The Amandaland Christmas special will air tonight

Joanna Lumley spoke about mortality earlier this year(Image: Jeff Spicer, Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Joanna Lumley is one of the nation’s favourite actresses, with a TV career spanning over six decades. The 79-year-old will return to our screens this evening for the Christmas special of Amandaland.

The award-winning star recently shared her thoughts on growing older, disclosing that being conscious of time passing actually energises her more. The celebrated 79-year-old actress and entertainer also confessed she frequently reflects on her own death. “As you near the top of the hill you suddenly think, ‘Gosh, there’s not all that amount of time left’,” she said in a conversation with My Weekly earlier this year.

“All kinds of my beloved friends are beginning to leave. My time must be coming quite soon and I don’t want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet.” Joanna’s zest for life is apparent as she continues to pack her work schedule with exciting projects.

In 2025, Joanna shone in the comedy series Amandaland(Image: Jeff Spicer, Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

This year, she shone in the comedy series Amandaland, a spin-off of the award-winning sitcom Motherland, produced for the BBC. Its Christmas special is set to air on BBC One from 9.15pm tonight (December 25), while season two will arrive in 2026.

Joanna has also recently appeared in the Netflix drama Fool Me Once, and a three-part ITV travel documentary in which she explores Europe’s Danube River. Yet, things haven’t always been easy for the actress.

The star previously revealed to Vernon Kay on BBC 2 that she’s battled with prosopagnosia for years, which makes recognising faces extremely difficult.

“I’ve got this weird thing with faces, I’ve got a face blindness,” she said a few years ago on the Tracks of My Years podcast, the Express reports. “It’s called prosopagnosia.

“I have to know who people are, I have to know in advance. I always say, ‘Please tell me who’s going to be there’, then I can match the name to the thing. I mean, lots of people say, ‘Oh, but you meet so many people’, it’s not to do with that, it’s completely different from that.

“It’s followed me and I never knew what it was. And I’d try a test. I’d look at somebody and then I would shut my eyes and see if I could see their face in my head. And I couldn’t.”

The 79-year-old previously shared that she struggles with prosopagnosia (Image: Pool, Getty Images)

The NHS explains that prosopagnosia often extends beyond recognising faces, causing challenges in identifying gender, age, and distinguishing between objects such as vehicles or animals. Sadly, no cure exists for this condition, though noting unique features may help make it more manageable.

Official online NHS guidance explains: “You’ll still see the parts of a face normally, but all faces may look the same to you. It affects people differently. Some people may not be able to tell the difference between strangers or people they do not know well. Others may not recognise the faces of friends and family, or even their own face.”

Despite these struggles, Joanna hasn’t let prosopagnosia to limit her success. The 79-year-old’s distinguished acting career spans numerous memorable performances across television and cinema, including The New Avengers and Sapphire & Steel, as well as Absolutely Fabulous, Finding Alice, and Motherland.

In the ’60s, she was notably one of Ken Barlow’s first girlfriends in Coronation Street. And, on the big screen, she even worked alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Joanna is married to Stephen Barlow, a conductor. She also enjoys a rich family life as the proud mother of Jamie, and is a grandmother to two, Alice and Emily.

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The thousands-year-old Christmas procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is finally being celebrated with festive fanfare after a two-year pause to mourn the devastating war in Gaza.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was flanked by adoring crowds as he marched down the ancient, narrow cobblestoned roads to Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity and blessed the babies of Bethlehem along the way.

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Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa kisses babies in the crowd

After arriving, the cardinal stepped up on stage and told the full square of tourists and Palestinians from across the occupied West Bank: “You are the light, we are the light. The light of Bethlehem is the light of the world.”

At the base of the Christmas tree towering over Manger Square for the first time since 2022, a nativity display with baby Jesus sitting above a decorated billboard emblazoned with the text: “From here, the light of peace began.”

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The nativity scene in Bethlehem

Before the procession set off for Bethlehem, at the Mar Elias Monastery in East Jerusalem, the cardinal told me: “This is a sign that we want to turn the page to look forward.

“The problems on the ground remain there but we need to react and respond to this situation and to look forward in order to find perspective and solutions for the terrible situation there.”

