5 h. ago In Jilly Cooper country, every man wanted to be in the saddle, and every woman was yearning for a good hard gallop, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

Gap-toothed, with laughter lines around her eyes and a shaggy ash-blonde mane, she had a unique talent for flattering everyone while poking fun at herself.

Politics

7 h. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on Joe Wicks: Licensed To Kill: Why The Body Coach's ultra

'This is step one of a journey that I'm on,' Joe Wicks declared, wiping away a manly tear and brandishing a protein bar.

Events

30 h. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Frauds on ITV: How do you pinch a priceless Dali painting? I can't wait to find out...

With its cinematic, spaghetti western swagger, Frauds could have been nothing more than a pastiche of Thelma & Louise, the archetypal outlaw gals movie.

Politics

3 d. ago Explorer Dwayne Fields replaced Bear Grylls in what role? The Saturday quiz

From a Margaret Atwood trilogy and Abba’s fourth UK hit to Benny Hill and Rishi Sunak, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz1 What is the still-standing legacy of the 1889 Exposition Universelle?2 How are girl group Huntr/x described in the title of a Netflix film?3 What is the only party to get 14m votes in a UK general election?4 Adventurer Dwayne Fields replaced Bear Grylls in what role?5 Which two metals make up most of the Earth’s core?6 Relative to its size, which bird has the longest beak?7 Which Women’s Super League team is based in Bromley?8 £90,000 is the threshold for paying what tax?What links: 9 Margaret Atwood trilogy; Abba’s fourth UK hit; 2020 Christopher Nolan film?10 Major Stevens; bottle; carpet; rouf; hand; exes; neves; TH?11 Crabeater; Leopard; Ross; Southern Elephant; Weddell?12 Craig David; Charlie Dimmock; Benny Hill; John Everett Millais; Rishi Sunak?13 Brühl’s Terrace; Frauenkirche; Pillnitz Palace; Yenidze factory; Zwinger Palace?14 Physiological; saf...

Politics

3 d. ago Farewell, Queen of Snobs: Actress who made haughty Hyacinth Bucket a TV comedy legend, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

Hyacinth Bucket was Britain's most beloved snob. 'Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking,' she chirrupped as she answered the phone - always 'bouquet,' never 'bucket'.

Culture

4 d. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home: Affectionate portrait of the Prince of Darkness's poignant final years

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: This sweetly affectionate documentary, charting the last couple of years of his life as he and his wife prepared to return to England, was never morbid.

Politics

5 d. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Perfect Pub Walks: Is James May really planning to shift down a gear and quit presenting?

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: James May has that knack of saying inconsequential things seriously while dismissing important matters with a quip.

Politics

6 d. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Taylor: This superficial Channel 4 documentary told us little about the real Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is a social phenomenon, a self-made master-piece of PR manipulation, the poet laureate of teenage girls everywhere.

Politics

7 d. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Blue Lights: With all the coppers pairing off, this is like a soap version of Line of Duty

This time, the undercover bods are desperate to obtain a drug-runner's handset 'with the encrypted messaging app still running'. They hope this will lead them back to Mr Big.

Politics

2 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Deep Ocean: Kingdom Of The Coelacanth on BBC2: In search of the elusive ancient fish Sir David first filmed 46 years ago

Next time your bicycle has a flat tyre, find a coelacanth. These 'living fossils', dating back 400 million years to before the dawn of the dinosaurs, are an essential part of an African puncture repair kit.

Politics

2 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on Mr Polaroid: Fascinating snapshot of the college dropout who invented the Polaroid

PBS America is lurking far down the list of Freeview channels at no. 84, a hiding place you're likely to discover only if the cat sits on the remote.

Politics

2 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Doc: My prognosis for this slow, maudlin medical drama? It's not looking good

Special prize for the laziest, least imaginative title of the year goes to the hospital drama Doc.

Events

2 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on Michael Palin in Venezuela: With his boyish enthusiasm, Palin's like an octogenarian Just William!

Drenched to the skin in a cave on the edge of the Amazon forest, Michael Palin is having the time of his life. The man who once tried to sell John Cleese a dead parrot it now Britain's best-loved traveller.

Politics

3 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on Coldwater: It's brave to tackle male cowardice, but this story just isn't believable

Television has few taboos any more. Dramas about mental illness, sexual dysfunction, even child abuse, are commonplace now when they would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.

Events

3 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Rob and Rylan's Passage to India: A trip to Delhi? Cue hand

Rylan, the waxen-faced former X Factor contestant now on the roster of This Morning presenters, is in a class of his own. He doesn't shamelessly name drop celebrities he knows, he carpet-bombs them.

Politics

3 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on Ricky Hatton: The Gazza of boxing who loved a fry

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: For the fans who adored his quick wit and generous spirit, his dark side was tragic to witness.

Politics

3 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Newsreader: To use Lockerbie as the backdrop for light comedy is simply unforgivable

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Either nobody bothered looking at the opening minutes of The Newsreader, or worse still, somebody did - and failed to see how grossly offensive it was.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘The Christophers’ Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Bohemian London Drama

‘The Christophers’ Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Bohemian London Drama  Deadline

Events

3 w. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Rumour: Emily Atack's spiteful school mum ought to have been in Motherland

Emily Atack plays her to perfection: rude, smug, false and, underneath the facade, deeply unhappy.

Politics

3 w. ago A dazzling cast, Spielberg as producer... so how on earth did The Thursday Murder Club become such a dreary travesty? writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS 

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Have you read it yet? That was the question on everyone's lips for a year during lockdown.

Events