Since then, the musician has vanished from the social media platform. When fans try to navigate to his profile, they are met with the words: ‘Sorry this page isn’t available.
‘The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.’
This message usually pops up when Instagram has removed an account or the account holder has deleted their page.
Metro contacted Bourne’s representative, who had no comment on the disappearance of his social media account.
The 42-year-old shared the update in April, in which he said he needed major surgery (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
The Busted tour went ahead last year without Bourne (Picture: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)
It comes after Bourne issued a health update following months of radio silence, which had concerned fans.
Taking to his Instagram Story he wrote: ‘I have a plan in place to have a major surgery that should extend my life and hopefully make me well enough to come back to what I love the most, which is touring and making music.
‘It really sucks to be out of the game. But there is hope!’
He did not give any additional information on the state of his health or details of the surgery, but it came after Bourne suddenly dropped out of the Essex band’s 2025 tour, just 24 hours before their first gig.
In his first statement on his health at the time, he wrote in part: ‘I’m really sorry to say that over the last 8 days it has become clear that I am not in good enough health to play these shows.
This weekend, the 42-year-old revealed that he needs major surgery (Picture: Instagram)
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‘There’s a lot of information I still don’t have about my condition but my bandmates, management and I are unanimous in deciding that I should focus on the medical stuff for now.
‘I really hope I can be in a position to come back further down the line. It’s still going to be an amazing show and I will miss being there! See you all as soon as possible.’
The other two members of Busted, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson, were forced to go on tour without him, which Willis has said he does not want to repeat. Bourne’s younger brother Chris stepped in to replace him.
Declaring that ‘health is wealth’, Willis told the crowd during their first show: ‘Okay, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight. James Bourne is really f***ing sick, and we love him, and we miss him.’
He added that it was ‘really weird’ to be playing their ‘first show ever’ without him, adding: ‘But we’re going to do the best we can.’
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Readers discuss the politicisation of murder, politicians’ responses and so-called ‘woke culture’ (Picture: Reform UK)
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
Nick Timothy made a 'shameful attempt to politicise police actions'
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy says Henry Nowak’s death shows that ‘our law enforcement and criminal justice system are being corrupted by political correctness and left-wing ideology’.
This is a shameful attempt to politicise police actions. I am not saying the police reacted in accordance with the principal that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, because they clearly didn’t.
They failed to notice a trail of blood from Henry’s wounds and didn’t check him. They failed to see his vulnerability. They failed to prioritise Henry even though he was clearly on the floor unable to move. To add to the confusion, the murderer’s mother, Kiran Kaur, removed the murder weapon from the scene of crime.
Timothy should be ashamed of his attempt to label policing in the way he did. This was a complex case with a victim who was blameless and a murderer who set about creating an illusion for the police attending, in an
attempt to disguise what he had done.
Clearly he was too stupid to realise that his crime was bound to be uncovered and his sentence needs to be longer than the life with minimum of 21 years he was handed, given his vile attempts to wriggle out of it. Henry Page, London
‘Reverse discrimination against whites’?
What the death of Henry Nowak (Metro, Wed) shows is that anti-racism and woke culture in this country have created a two-tiered policing system with reverse discrimination against whites.
It’s outrageous that a dying, innocent white man was arrested and handcuffed because his non-white murderer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely accused him of racism.
Digwa had repeatedly stabbed the Southampton University student. The police involved need to be jailed and the mother of the murderer deserves a lengthy jail sentence, too, for seeking to help him avoid justice. Mark, Didcot
‘Respect our culture and do not carry knives’
It’s all well and good when Sikhs say carrying knives is part of their religion [as a Sikh, Digwa was allowed to carry a ceremonial knife, or ‘kirpan’, in public] but this is B’ritain, where it is neither our religion nor our culture. In fact, for everyone else, it’s against the law.
So, please, respect our culture and do not carry knives. Martin Hyde, Brighton
‘Those calling for the banning of the kirpan are misguided or missing the point’
Those calling for the banning of the kirpan in the wake of the horrific murder of Henry Nowak are either misguided or wilfully missing the point.
