an average score of 82.1. The company’s highest-rated game was Dragon’s Dogma 2 with a score of 88.

Others in the top five include Aksys Games, which only released five games but had a 100% ‘good’ rating across all of them. Then there was Sony, which was lifted by Astro Bot and Destiny 2: The Final Shape, and Focus Entertainment with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Interestingly, aside from the California-based Aksys Games (which publishes Japanese-made games and indie titles from European publisher Rising Star Games), the only US-based companies in the top 10 are Microsoft and Annapurna Interactive at nine and 10, respectively.

After hoovering up Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, Microsoft has a 79.4 average, while Annapurna was close behind with 79.2 thanks to Lorelei And The Laser Eyes.

Surprisingly, Nintendo is way down at number 22 with an average of 76, thanks to poorly received games such as Endless Ocean Luminous and Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer. Its best received title was Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door with 88, but even that couldn’t boost the overall number for the Nintendo Switch’s last big year.

Incredibly, Nintendo are even below Ubisoft. The publisher may have had a bad year sales-wise, but it managed to increase its Metacritic ranking by five places from last year to number 18, mostly thanks to Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown.

The lowest on the list is the largely unknown Fulqrum Publishing, which achieved an average rank of 71.1, based on five games.

It remains to be seen if Sega can hold onto the title in 2025, but the company has recently said it is planning to release fewer ‘full’ games during its next fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026).

‘Full’ games are categorised as those which aren’t free-to-play, in other words proper games like the upcoming Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance.

In its latest earnings call, Sega also vowed to ‘strengthen’ its current studios, specifically Atlus, Like A Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and Sonic Team.

‘Atlus is an important studio for us to expand Japanese IPs overseas and we think it is necessary to strengthen it, and the studios involved in the Sonic and Like a Dragon IPs are also short of staff, and we are looking to reinforce personnel through additional hiring and M&A,’ the publisher said.

Will Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds keep up the momentum? (Sega)

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MORE: Dreamcast classic might be making a comeback as Sega renews trademark

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Boy, 16, shot dead in street in south London with hunt on for gunman

Police and paramedics, along with an air ambulance, were scrambled to Paradise Road in Clapham shortly before 3.30pm (Picture: UKNIP)

A teenage boy was shot dead in broad daylight during an ‘enormously shocking’ incident in southwest London today.

Police and paramedics, along with an air ambulance, were scrambled to Paradise Road in Stockwell shortly before 3.30pm following reports of as shooting.

They found a 16-year-old boy who was declared dead there. Officers are working to identify the teenager and contact his next of kin.

Superintendent Gabriel Cameron said: ‘This is an enormously shocking incident which I imagine will cause huge distress to the local community.

The police presence at the scene (Picture: UKNIP)

An air ambulance was among the emergency response (Picture: UKNIP)

‘Our thoughts are with the young boy’s family at this devastating time.

‘Local officers are on the scene gathering CCTV and speaking to witnesses to piece together what has happened. They will be supported by specialist homicide investigators shortly.

‘Please rest assured we will work around the clock to identify and find those responsible.’

No arrests have been made at this early stage of the investigation.

A crime scene and cordons remain in place while emergency services undertake their enquiries, which are ongoing.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hands-on preview – French-Japanese RPG

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – an indie game that looks anything but (Kepler Interactive)

A Japanese role-player made by French developers, that replaces anime sensibilities with Gothic fantasy, is one of the most interesting RPGs of the year.

French indie developer Sandfall Interactive hasn’t released a completed game yet, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks set to be a very impressive debut. Although it’s multiformat, you may recognise it from the recent Xbox focused Developer Direct and now we’ve played a roughly four hour long preview – a period encompassing most of the start of the game – and it seems the game plays just as good as it looks.

Clair Obscur (French for chiaroscuro – the difference between light and shade in a drawing or painting) instantly impresses with its lush visuals, with a dark fantasy version of the Belle Époque period in French history, as previously seen in Lies Of P.

