The UK Pulse The Pulse of the UK

Fans say Love Island needs more romance, not just drama

Fans say the latest UK Love Island series lacked romance, as viewers and commentators compare it with the more socially driven US edition.

6 min read

Lorenzo Alessi and Julia Majchrzak pose beside Love Island host Maya Jama, who is in the middle. Lorenzo wears a black suit over a black shirt. Maya wears a black sparkly bra top and black sheer skirt. Julia wears a black dress with long-sleeves.

Welsh actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso cast in 'surreal' role

Cardiff actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso season 4 as Siobhan, a new member of The Lady Greyhounds, and calls the role a “surreal” match of football and drama.

5 min read

A person with short reddish hair wearing a white shirt, colourful tie and a red leather jacket

Zendaya and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man romance, from 2016 to 2026

Zendaya and Tom Holland met in 2016 and have since promoted three Spider-Man films together, with a fourth arriving in 2026 after Holland confirmed their marriage.

4 min read

Tom Holland and Zendaya together promoting Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review – Zendaya lifts Tom Holland’s reset sequel

Tom Holland returns as Spider-Man in a reset sequel that brings back MJ, new threats and familiar MCU spectacle, while Zendaya stands out as the film’s strongest presence.

4 min read

Love Island UK crowns winners after twist-filled final

Julia Majchrzak and Lorenzo Alessi won Love Island UK 2026 after a final with only three couples. The series ended after shock twists, while Priya Jaswal apologised for comments made on Aftersun.

5 min read

Love Island finalists Jasmine Muller, Kavan Murphy, Simba Kudyiwa, Angelista Gunda, Lorenzo Alessi and Julia Majchrzak

Sam Heughan says Outlander actors were 'perhaps forced' into nude scenes

Sam Heughan said Outlander actors were “perhaps forced” into nude scenes and praised later safeguards such as intimacy co-ordinators.

4 min read

Sam Heughan looking slightly off camera. He is wearing a blue jacket over a dark blue top and is standing in front of a blue background with yellow writing on it.

How South Asian BBC programmes helped migrants settle in the UK

Three generations in Leeds and West Yorkshire reflect on how BBC South Asian radio and TV helped migrants settle, build community and see themselves on screen.

10 min read

A younger version of the same woman stands beside her older self.
The younger self wears a red and gold embroidered outfit with jewellery, while the older self wears glasses and a pink patterned top, with faint larger copies of both images behind them.

What Love Island reveals about how dating is changing

Love Island’s shifting rules reflect wider changes in dating, from who makes the first move to how gender roles are judged, according to sociologists, commentators and former contestants.

10 min read

A treated image of the Love Island firepit with a image of couple edited on the side

The Devil Wears Prada 2 and six more films to watch on TV this week

Miranda Priestly returns in The Devil Wears Prada 2, while Lurker, Monster, Eleanor the Great, The New Boy, Primate and Normal also air this week.

4 min read

Fashion face-off … Meryl Streep as Miranda and Anne Hathaway as Andy in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Furious to Heartstopper: seven of the best shows to stream this week

Seven new streams to watch this week include Furious, Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Heartstopper: Ending on a Hi and more.

5 min read

Emmy Rossum and Quincy Tyler Bernstine in Furious.

Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston review – cringe, but entertaining

Tom Hiddleston fronts a National Geographic docudrama on Pompeii’s eruption, blending facts and emotional re-enactment in a way that is awkward, exhausting and oddly entertaining.

5 min read

Tom Hiddleston in a blue denim shirt gestures with his hand while speaking, facing slightly to the right

Millie Bobby Brown leads tributes after Kaylee Hottle dies aged 18

Millie Bobby Brown and other stars have paid tribute to Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress known for Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, after she died in a car crash aged 18.

4 min read

Kaylee Hottle sits on a wooden chair and looks into the camera. She wears a blue jumper and has long dark hair.

Film & TV

Fans say Love Island needs more romance, not just drama

Welsh actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso cast in 'surreal' role

Zendaya and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man romance, from 2016 to 2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review – Zendaya lifts Tom Holland’s reset sequel

Love Island UK crowns winners after twist-filled final

Must Read

Fans say Love Island needs more romance, not just drama

Welsh actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso cast in 'surreal' role

Zendaya and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man romance, from 2016 to 2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review – Zendaya lifts Tom Holland’s reset sequel

Love Island UK crowns winners after twist-filled final

Most Read

Welsh actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso cast in 'surreal' role

Sam Heughan says Outlander actors were 'perhaps forced' into nude scenes

Love Island UK crowns winners after twist-filled final

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review – Zendaya lifts Tom Holland’s reset sequel

Fans say Love Island needs more romance, not just drama

More in Film & TV

Fans say Love Island needs more romance, not just drama

Welsh actor Rex Hayes joins Ted Lasso cast in 'surreal' role

Zendaya and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man romance, from 2016 to 2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day review – Zendaya lifts Tom Holland’s reset sequel

Love Island UK crowns winners after twist-filled final

Sam Heughan says Outlander actors were 'perhaps forced' into nude scenes

How South Asian BBC programmes helped migrants settle in the UK

What Love Island reveals about how dating is changing

The Devil Wears Prada 2 and six more films to watch on TV this week

Furious to Heartstopper: seven of the best shows to stream this week

Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston review – cringe, but entertaining

Millie Bobby Brown leads tributes after Kaylee Hottle dies aged 18