What Digwa used in his fatal assault was a 21cm blade, which is not a requirement of Sikhism, while the kirpan is a short, blunt, purely symbolic knife.
For perspective, all religious tokens carried or worn by religious adherents are purely symbolic.
The crucifix was traditionally used as an instrument of death; now, exactly like the kirpan, it simply serves to remind the bearer of their duty to uphold justice, to protect the oppressed, and to embody moral courage and divine power.
Anyone seeking to tell you otherwise is seeking to foment discontent to further their own agenda. Julian Self, Wolverton
Are you sure third-class rail travel was abolished?
I read with interest your most recent Today In History (Metro paper, Wed). Are you sure that third-class rail travel was abolished 70 years ago?
It still seems prevalent on most of my rail journeys. Phil, Stockport
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
‘The Special One’ has signed a contract to make a sensational return to the Santiago Bernabeu 13 years on from his first spell in charge and is expected to be officially unveiled after the club’s presidential elections this weekend.
He will be tasked with leading them out of the chaos that engulfed their 2025-26 season. A second trophyless campaign in a row was marred by dressing room altercations, disciplinary issues and squad division with a poll calling for Kylian Mbappe to leave the club signed by millions worldwide.
Already work is underway to improve the squad with Real agreeing a verbal deal to sign Ibrahima Konate whose contract with Liverpool will expire at the end of the month.
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Los Blancos are also believed to have secured a move for Denzel Dumfries with Mourinho said to have already approved both deals.
There is expected to be plenty more changes within the squad with Spanish journalist and broadcaster Ramon Alvarez de Mon reporting the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has asked for Real to sign Calafiori next.
Fabrizio Romano added there has been contact between Real and Calafiori’s representatives in recent weeks. The Spanish giants are looking to recruit a player who can offer a solution at both centre-half and left-back with the Italian fitting the bill.
Calafiori helped Arsenal seal their first title in 22 years (Picture: Getty)
Calafiori, who joined Arsenal from Bologna for £42million two years ago, is Mikel Arteta’s first-choice left-back with Piero Hincapie also battling for that spot.
When fit, Calafiori has more often than not been preferred to the Ecuadorian, helping the Gunners clinch a first Premier League title in 22 years.
The versatile defender came through Roma’s academy, briefly crossing paths with Mourinho during his spell in charge of the Giallorossi.
‘With him [Mourinho], I also started quite well,’ Calafiori said in 2024.
Calafiori joined the Gunners in 2024 (Picture: Getty)
‘Then there was the match against Bodo, in which we lost 6-1. From there, things went downhill. He sent me to the bench and decided to rely on others, but my need and desire were to play.
‘It was his choice, of course, but I’ll also tell you something. Mou and I talk; he wrote me several messages, and there’s a nice relationship between us.’
Calafiori was loaned out to Genoa after two more appearances.
In addition to naming players he would like in the Spanish capital, Mourinho has also reportedly compiled a list of players he will not be relying on next season.
That list includes Raúl Asencio, Fran García, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga, Franco Mastantuono, and Rodrygo.
It’s the end of a 36-year journey on the professional tour for Ken Doherty (Picture: Getty Images)
Ken Doherty will no longer compete on the professional snooker tour, but it’s fair to say he has made the most of his 36 years taking on the best players on the planet.
‘It’s been coming for a while,’ the 1997 world champion told Metro. ‘I was sad initially that I’m not going to be competing on the main tour anymore, but it’s probably relief as well. The time is right.’
One of the finest players in the world for much of the 90s and 00s, Doherty’s game started to slip after 20 years on tour and he says he has been hoping to rediscover the magic for a long while now.
‘I was trying to search for something, thinking maybe things will improve,’ he said. ‘I played with a new cue to maybe get a bit of confidence, but no, it’s just not there anymore.
‘You just come to realise you can’t play the way you used to and it becomes frustrating. You feel a bit embarrassed sometimes with your performances and I don’t want to go through that again.