It’s also got an agreeably weird premise and is set in a nameless world, where a seemingly god-like creature called the Paintress plucks a number out of the air every year, and all the humans of that specific age simply disappear. The Paintress resides on another continent, so every year, military types set off on expeditions to sail to that continent, hunt down the Paintress, and eliminate her.

Unfortunately, the Paintress’s territory is full of dangerous enemies and many previous expeditions have failed. Expedition 33 already starts badly: the crossing is difficult and when the party finally achieves landfall a mysterious man, clearly older than any surviving humans across the sea, instantly wipes out most of the crew. Two survivors, Gustave and Lune, band together and begin to make inroads, into the mysterious land.

Sandfall has created an incredible game world, which cleverly merges the gorgeous and the unsettling. Weird environmental touches abound and different areas have distinct visual identities. In one, for example, despite not being below the sea, you encounter glowing corals and transparent squid fly past you. It sounds gratuitously weird but somehow, it isn’t. Clair Obscur’s game world has an indefinable sort of logic to it and is a welcome alternative to the Tolkien-esque norm.

At the same time, the visual style is starkly different to most Japanese role-players, with anime stylings replaced by crisp-looking, almost photorealistic imagery. Visually, the game is like nothing else, but in terms of the battle system the similarity to Japanese titles is very obvious.

You constantly encounter groups of enemies and bosses and as well as gun and melee attacks, each of the characters in your party amasses a growing portfolio of magic style attacks, which channel different elements (and you soon find out which enemies are vulnerable to which elements). So far, so ordinary but Clair Obscur also works hard to bring a real-time element to the otherwise turn-based proceedings.

For example, your magic attacks can be given added heft if you hit quick time event button presses at the right time after unleashing them, not unlike the Paper Mario series. But the key mechanic when battling is to avoid taking damage from incoming attacks, and that involves either dodging, parrying or jumping at the precise moment an attack is about to land. Thus, you must learn the timing of all the different enemies’ attacks and, at first, that means you will take more damage than you perhaps should.

Clair Obscur has a full and deep levelling system, which allows you to improve attributes, level up weapons when you set up camp, and acquire new elemental skills. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had from nailing a perfect parry, which triggers a hugely damaging counterattack, but dodging is a lot more forgiving, so you have to strategise carefully about which to rely on. The end result is some very thoughtful and relatively unique turn-based battles.

The game really is very pretty (Kepler Interactive)

As you traverse the world, you find more party members, as well as surprising pockets of friendly creatures. There’s a modicum of platforming and puzzle-solving to be done too – you can climb up ropes and grapple to specific points, and the best loot is found in weird organic cages that have locks nearby which you must find and shoot.

You have to look very carefully to find elements which betray Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s start-up indie origins. In some of the more exotic locations, your characters appear to skate over the surface somewhat, and picking up useful items from the environment triggers an annoyingly generic speech sample.

At times, the rather overblown music can grate, too. But elements which you would expect to be substandard in an indie game – including motion-captured cut scenes and dialogue – prove to be anything but. Clair Obscur’s overall production values are impressively high.

After only four hours there are plenty of aspects to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that we can’t yet assess, such as how the story will progress and how long the game might take to play through. But judging by the overall size of the game world’s map, it looks like it should offer a pretty meaty experience.

And it has such a distinctive feel, mixing impressionistic fantasy with an underlying Gothic influence, that even if its storyline flounders there should still be plenty left to impress. Clair Obscur seems strange and unpredictable and that is very much a good thing and so, especially after this hands-on preview, we very much look forward to playing the full game.

Formats: PC (previewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5
Price: £44.99
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Developer: Sandfall Interactive
Release Date: 24th April 2025
Age Rating: 18

Combat is familiar but still unique (Kepler Interactive)

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Iconic 70s guitarist Joey Molland dies aged 77

Singer Joey Molland, a member of the band Badfinger, has died at 77 years old (Picture: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Joey Molland, the guitarist in the beloved band Badfinger, has died at the age of 77.