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Crowds gather to celebrate Christmas in Manger Square

He has just returned from celebrating Christmas in the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where 400 people are still being sheltered.

The Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 400 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured since the start of the ceasefire on 10 October.

“It was sad to see the disaster in which the population are living in,” said the cardinal. “I was very struck by the resilience and their desire of life. They are very strong and determined to rebuild everything.”

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Children gather in Bethlehem

Here in the West Bank, violence is increasing as illegal Israeli settlements expand.

On Sunday, Israel‘s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the approval of 19 more settlements – a move condemned by a group of 12 countries including Britain, Canada and Germany on Wednesday.

As we drive, we see Israeli flags mark a new settlement on the hilltop shepherd fields of Bethlehem’s Ush al Ghrab, where Jesus’s birth was announced in the Bible.

According to the United Nations Office for Co-ordination in Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 238 Palestinians, including 56 children were killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank in 2025.

In Bethlehem’s Tuqu’ village, a mother grieves her 16-year-old son Ammar as Christmas is celebrated in the heart of the governate.

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A new settler outpost in Shepherds’ Fields

He was shot by the IDF in a raid on 15 December. At his funeral, 24 hours later, his friend Muheeb Ahmed was reportedly shot and killed by a settler.

The IDF told Sky News: “During IDF activity in the area of Tekoa, a confrontation occurred in which rocks were hurled toward the soldiers. The soldiers used riot dispersal means and later on fired toward a main inciter, and a hit was identified.

“The incident is under review.”

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Ammar’s mother tells us while cradling his photo: “Why would you kill a child?

“He hasn’t harmed you or is armed. What is a rock compared to gunpowder? It is nothing but they are cowards.”

“When I see the [Christmas] celebrations, I get upset and cry.

“I have to be honest, it hurts to see people celebrating because Palestine is still bleeding and people are dying from the rain and hunger. We are one nation. Why would they put up the tree? Why would they celebrate?”

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Monica Awad called the celebrations a ‘moment to pray for peace’

For Palestinian Christians gathering to celebrate, festivities still feel sombre but an opportunity to revive hope.

“It is a moment to pray and pray for peace, solidarity and hope,” Monica Awad tells us in Manger Square as Christmas approaches.

“It hurts us so much to see our friends, family are still suffering in Gaza, even at this moment. But there is always hope. We believe in hope for a better future.”

The war in Gaza started following the 7 October attack in 2023, when more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas militants and more than 250 were taken hostage.

Health officials in Gaza say nearly 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since – a figure that does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas militants.

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These are the key developments from day 1,400 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Published On 25 Dec 202525 Dec 2025

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Here is where things stand on Thursday, December 25:

Fighting

• An explosion in Moscow killed three people, including two police officers, just days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking Russian general in the same area of the capital.
• An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence, known as GUR, told The Associated Press news agency that the attack had been carried out as part of a Ukrainian operation and the two police officers were targeted for taking part in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• ‍Russian air ‍defence units downed 16 Ukrainian drones en route to Moscow throughout Wednesday, the capital’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
• Sobyanin said the drones were repelled ​over a period of about 17 hours, and emergency ‍crews were examining fragments where the drones hit the ground, but no damage was reported.
• Two of four major airports ‍servicing Moscow were forced to limit operations for a time due to the drone attacks, Russia’s civil aviation authority said on Telegram.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its aerial defence units destroyed 172 Ukrainian drones overnight, nearly half of them over regions bordering Ukraine.

• Ukraine said its drones ​had struck the Yefremov synthetic rubber plant ‌in Russia’s Tula region, south of Moscow, and a storage facility for marine drones in Russian-occupied Crimea.
• Tula regional governor, Dmitry Milyaev, said ‌debris from a downed Ukrainian drone ignited a fire at an industrial ‌site, and Russian air defence units destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones over the region.
• A sunflower oil spill, caused by Russian aerial bombardments, has contaminated the shoreline around the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, killing wildlife and triggering warnings from conservationists, the AFP news agency reports.
• “The cause was damage to sunflower oil tanks as a result of massive enemy attacks on port infrastructure, causing some of the oil to spill,” Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said in a statement. The Pivdenny port in the region was temporarily closed on Wednesday to help with the cleanup.
• A Russian-backed court in occupied Ukraine sentenced a Colombian man to 19 years in prison for fighting for Kyiv’s army.
• Russia’s Prosecutor General said the Supreme Court in the Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Donetsk region sentenced Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez, 42, to 19 years in jail. The Colombian arrived in Ukraine in May 2024 to sign up with the Ukrainian army and had been “taken prisoner by Russian servicemen” in December 2025.

