As a song contest on a space station descends into terror, Ncuti Gatwa gives his most disturbing performance yet – and the Doctor in rage mode is terrifying

For an episode that started out like a joyfully camp romp into the world of Eurovision, Juno Dawson turned in a script that truly had ice in its heart, in just the way the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) told Kid (Freddie Fox) that the Time Lord now had ice in his hearts.

Doctor Who stories often feature alien invasions, conquest, destruction and the desire for revenge, but they have seldom so bleakly painted the determination to carry out a mass casualty terrorism event. That in turn provoked one of the most extreme reactions we have ever seen from the lead character.

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Linklater recreates the making of the landmark French New Wave classic with an awestruck tastefulness that smooths over any disruptiveness

Breathless, deathless … and pointless? Here is Richard Linklater’s impeccably submissive, tastefully cinephile period drama about the making of Godard’s debut 1960 classic À Bout de Souffle, that starred Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo as the star-crossed lovers in Paris. Linklater’s homage has credits in French and is beautifully shot in monochrome, as opposed to the boring old colour of real life in which the events were actually happening; he even cutely fabricates cue marks in the corner of the screen, those things that once told projectionists when to changeover the reels. But Linklater smoothly avoids any disruptive jump-cuts.

It’s a good natured, intelligent effort for which Godard himself, were he still alive, would undoubtedly have ripped Linklater a new one. (When Michel Hazanavicius made Redoubtable in 2017 about Godard’s making of his 1967 film La Chinoise, the man himself called that “a stupid, stupid idea”; Hazanavicius wasn’t even making a film about Godard’s first and biggest hit.

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It’s time for the world’s biggest musical extravaganza! Follow along with us live – and brace yourself for a wild night …

Bonsoir et bienvenue à la couverture en direct du 69e Eurovision par le Guardian.

That is about as much French as I can manage which may be a little tricky tonight as Switzerland is sure to serve up some multi-lingual hosting this evening.

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Comments at Cannes come after US president’s social media posts against Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift

Pedro Pascal has sharply criticised Donald Trump’s attacks against artists, as the director of a conspiracy theory satire starring the actor said he feared the political messages of films could be weaponised by US border guards.

“Fuck the people that try to make you scared,” the Game of Thrones and The Last of Us actor said at a press conference at the Cannes film festival, promoting Ari Aster’s new film Eddington . “And fight back. And don’t let them win.”

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The writer and poet on reimagining rivers as living beings, the ecological crisis near and far and why copyright laws should protect nature

Robert Macfarlane has been called the “great nature writer and nature poet of this generation”. A teacher, campaigner and mountaineer, he has been exploring the relationship between landscape and people since his breakthrough book, Mountains of the Mind, in 2003. His latest work, Is a River Alive? , was more than four years in the making, and, he says, the most urgent book he has written.

Q: Your book is poignant and inspiring, but one part that made me laugh is where you first tell your son the title and he replies, “Duh, of course it’s alive. That’s going to be a really short book.” So, I should first congratulate you on stringing it out for more than 350 pages!

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From fresh noodles and frozen lotus buns to smoked country sausages and pandan leaves, these are the brands the experts swear by (and where to get them online)

Noor Murad, chef and author of Lugma , on Phoenicia , Kentish Town, London (picture above)
This is where I go for my big Middle Eastern shop, and I can’t shout out about them enough. When I first moved to London from Bahrain I was so homesick, but this place is like a home away from home. It has everything I need.

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Journalists, fans of Combs, podcasters and others lined up to get into court, where Cassie testified about alleged rape

The high-profile federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs began this week in New York, where the 55-year-old music mogul faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs, who was arrested in September 2024, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

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The actor on being a high-functioning introvert, her ‘wild man’ husband and why she loves Nick Cave

Born in Kent, Tamsin Greig, 58, studied drama at the University of Birmingham. Her television work includes Black Books, Green Wing , Episodes and Friday Night Dinner, and she won the 2007 Best Actress Olivier award for her role in Much Ado About Nothing. Until 21 June, she stars in The Deep Blue Sea at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. She is married to actor Richard Leaf, has three children and lives in London.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Nick Cave for his determination to hold a space for public discourse on the deep and difficult and mysterious elements of life .

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As festivalgoers do whatever it takes to pay for the summer season, struggling organisers innovate to sell tickets

From Monday to Friday, Jessica Heath works as a civil servant in central London – but when the weekend comes, it’s not time to relax. For the past two years, the 28-year-old has also worked evening shifts most Saturdays and Sundays at a nearby wine bar, with one clear aim – to save up for her summers.

Heath has been a huge music festival fan since she first went to Leeds as a teenager and each year, including day events, she takes in at least seven, some as a volunteer. Without that and her second job, she’d never be able to afford it, she says.

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