The news was confirmed on the band’s official Facebook page.

No cause of death has been provided, although the musician reportedly was diagnosed with pneumonia in recent months.

‘Thank you, Joey…for keeping the band’s music alive for so long and for being a friend to us all,’ the band wrote in their online tribute.

Founded in Swansea in 1961, Badfinger was one of the first artists or bands to be signed by The Beatles to their Apple Records label.

The band are remebered as trailblazers in the power pop genre of the 60s and 70, selling more than 14million records throughout their career.

Badfinger and Molland were known for their powerful guitar riffs (Picture: Fin Costello/Redferns)

The best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar), with Molland joining in 1970 and contributing to the band’s most well-known era.

Molland recorded the record No Dice with the band in 1969, an album produced by Beatles road manager Mal Evans and heavily influenced by the legendary group.

The songs No Matter What and Without You featured on the album, which climbed the charts and became two of the band’s most well known tracks.

During their prime, Badfinger was comprised of Pete Ham, Tommy Evans, Mike Gibbons, and Joey Molland. (Picture: Michael Putland/Getty Images)

The band, whose music was regularly produced by George Harrison, would have further hit singles such as Day After Day and Baby Blue.

Breaking Bad fans will most certainly recognise Baby Blue, as it was usedwhich was later memorably used in the closing moments of the final episode of the beloved series.

After a lineup shakeup in 1974, Molland became the songwriter and primary singer of the band, eventually forming Molland’s Badfinger, which remained active up until recently.

Molland also recorded music as a solo artist and a member of the group Natural Gas.

Molland continued to perform regularly up until recently(Picture: Larry Marano/REX/Shutterstock)

The guitarist was close to multiple members of The Beatles throughout his career, and even played guitar on several John Lennon songs and featured on George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass.

Molland was the final surviving member of the most well-remembered Badfinger line-up.

Ham and Evans both committed suicide in 1975 and 1984, respectively, and Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005.

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Ian Wright slams ‘unacceptable’ Newcastle star after FA Cup defeat to Brighton

Ian Wright was not impressed with one Newcastle player (Picture: Getty)

Ian Wright was highly critical of Tino Livramento for his positioning in the build-up to Brighton’s last-gasp winner over Newcastle in the FA Cup.

Eddie Howe’s side went ahead from the spot through Alexander Isak but were pegged back later in the half as former Newcastle player Yanhuba Minteh equalised for Brighton.

A chaotic end to regular time saw Anthony Gordon and Tariq Lamptey sent off in quick succession before Fabian Schar’s 93rd-minute winner was narrowly ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

And that narrow misfortune came back to haunt the hosts in added time as Danny Welbeck found space in the area before finishing superbly past Martin Dubravka to claim a 2-1 win and Brighton’s spot in the quarter-finals.

Some Newcastle players were seen appealing for offside, but Livramento’s positioning meant the former Manchester United striker was onside and able to slot home.

And speaking after the game, Wright was not impressed with the Newcastle right-back for his role in the game’s deciding moment.

‘I thought Welback had run away from it too far because when you look how far he’s actually stretching you can see he’s had to really dig that out,’ Wright said on ITV post-match.

Danny Welbeck scored the winner for Brighton (Picture: Getty)

‘But look at Livramento, this is where the concentration comes in because look how far behind Matt Target he is.

‘This is what it comes down to. It’s not just about not giving the ball away but especially for defenders – he didn’t even try to step up.

‘I can understand tiredness, but that is unacceptable at this level because you’re talking about getting through to the next round and he’s got to step up.

Welbeck took advantage of Tino Livramento’s lax defending (Picture: ITV)

‘Matt Target was in a position where Danny would have had to bend his run more [but Livraremto wasn’t].’