Ceasefire talks

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed for the first time details of an agreement between the United States and Ukrainian negotiators on ending the war with Russia. The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators after marathon talks, is now being reviewed by Moscow.
• As part of the plan, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland if Moscow also pulled back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces.
• A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader said that any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum in Ukraine.

• Asked about the latest development in ceasefire talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would decide its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US envoys in Florida over the weekend.
• Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized in Ukraine. Moscow has also insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk – the two areas that make up the Donbas.

Politics and diplomacy

• A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, Russia’s state pollster VTsIOM said, in a sign that the Kremlin could be testing public reaction to a possible peace settlement as diplomatic efforts ⁠to end the conflict intensify.
• During the pollster’s year-end presentation, VTsIOM Deputy Head Mikhail Mamonov said 70 percent of the 1,600 respondents ​saw 2026 as a more “successful” year for Russia than 2025, while for 55 percent that hope ‍was linked to a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• A Russian court has scheduled the first public hearing in a criminal case against German sculptor Jacques Tilly, who is accused of discrediting the Russian military through his satirical Carnival floats depicting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
• The court in Moscow said the trial will begin on December 30 and proceedings will be held in absentia, as Tilly – who faces up to 10 years in jail or a fine – is not in Russia.
• Zelenskyy said in his Christmas address on Wednesday that despite marking the holiday at a “difficult” time, the nation’s unity remains intact. “Ukrainians are together tonight,” Zelenskyy said, adding the country had “without a doubt” been changed by the war. “It hardly matters what dishes are on the table – what matters is who is at the table,” he said.

Artillerymen of the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade fire a M777 Howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on December 24, 2025 [Reuters]

Regional security

• France’s ‍President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke ⁠with NATO ​chief Mark Rutte to ‍discuss the situation in Ukraine and ‍the work undertaken ⁠by the “coalition of the willing”. “Starting in January in Paris, we ​will ‌continue the work begun within this framework to provide ‌Ukraine with solid security ‌guarantees, a ⁠prerequisite for a robust and lasting peace,” Macron ‌said on social media.
• Democratic senators in the US have urged President ‍Donald Trump to ‍reverse a recall of nearly 30 career ambassadors, warning the move leaves a dangerous leadership vacuum that allows adversaries like Russia and China to expand their influence. The Trump administration in recent days has ordered career diplomats serving across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America back to Washington to ensure US missions abroad reflect its “America First” priorities.

Economics

• Kazakhstan’s exports of its flagship CPC Blend of oil will be their lowest in 14 months in December, as bad weather delays efforts to repair Russian loading infrastructure after Ukrainian drone strikes last month, two sources told the Reuters news agency.
• On November 29, Ukrainian drones hit the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal located near ‍Russia’s Black Sea port ⁠of Novorossiysk, leaving just one out of three jetties operational and prolonging export delays. Poor weather has added to the difficulty of carrying out maintenance work necessary to allow exports to recover.
• Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said ‍it ‍completed the settlement of a deal to restructure $2.6bn of growth-linked debt.

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The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is forecast to be cold, wet and bumpy but without a repeat of last year’s fatal conditions, as the rest of the country experiences the full range of weather events over the Christmas period, including cyclone and bushfire danger in the west.

A race briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Wednesday predicted the 129 starters in this year’s Sydney to Hobart will face strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots after leaving the Sydney Heads on Boxing Day.

“It’s going to be cold, wet and bumpy, people will get seasick,’’ said the chairman of the race committee, Lee Goddard.

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BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said on Thursday that winds would slacken across the New South Wales and Tasmanian coasts on Saturday and Sunday. “It will still be fresh at times but gradually we’ll see them easing back along the east coast,” she said.