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‘I’ll say thank you, I’ve had a great time, great memories. I’m delighted to have won the things I’ve done. Disappointed to lose some of the matches and finals that I’ve lost, but winning the World Championship was the greatest day of my life as far as being a snooker player’s concerned. And to do it with a £2 cue and against one of the greatest of all time was the icing on the cake.’
Doherty has already been a popular pundit and commentator for many years (Picture: Shutterstock)
The 1997 World Championship win over Stephen Hendry was one of six ranking titles on Doherty’s CV, but he had a number of other close calls in big events.
Two more Crucible finals, three at the UK Championship and two at the Masters, with the Darlin of Dublin experiencing the vast difference between winning and losing those huge matches.
‘When I won it in ’97, I came home on an open-top bus, 250,000 people lining the streets. Then the following year after losing in the final to John Higgins, came back to Dublin airport the next day and I had to get a f***ing taxi home! That’s the difference between winning and losing in a final! But that’s life.’
Doherty made his Crucible debut in 1991 against Steve Davis (Picture: Getty Images)
Crafty Ken duked it out with legendary names for years, experiences that will live for him forever.
‘Playing all the greats: [Ronnie] O’Sullivan, [John] Higgins, Hendry, Jimmy [White], [Steve] Davis, playing all those great players, some of the greatest players that will ever play the game, that was a joy,’ he said.
‘That was a joy to compete against them and play them in big matches. And overcome them, not all the time, but I did overcome them through my career, I beat them all.’
The most testing opponents are of little surprise, with Doherty saying: ‘Stephen and Ronnie, John Higgins and Williams, they were the toughest.
Doherty taking on Ronnie O’Sullivan at the 2003 Masters (Picture: Getty Images)
‘They were the ones I loved to have battles with, funnily enough, even though they were the toughest. Whether it be at the Masters or the UK or the World Championship, playing those guys at those championships, they were great occasions. And that’s what I miss. Those big, big matches against the big players.
‘I think the best one was I played Ronnie in the final of the Irish Masters at Goffs [in 1998]. He beat me, he played really well. The atmosphere was electric, it was just amazing.
‘But of course he failed a drugs test, there was marijuana in his system, so he had to hand me the trophy and the cheque for an extra 30 grand. It was the most expensive joint that he ever smoked in his life! He never spoke to me for about six months afterwards.’
Outside of the most obvious nightmare foes, Doherty remembers one of his punditry colleagues being a serious test.
‘I tell you who was really tough and he was such a clever player who I loved playing against, because it was a battle of strategies, was Alan McManus,’ he said.
Alan McManus and Doherty met at the 2014 World Championship (Picture: Getty Images)
‘He was he was such a wonderful player, he knew every inch of the snooker table. They called him Angles because his safety was was second to none, he was brilliant. It was a great battle of mind games against him, he was a quality player.
‘Although he won the Masters, which was great, he doesn’t get the proper recognition that he probably deserves. But he was a top player for a long, long time.’
The 1997 Sheffield final will never be topped, but there are plenty of other contests that stick in the mind of the Irishman.
‘There’s a few finals,’ he remembers. ‘I beat John [Higgins 9-8] from 8-5 down in Malta in the final. And then both got so drunk we got thrown off the plane and we’re on the front pages and the back pages when I got home!
‘The Williams World final that I lost 18-16 in 2003, the semi-final against Paul Hunter from 15-9 down to to win 17-16. That was probably one of the greatest matches and greatest comebacks I’ve ever had. The UK final I lost 10-9 to Williams. That was in the same season, 2002-2003. He pipped me in two of the major finals that year. There’s been lots of great matches.’
Don’t worry, getting thrown off a plane with John Higgins the morning after the 2006 Malta Cup final does not pass by without explanation, as the two created a little slice of scandal.
‘We went out to a nightclub,’ said Doherty of hitting a Maltese town with Higgins after edging him in the final. ‘I got back at 5 o’clock in the morning. The taxi was already waiting for me outside the hotel when I staggered back in to to get my cue and suitcase.