Roy Keane, meanwhile, was not impressed by Dubravka’s decision prior to the goal or the lack of impact made by Newcastle’s subs off the bench.

‘Obviously players aren’t concentrating but it comes 30 seconds after the goalie makes a mistake,’ he said.

‘He tries to be too clever. Don’t beat yourself. All he’s got to do is put his through it, but he tries to be too smart and they took full advantage.’

Keane continued: ‘This is the importance of the squad. We mentioned subs coming off the bench, but the subs have got to come on and have an impact.

‘We saw Danny’s enthusiasm – he’s 34 years old and he’s won this trophy twice – but he came on and made a difference. We saw other subs for Newcastle and they came on and it seemed like it was a chore to them.’

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I’m a single mum looking for love — why do men only want me for sex?

She worries she’s going to end up alone (Picture: Getty)

Finding love as a single parent isn’t always easy – especially when it feels like potential partners are only interested in something casual. 

This week, we hear from a reader who has no trouble attracting men but struggles to find one who sticks around – especially once they learn she has a young son.

Although she’s put herself out there, she’s starting to wonder if anyone is truly willing to accept her and her child.

Read the advice below, but before you go, don’t forget to check out last week’s column from a man who, despite being ready to embrace his sexuality, is afraid to come out to those closest to him.

The problem:

I’m the single parent of a three-year-old boy, who’s finding it very difficult to meet a guy wanting more than just sex. I’m attractive, I have a good job and my own place, and I like to think I have a good personality. I’ve also been told more than once that I’m great in bed, so what’s not to like?

Guys seem to love me and leave me, and the only reason I can think of is that they just don’t want to get involved with someone who has a child. You’d think that in 2025 this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but apparently, it is.

I tend to meet a lot of guys online, and because I want them to know me for myself, I don’t come straight out and say I have a son. Sometimes I don’t mention it until we’ve had a few dates, and that’s when things suddenly change. One minute he’s all keen on me, the next I get ghosted.

I’m not suggesting there’s nobody out there willing to take on my child; just that they’re few and far between – and so far, I haven’t met anyone I want to share my life with.

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My mum takes my little boy a lot, so I have plenty of time to go out with men, and I don’t have any trouble getting dates. They just never seem to go anywhere.

I really worry that I’m going to end up on my own if I can’t figure out this problem soon.

Should single parents immediately disclose their parental status when dating?Comment Now

The advice:

Poor you, it can be tough being a single parent sometimes. But I wonder whether you’re being your own worst enemy by not being upfront to start with. It wouldn’t matter if you lied about your job or your age instead, the fact is that lots of people are put off by dishonesty – so start making your situation clear from the get-go.

This way, you’re not only being admirably honest, but you also know that anyone who dates you does so with the full knowledge that you have a child.

Single mums are often looking for a serious relationship; a life partner who is going to step into the role of a father for their child. But some of the guys you’ve been meeting will only have wanted a good time, and when they’ve seen responsibility and commitment looming, they’ve run a mile.

Without meaning to, you might also be giving off a desperate vibe, which isn’t always attractive, so try to calm down and stop fretting. Work on building a social life that’s interesting and fulfilling, so that everything isn’t just about meeting Mr Right.

Get involved in a single parent group, where you’ll be able to make friends in the same boat. Gingerbread is one of the leading charities for people in your situation and has branches all over the country, but there may be others local to you.

There’s no time limit on finding love, so just enjoy dates for their own sake, rather than making them a mission. And remember that many people build successful, happy lives, as single people.

Take the focus off your search for that special someone and make the most of that little chap who loves you unconditionally. Love is more likely to come along when you least expect it.

Laura is a counsellor and columnist.

Got a sex and dating dilemma? To get expert advice, send your problem to Laura.Collins@metro.co.uk.