The upwind conditions mean a tight finish but that the race record is unlikely to be broken this year. They are a far cry from the challenging downwind conditions that saw two lives lost in the first night of racing in storms in 2024.

Wednesday’s briefing began with a minute’s silence for the sailors who died aboard separate yachts last year, Nick Smith and Roy Quaden.

Race organisers the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia also announced a group of 15 yachts will scatter rose petals off the coast of Bondi beach in memory of the 15 lives lost during the Bondi terror attack, when they pass the site.

Line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche is co-captained by two eastern suburbs residents who were shocked when they heard news of the attack on Sydney’s Jewish community two Sundays ago.

“Everyone was very worried,” said co-captain Matt Allen. “We went down with a large group of Jewish and non-Jewish Olympians last Friday and had a service there, and then a brunch to really show our support for the victims, the entire community.”

In the west, Tropical Cyclone Grant was passing close to the Cocos Islands, 2,750km north-west of Perth, on Thursday. The category 1 cyclone was expected to bring heavy rain, storms and strong winds as it moved westwards.

Perth was forecast to reach 40C on Thursday with an extreme fire danger warning in place for much of south-west Western Australia for Christmas. A watch and act warning was in place near Boddington in the Peel region south-west of Perth on Thursday morning.

Bradbury said the heat would begin to ease on Friday. “Today is the last day of the intense heat for now for the west coast,” she said.

A flood watch was in place for much of northern Australia on Thursday. Brisbane was facing a hot, dry start, with showers and possible storms and a high of 33C. Darwin had forecast rainfall of up to 50mm with thunderstorms and showers likely.

Melbourne was forecast to have its coldest Christmas Day since 2006, with a high of 17C and showers possible in the morning and afternoon, while Hobart was also cool, with a high of 15C, and the chance of hail.

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Nasry Asfura has won the 2025 Honduras presidential election, delivering victory for the right-of-center National Party of Honduras (PNH) and shifting the political landscape of Central America. 

The 40.3% to 39.5% result in favor of Asfura over Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla arrived after the vote-counting process had been delayed for days by technical glitches and claims by other candidates of vote-rigging. Rixi Moncada, the candidate of the ruling LIBRE party, came in a distant third.

The results of the race were so tight and the ballot processing system was so chaotic, that about 15% of the tally sheets, which accounted for hundreds of thousands of ballots, had to be counted by hand to determine the winner.

Two electoral council members and one deputy approved the results despite disputes over the razor-thin difference in the vote. A third council member, Marlon Ocha, was not in a video declaring the winner.

TRUMP PLANS ‘FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON’ FOR FORMER HONDURAN PRESIDENT CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING

Tito Asfura defeats Salvador Nasralla and Rixi Moncada after President Trump’s repeated endorsements (AP)

“Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down,” Asfura said on X after the results were confirmed.

The head of the Honduran Congress, though, rejected the results and described them as an “electoral coup.”

“This is completely outside the law,” Congress President Luis Redondo of the LIBRE party said on X. “It has no value.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on X, saying the U.S. “looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”

Initially, preliminary results on Monday showed Asfura, 67, had won 41% of the ballot, inching him ahead of Nasralla, 72, who had around 39%.

THE RESULTS ARE IN: 2025’S BIGGEST WINNER AND LOSERS FROM THE OFF-YEAR ELECTIONS

President Donald Trump gestures to supporters during an election night watch party at the State Fairgrounds Feb. 24, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the website set up to share vote tallies with the public experienced technical problems and crashed, according to The Associated Press.

With the candidates only having 515 votes between them, a virtual tie and site crash saw President Trump share a post on Truth Social.

“Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election,” he wrote. “If they do, there will be hell to pay!”

By Thursday, Asfura had 40.05%, about 8,000 votes ahead of Nasralla, who had 39.75%, according to Reuters, with the latter then calling for an investigation.

“I publicly denounce that today, at 3:24 a.m., the screen went dark and an algorithm, similar to the one used in 2013, changed the data,” Nasralla wrote on social media, adding 1,081,000 votes for his party were transferred to Asfura, while 1,073,000 votes for Asfura’s National Party were attributed to him.