‘I came downstairs, got into the taxi, we were driving to the airport and John was staggering up the road and he was on the same flight as me, the 7 o’clock flight.
‘I checked in and went up to the hotel bar and had another drink. Then John was last to check in, he made it and had another drink with me and then we got on the bus. His cue got stuck in the doors, and everybody started laughing, including me, but you know what my laugh is like, I don’t think people appreciated my laugh at 7 o’clock in the morning.
‘He was last on the plane. I managed to get on and sit down and the captain stopped him as he was staggering up the stairs and said he’s not travelling. I got up to defend him and say, “oh, he’ll be okay, just let him sit down, he’ll be fine.” But he said, “no, he’s not travelling and neither are you. You’re getting off with him!”
‘We got on a flight to Heathrow that night and there were three paparazzi waiting for us as soon as we get off the plane! We were on the front and back pages. Rock n roll.’
Some of that night in Malta might be a haze, but snooker has provided unforgettable moments away from the table for the Dubliner.
‘I think one of the favourites was when Alex Ferguson rang me up and invited me to Old Trafford to parade the trophy,’ he recalls. ‘First of all, I told him to f**k off because I thought it was one of my mates winding me up! He says, “Kenny, this is Alex Ferguson, and I’m not going to f***ing ask you a second time!”
‘So I got there and he took me down to meet the players. Eric Cantona came over and shook my hand. I went out on the pitch and my legs were like jelly carrying the cup. All the United fans singing “there’s only one Kenny Doherty” and all the West Ham fans in the away end singing “there’s only one Ronnie O’Sullivan!”
World champion Doherty walked out at Old Trafford (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘Playing a frame with George Best, shaking Muhammad Ali’s hand at the Sports Personality of the Year in 1999.
‘The Edge, tapped me on the shoulder once, when I was talking to Bono after one of their concerts. I was with Michael Stipe and Roger Taylor. The Edge says, “Ken, Ken, you wouldn’t do me a favour, would you? You wouldn’t come over and say hello to me mother and her two friends?” She had no interest in talking to Michael Stipe, Roger Taylor or Bono, but her and her friends absolutely loved snooker.’
As his professional playing days come to an end, there is a tinge of disappointment of how it has come about.
Doherty has been playing on an invitational tour card in recent years and he has no issue with that no longer being offered, but feels he could have been informed earlier than he was.
Doherty landed six ranking titles over his career (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I don’t think the option was there anyway. They weren’t going to give me a card, so they sort of made my mind up for me, you know?’ Doherty said of retirement.
‘It would have been nicer to find out a little bit earlier, then I could have maybe planned something at the World Championship. The timing could have been a bit better, but it is what it is. I’m happy.’
Doherty’s final match proved to be a 10-5 defeat to Patrick Whelan in the first round of World Championship qualifying, which felt like the end even before the decision was made.
‘I think after this year’s World Championship I knew anyway,’ he said. ‘I tried to practice to have a good year and a decent run, but it just wasn’t there. I felt this could be my last game.
‘I knew it was coming, but I was putting it off, hoping, but in the end I probably could have done it a few years ago.
‘It’s just my love for the game, I wanted to keep on and keep searching for something and that will never die, your love for the game.
Doherty won matches in four ranking tournaments in his final season (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’ll still play snooker because I love it and I will play exhibitions and I’ll still do shows and I’m still playing the seniors and I love that as well, but it’s not as much pressure, I can just relax. The time is right.’
Doherty will never be far from big time snooker, as a prominent pundit and commentator on major tournaments and still ready to play seniors events.
He remains and will continue to be one of the sport’s most popular figures and greatest ambassadors, and someone snooker should be grateful for.
‘Well, listen, it’s given so much to me, it really has,’ he said. ‘It changed my life and I’m just so humbled by the amount of support that I’ve had over the years, and not just from fans all over the world, but also the snooker community themselves.
‘I will cherish that. I’ll always try to promote the game as best as possible and I’ll continue to do that.’