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Teddy Swims leaves fans with ‘so many questions’ as he leads Brit Awards red carpet

Teddy Swims had fans asking a lot of questions withhis Brit Awards looks (Picture: Getty)

The star-studded 2025 Brit Awards are stacked with celebrities posing for the cameras in an array of wild and wacky outfits at London’s O2 Arena.

All eyes are on Charli XCX, 32, as she leads the pack with the most Brit following her critically acclaimed 2024 album BRAT.

It’s been a while since an outfit had heads turning following Sam Smith’s latex in 2023, but singer and songwriterTeddy Swims – Jaten Collin Dimsdale – may have won that title after rocking up what appears to be a million plushie toys stapled to his outfit.

The star looked cheerful while posing in the very colourful and animated getup complete with brown shades and green lace up shoes.

Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter, 25, channeled her inner Barbie in a baby pink feathery dress.

British girl group Sugababes looked fierce in all black, while former Love Island icon stunned in floral mesh number.

Pop Princess Sabrina Carpenter has arrived (Picture: Getty)

Maura Higgins rocked a risque floral number (Picture: Getty)

The Sugababes posed in all black (Picture: Getty)

TV personality Zara McDermott, 28, looked stunning in a white feathery mermaid dress, while Dancing on Ice judge Oti Mabuse looked ready for business in all black.

Former Towier star Pete Wicks and ex Love Island hun Olivia Attwood posed side by side.

Olivia rocked a daring mesh one piece while Pete looked dapper in a black blazer.

Zara McDermott looked a dream in a feathery mermaid dress (Picture: PA)

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse also lookled glam (Picture: Getty)

Pete Wicks and Olivia Attwood posed side by side for the snap (Picture: Getty)

It seems like a lot of people got the all black memo – as Britain’s Got Talent judge Bruno Tonioli rocked up in a glittery blazer (Picture: Getty)

This evening’s Brits marks the first time former Little Mix star Jade takes to the stage without her bandmates.

Little Mix have performed at the show across numerous years and won best group as recently as 2021.

Now the group is on hiatus and Jade’s debut solo record Angel of My Dreams has been nominated for song of the year as well as a pop act nod.

‘I’ve honestly manifested every day since the release of Angel Of My Dreams to perform at the BRIT Awards,’ she said.

Jade confessed she even cried when she found out, adding: ‘I can’t wait to bring a huge, chaotic pop moment to the BRITs stage!’

Who’s been nominated at the Brits this year?

Song of the year

• Artemas – Like The Way You Kiss Me
• The Beatles – Now and Then
• BL3SS x Camrin Watsin – Kisses
• Central Cee ft LIL BABY – Band4Band
• Charli XCX ft Billie Eilish – Guess
• Chase & Status ft Stormzy – Backbone
• Coldplay – feelslikeimfallinginlove
• Dua Lipa – Training Season
• Ella Henderson ft Rudimental – Alibi
• Jade – Angel of my dreams
• Jordan Adetunji – Kehlani
• KSI ft Trippie Redd – Thick of It
• Myles Smith – Stargazing
• Sam Ryder – You’re Christmas to Me
• Sonny Fodera, D.O.D, Jazzy – Some days

Artist of the year

• Beabadoobee
• Central Cee
• Charli XCX 
• Dua Lipa
• Fred again
• Jamie xx
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Nia Archives
• Rachel Chinouriri
• Sam Fender

Album of the year

• The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy
• Charli XCX – Brat
• The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
• Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism
• Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching

Best new artist

• English Teacher
• Ezra Collective
• The Last Dinner Party
• Myles Smith
• Rachel Chinouriri

Group of the year

• Bring Me The Horizon
• Coldplay
• The Cure
• Ezra Collective
• The Last Dinner Party

Dance act

• Becky Hill
• Charli XCX
• Chase & Status
• Fred again
• Nia Archives 

Pop act

• Charli XCX
• Dua Lipa
• Jade
• Lola Young
• Myles Smith

Hip Hop/Rap/Grime act

• Central Cee
• Dave
• Ghetts
• Little Simz
• Stormzy

R&B act

• Cleo Sol
• FLO
• Jorja Smith 
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Raye