FORMER MISS VENEZUELA BLAMES ‘SOCIALISM AND OPEN BORDERS’ FOR HER COUNTRY’S DEVASTATING COLLAPSE

Rixi Moncada, LIBRE’s candidate, is a prominent lawyer, financier and former minister of national defense. (Associated Press )

Asfura, nicknamed “Tito,” is a former mayor of Tegucigalpa and had entered the race with a reputation for leadership and focus on infrastructure, public order and efficiency.

His win ended a polarized campaign season, with one of the defining moments of the contest being Asfura’s endorsement by Trump.

“If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Nov. 28.

Before the start of voting Nov. 29, Trump also said he would pardon former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who once led the same party as Asfura. Hernandez is serving a 45-year sentence for helping drug traffickers.

VENEZUELAN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER MARÍA CORINA MACHADO DEDICATES AWARD TO TRUMP FOR ‘DECISIVE SUPPORT’

Nasralla is a high-profile television personality turned politician. (Associated Press )

In the end, the election saw the defeat of centrist former vice president of Honduras, Nasralla and left-wing Moncada, 60, who served under President Xiomara Castro. 

Moncada, a prominent lawyer, financier and former minister of national defense, focused on institutional reform and social equity.

Nasralla, a high-profile television personality turned politician, mobilized a base but fell short of converting his popularity into a winning coalition.  

He was focusing on cleaning up Honduran corruption. The Honduran presidential race was also impacted by accusations of fraud.

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In addition to electing a new president, Hondurans voted for a new Congress and hundreds of local positions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture. 

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NEED TO KNOW

• Julianne Hough gives a glimpse into how her holidays are going
• The Dancing with the Stars cohost posed in front of a Christmas tree in a bikini
• She also shared photos from a trip to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Julianne Hough is showing you how she does Christmas.

On Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 37-year-old Dancing with the Stars co-host posted several Instagram photos to social media of her “Christmas at home.”

Adding a red heart emoji to her caption, the professional dancer began her Instagram carousel with a solo photo of herself posing in a teeny bikini in front of a decorated Christmas tree inside a living room. 

For the festive photo, Hough arched her back as she modeled in front of the holiday tree, surrounded by wrapped gifts. 

A puppy and a pool area could be seen in her backyard, thanks to floor-to-ceiling glass windows. 

The same dog was featured once again in the second slide, this time as a fully clothed Hough smiled while holding a drink in her hand beside the beloved canine. 

Other shots in the roundup included the entertainer lounging by the pool, and even inside of a large bag near the Christmas tree, suggesting that she is a gift herself. 

Hough’s mother, Marriann Hough, was also seen in a couple of photos. Once as her daughter rested her head in her lap, and another with her “high school sweetheart Doug” in front of a Christmas tree, as explained by Julianne on her Instagram Stories. 

“I just love LOVE,” she wrote in the slide that followed.

The Safe Haven actress also shared her recent travels on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Dec. 23, documenting herself spending time with loved ones in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, for the holidays.

After a group workout session, Julianne shared both a photo and a video of herself walking along a fallen tree branch in a wooded area on a sunny day while wearing a bikini and a straw hat. 

In the video, she carefully balanced herself to make sure she didn’t fall into the ditch underneath while running along. 

Julianne Hough, Christmas 2025.

Julianne Hough/Instagram

The person filming was heard laughing as Julianne successfully made it over the large branch.

After spending time outdoors, next up was a clay-making class with a view. 

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Rolling pins, clay and other materials were placed on a table in an open-air deck area overlooking the water. 

Julianne also shared content of the instructor showing her small group how to mold the clay before joking about being “Trad Wives” as she and her friend posed holding rolling pins while wearing aprons.

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Graham Lee had lived near his author neighbour for two years before he spoke to her for the first time. 

Two weeks later, she set fire to his beloved Land Rover Freelander. 

The kindhearted wildlife volunteer couldn’t understand why an innocuous conversation about badgers being kept on his driveway had sparked the fury of 63-year-old Susan Lupton. 