Nadiya, 36, wrote on Instagram in March: ‘After 9 wonderful years, this part of my journey with Strictly Come Dancing is evolving.’
Now, she has given us a taste of what that could look like.
Speaking with Hello, Nadiya said that she would ‘absolutely’ consider returning to the BBC show.
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She told the publication that ‘it is absolutely [on the cards]’, adding: ‘We are talking about, hopefully in the future, me coming and choreographing some of the pro numbers.
Nadiya is passionate about choreographing (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)
She was partnered with Channel 5’s Dan Walker back in 2021 (Picture: Instagram)
‘The team have known for years how passionate I am about creating things and choreographing. Lots of producers came to watch shows that I did myself.’
She called it the ‘natural’ thing to do, as this is where her passions lie, and admitted it would be ‘beautiful’ to see some of her ‘creations and stories’ that she wants to tell through dance, on the show one day.
The 36-year-old was last partnered up with Chris Robshaw, but the pair were eliminated during week four.
During the 2021 season of the hugely popular dance competition, Nadiya waltzed her way into the quarter-finals with broadcaster Dan Walker and finished in fifth place.
She enjoyed a romance with Strictly professional Kai Widdrington for two years during their time on the programme, before separating in 2024.
The pair continued to appear on the 2025 series together following their separation, and Kai will return for 2026.
The Ukrainian dancer was dating Kai Widdrington, another Strictly pro, for a period of time (Picture: Instagram)
After nearly a decade on the show, Nadiya formed strong bonds with former hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, and revealed to the magazine that they’re reaching out to each other all the time.
But she’s no doubt that the new trio will ‘bring something fresh and exciting’ to Strictly.
BBC’s chief content officer, Kate Phillips, praised the newbies for their ‘undeniable’ chemistry and said they had chosen ‘three outstanding hosts to take up the mantle’.
Nadiya is pleased to see one of her fellow professional dancers take on a new role within the same show, adding that they all ‘evolve creatively’.
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One this autumn.
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It’s a far more insidious villain. Namely, fans who don’t think he’s got the right physique to play the Dark Knight.
And it seems that this continued criticism has gotten under the actor’s skin.
‘[Everyone was like], “You didn’t work out at all.” I worked out every f***ing day,’ Pattinson told GQ magazine.
Tob made these comments during an interview in GQ about The Odyssey (Picture: Alex Prager / GQ)
‘Even after that, I still look like I didn’t work out. I worked out twice a day at, like, three o’clock in the morning.’
So who’s to blame for this unfair reputation? Well, Rob didn’t do himself any favours.
‘It’s just because I said it in an interview [once that exercise was uncool],’ he explained. ‘I was trying to sound cool!’
Rob made these comments six years ago, ahead of the release of The Batman, while speaking to GQ.
‘I was trying to sound cool!’ (Picture: Jonathan Olley /Warner Bros. Pictures)
During that interview, he claimed to be ignoring the trainer hired for him by the studio.
‘I think if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem,” he said.
‘You set a precedent. No one was doing this in the ’70s. Even James Dean— he wasn’t exactly ripped.’
Rob played a different kind of Batman (Picture: AP)
When told that his co-star was exercising five times a week, he apparently said: ‘Literally, I’m just barely doing anything.’
As filming on The Batman: Part 2 begins, however, Rob’s in pretty good shape,having exhausted himself working on the set of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic, The Odyssey.
‘I’ve never seen people look so exhausted[working on a movie],’ he explained.
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‘This was only a third of the way. I started a third of the way through the movie, and they’d already been to [two] countries by that point, and people just looked like… at the end of every day, people were broken.’
Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman: Part 2 will see Rob once again don the cape and cowl to keep Gotham safe.
While plot details are more hush-hush than a superhero’s secret identity, fans think the main villain will be Harvey Dent (Sebastian Stan), aka Two-Face.
Rob isn’t the only star returning to the crime-ridden streets of DC’s worst city. Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan are all expected to return.
Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson and Charles Dance are set to join the cast as Harvey’s wife and father, respectively.
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