Rock/Alt act

• Beebadoobe
• The Cure
• Ezra Collective
• The Last Dinner Party
• Sam Fender 

International artist of the year

• Adrienne Lenker
• Asake
• Benson Boone
• Beyoncé 
• Billie Eilish
• Chappell Roan
• Kendrick Lamar
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Taylor Swift 
• Tyler The Creator

International group of the year

• Amyl and the Sniffers
• Confidence Man
• Fontaines D.C.
• Future & Metro Boomin
• Linkin Park

International song of the year

Tommy Richman – Million Dollar Baby

Benson Boone – Beautiful Things

Beyoncé – Texas Hold ‘Em’

Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather’

Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe

Djo – End of Beginning

Eminem – Houdini

Hozier – Too Sweet

Jack Harlow – Lovin On Me

Noah Kaha – Stick Season

Post Malone ft Morgan Wallen – I Had Some Help

Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso

Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Taylor Swift ft Post Malone – Fortnight

Teddy Swims – Lose Control

While all eyes are on the nominees, viewers will see another familiar face with Jack Whitehall returning to the stage this year.

This year sees the return of comedian Jack Whitehall presenting the star -studded musical evennt after  Roman Kemp, Maya Jama, and Clara Amfo all took to the stage last year.

This will be the fifth time he has hosted the music awards show but requested that fans ‘don’t call it a comeback’.

The Brit Awards airs tonight at 8:15pm on ITV.

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Call Of Duty 2025 will still be on PS4 and Xbox One claims source

Black Ops 6 has been a big hit (Activision)

This year’s Call Of Duty is also in development for last generation consoles, despite the PS4 and Xbox One being 12 years old this autumn.

The current console generation will probably go down as the most unremarkable in history, with very few games actually pushing the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

There are several reasons for this, between the rising cost of making games, pandemic shortages, and the small graphical leap from the PlayStation 4 era, but it’s a problem which also looks set to loom over Sony and Microsoft’s plans for future hardware.

Another problem is the sheer amount of people still playing on old generation consoles, with many games still coming out on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One all these years later. While we’re defintely on the tail end of this trend, a new report claims the next Call Of Duty game will still come out on these old consoles.

According to sources at Call Of Duty site CharlieIntel, as posted on X, Call Of Duty 2025 is ‘in development’ for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ‘from what we’ve heard’.

‘This may be the reason as to why there can’t be two big maps in Warzone at the same time,’ the site speculates.

Area 99 was the last map to be added to Warzone in November 2024 but this was only for the Resurgence mode, with the last main battle royale map being Urzikstan, which was added back in December 2023.

https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1895228195471007981

Call Of Duty leaker GhostOfHope recently claimed Warzone’s original map, Verdansk, will return in Season 3 for Black Ops 6, which is expected to start in March. This, however, will apparently come at the expense of a new in-development map called Avalon, which ‘may potentially be postponed from its original late 2025 release or completely canned’.

None of this has been officially announced, but if true, it is a frustrating example of how the slow transition to the current generation is holding back the design of new games.

If nothing else though, the game being on last gen consoles means that a Nintendo Switch 2 version this year is quite likely, given the new console is rumoured to be roughly equivalent to a PlayStation 4 in power and Microsoft has long been promising to bring the series back to Nintendo consoles.

As for what we know about the next Call Of Duty, leaks claim it will be a direct sequel to 2012’s Black Ops 2, with remastered maps and returning mechanics – including the omni-movement system from Black Ops 6.

While Activision has not officially announced anything about the next Call Of Duty, rumours suggest Sledgehammer Games, who last created 2023’s much maligned Modern Warfare 3, are developing this year’s instalment.

Are you still playing one of these? (Sony)

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