If anything, Graham walked away from what he described as a ‘nice and pleasant’ conversation with a feeling of optimism that someone was talking, as he thought, positively about the black and white omnivores.  

But what followed next was a near year-long period of his life being made hell, compounded by what Graham believes was police incompetence to fully protect him from his nightmare neighbour.

It left Graham petrified and fearing for his life, and led him to take the drastic action of arming himself with a crossbow for protection. 

The 56-year-old was born and raised on the Isle of Wight, and is a recognisable face on the island due to his work for the last 16 years with local volunteer group the Badgers Trust. 

His heroics include the daring rescue of an injured badger who was stranded on a cliff on the island. 

His great-grandfather was a respected Mayor of Ryde, and members of his family held senior positions in the military and on local councils. 

Graham Lee, 56, from the Isle of Wight, pictured here with a rescued badger. He was a victim of an arson attack by his neighbour who set fire to his Land Rover 

Susan Lupton had taken umbrage with Graham keeping badgers on his driveway and wrongly believed they had killed a cat in the area 

On June 20, 2024, his tranquil life in the idyllic coastal village Freshwater Bay, where he lives with his solicitor wife, was turned into a nightmare. 

It began a fortnight earlier, when Graham was walking to his garage on a 90ft by 10ft piece of land he had inherited from his late grandfather. 

He was heading to his Freelander he had recently bought to tend to his seriously ill, widowed mother in hospital, when a woman he had never seen before approached him. 

‘She just came out of the gate and said “oh, you’ve got badgers in your garden”. So I told her I feed them and I do wildlife work,’ Graham exclusively told the Daily Mail. 

‘And that the badgers sometimes live on the driveway in a purpose-built cell that I had.

‘I mean, some people are nasty about badgers because they hate them – digging up the lawn, killing hedgehogs or whatever, but they don’t do that.

‘So to meet someone who was nice and pleasant and enjoyed seeing them… I thought she seemed quite OK with it.’

He found out her name was Susan and she had been living opposite his garage for the last two years. Another brief conversation followed, where she mentioned to Graham that he was going to feature in an article in the local press about his badger escapades.

He thought nothing of it until a few days later when a neighbour told him Susan had posted online about him on Facebook.  

‘I didn’t even know who it was, so my partner looked her up and saw this Facebook post saying I’m an evil badger man, and my [Border Collie] dog is vicious. I’m keeping badgers on the driveway.’ 

Those messages have since been taken down. But unbeknownst to Graham, Susan had been watching him for years. 

Days later, after returning from a dentist appointment on the mainland, a frantic neighbour rang his doorbell on a crisp summer’s morning to tell him his car was on fire. 

Graham first put it down to the morning mist or steam coming off the Freelander due to condensation.

But he got dressed and made the short walk to his garage just to make sure. When he arrived, he was met with a huge plume of black smoke in the sky and a scene of carnage. 

‘My stomach just dropped and my legs went like jelly,’ he said.   

‘I thought Christ, so I got down there as quick as I could. The smoke was one hundred feet in the air. The flames were about twenty feet in the air. 

‘The fence had gone all on fire. My tree was gone. Flames were licking at the neighbour’s window upstairs. Everything in the garden was on fire. 

Susan set fire to his ‘pride and joy’ Freelander just two weeks after the neighbours had their first conversation

‘And Susan Lupton is in the road. I immediately said to her, “You did this. Why do you do this?” First off, she said “prove it”. 

‘Then I said to her again that she had done it and she said, “Your badgers kill cats”. And then she ran off inside.’

Graham grabbed hold of a hosepipe and bravely battled the flames for 15 minutes until firefighters arrived to stop the blaze from spreading to his severely disabled neighbour’s home. 

He believes his heroics saved his neighbour’s life, but it has also had lasting, damaging effects. 

Graham was treated for smoke inhalation on the roadside and suffered a burn on his arm. A week later, he was still coughing up black mucus. 

Today, he has to use a CPAP machine to help with his breathing.

Graham said he later submitted a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for compensation for his injuries.

But he said this was rejected because ‘he had put himself at risk of harm by fighting the fire’. 

The inferno caused more than £20,000 worth of damage, with Graham’s 4×4 completely gutted.

A window, toolbox, guttering, cooker extractor and a Japanese Maple Tree were all beyond repair. 

The immediate impact caused the most angst. Graham’s elderly 83-year-old mother at the time was fighting for her life in hospital with sepsis in the spine that had eroded two of her vertebrae. 

He had bought the Land Rover as it was the right height to collect her when the time came that she was deemed well enough to go home. 

Susan admitted two counts of arson and was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and compensation of £7,835. She has also been banned from the village of Freshwater indefinitely

But it is the emotional torment he endured at the hands of Susan for nearly a year afterwards that he could not fathom, due to what he says was a catalogue of police failures.

His neighbour immediately admitted her guilt the moment she was arrested when police arrived, with discarded matches scattered over her patio, as she told officers: ‘I did it. I’m responsible.’

She had used the matches to light a tray of white spirit that she placed under his car. A method she said that a ‘fireman friend’ had allegedly told her to use. 

It later transpired that Susan lives with bipolar and was experiencing an episode of mania at the time of the arson. She was sectioned after her arrest.

At the first hearing at magistrates’ court, Graham says he was told he could safely return home as Susan was being kept in hospital and was unfit to plead.

Yet when he pulled up, he chillingly saw her watching him from her window. It then began to dawn on him that she had been bailed back opposite to the scene of crime – despite Graham claiming she owned two other properties on the island. 

‘She spent the rest of the day staring at me, whilst I desperately emptied the contents of my garage in case she decided to set fire to that as well,’ he said.  

He set up security cameras and a padlocked fence to protect his garage.

But it did not stop his tormentor. Instead, he says Susan would watch him constantly, who had set up a ‘Google Nest camera’ on her window that he believes alerted her to his arrival. 

There were days when she was caught on camera, chillingly standing at the end of his driveway watching his every move while smoking a cigarette. 

Graham says she would park her car opposite his garage to make it difficult for him to access his vehicle. He claimed in October she walked out in front of his car to falsely claim to police that he was trying to run her over.   

And then there were the 999 calls from Susan making claims of harassment. Between June and October 2024 she called police six times.

On one occasion, he says it led to four officers turning up at Graham’s 85-year-old father-in-law’s home in search of him. 

Before the arson, she had posted videos online of her hurling bricks at Graham’s rescued badgers. 

He said: ‘It made me very afraid, and very stressed. I didn’t want to go down there [to the garage], but I had to make sure it was safe. I was scared, afraid to go down there because of her being there and not knowing what she’s going to do.’

That feeling of terror led Graham to take some extraordinary measures to protect himself and his loved ones. 

‘With the house, because she’d breached bail, because nothing is being done to her, because of the arson attack on my car, I had to have fire extinguishers in every room by the doors,’ he said.

The burnt remains of Graham’s Freelander that he bought in order to tend to his seriously ill, widowed mother in hospital 

‘We’re not Doomsday preppers or anything. Never had reason to have any type of weapon in the house at all, ever. But because the police were failing us and the CPS was doing nothing, we had to buy weapons. 

‘Knives, basically, hidden in every room. And a tactical crossbow that was kept by the bed.

‘The police had let us down. They would do nothing at all. Harsh words were not going to get rid of this woman if she came onto our property at night.

‘When we were cooking in the kitchen in the evening, I would have the back door open in the summer. But I felt fearful that she was going to walk through the back door while I was cooking.

‘It was constantly checking the CCTV on the house. We had to have that installed as well. I couldn’t even take my dog to the garage [as I didn’t know what she would do].’ 

Graham could not understand why the legal system had not come down harder on her. 

He points to a series of failures throughout the investigation, the most damning of all in allowing Susan to return to live opposite where she carried out the arson attack.  

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has apologised to Graham for the way officers handled the case, and in a letter in January, seen by the Mail, admitted the service was ‘not acceptable’. 

It blamed ‘admin errors’ and a lack of communication between custody sergeants and officers for Graham’s allegations of harassment initially being ‘overlooked’. 

Astonishingly, the letter states it was Susan’s ‘specific needs being met’ in the decision to bail her back to near where she had destroyed Graham’s Land Rover. 

‘The custody sergeant believed that he could have made her homeless with a condition not to live at that address, having explored the options with her son on the mainland which were untenable,’ the letter reads. 

‘I have to take into account that she has not expressed ownership of other address as you have indicated.’ 

Detectives did eventually submit evidence to the CPS in February – a day before she was originally due to appear in court to be sentenced for arson – to consider charging Susan with stalking without violence.   

It was dismissed, with the CPS later telling Graham in a letter, seen by the Mail, there was not ‘a realistic prospect of conviction’ as he and Susan had both made allegations of harassment against each other which were ‘finely balanced’. 

Susan had claimed in her defence that she was recording Graham as she ‘had been encouraged by the police to gather evidence to show they were the victim of harassment’.     

Graham is a recognisable face on the island due to his work for the last 16 years with local volunteer group the Badgers Trust. He sometimes kept them on his driveway

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary told the Mail: ‘A complaint was made to our Professional Standards department around the handling by police of the allegations in this case.

‘Organisational learning was identified, and an apology was issued to the victim.

‘The allegations of stalking and harassment were revisited, and all lines of enquiry were thoroughly investigated before police consulted with the CPS regarding a criminal charging decision.

‘Based on the evidence gathered, the CPS decision was to not take any further action.’

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: ‘We secured convictions for two counts of arson in this case and successfully applied for a restraining order to be put in place to provide further protection for Mr Lee.

‘Our prosecutors carefully reviewed further evidence in this case relating to other possible charges but ultimately were not satisfied there was a realistic prospect of conviction.

‘This decision was twice reviewed under our Victims’ Right to Review Scheme, and specialist prosecutors independently agreed with the original conclusion.

‘We have written to Mr Lee to explain our decision-making in detail.’

When sentencing, Judge James Newton-Price said that the victims in the case had suffered a ‘terrifying experience’ and that Susan had developed a ‘fixation’ with Graham and had became ‘irrationally obsessed’.

The judge told Susan: ‘You didn’t like Mr Lee attracting badgers to the area, for reasons of your own.

‘You had been harassing him online, calling him “Evil Badger Man” on Facebook.’

The judge continued: ‘You developed a fixation on Mr Lee, him feeding badgers and believing they killed a neighbour’s cat.

‘You became irrationally obsessed with that and started posting your views on social media.’

Susan was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and compensation of £7,835. She was also handed two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a restraining order to stay away from Graham.

Susan has also been banned from the village of Freshwater indefinitely.

Today, Graham says life is slowly returning to some sense of normality. 

The tactical crossbow is gone. His mother is out of hospital, and he is now happily married, with the couple last year having to postpone their wedding because of the untold amount of stress. 

But he still, at times, checks over his shoulder just to make sure Susan isn’t there. 

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Asfura says he is ready to govern after narrow vote as the US urges ‘all parties to respect the confirmed results’.

Nasry Asfura, a conservative candidate backed by United States President Donald Trump, has won the closely contested presidential elections in Honduras, the country’s election council has said.

The final results, announced on Wednesday – more than 20 days after the vote took place – are likely to lead to challenges in the Central American nation.

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According to the electoral authority, known as the CNE, Asfura won 40.3 percent of the vote, edging out centre-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla, who received 39.5 percent.

In a brief social media post, Asfura thanked the CNE on Wednesday. “Honduras: I am prepared to govern. I will not fail you,” he wrote.

Trump had come out strongly in support of Asfura, attacking Nasralla and left-wing candidate Rixi Moncada, who ended up garnering less than 20 percent of the votes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quick to congratulate Asfura on Wednesday, saying that Washington looks forward to working with him.

“The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” Rubio wrote in a social media post.

In a separate statement, Rubio urged “all parties to respect the confirmed results” of the elections.

Earlier this month, Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez – a member of Asfura’s National Party – who was serving a lengthy prison sentence in the US for drug trafficking.

Asfura, the former mayor of Honduras’s capital, Tegucigalpa, is of Palestinian descent. But his National Party is staunchly pro-Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that he spoke to Asfura and the officials agreed to “strengthen bilateral relations” between the two countries.

“I conveyed our warm wishes to the people of Honduras, wished him success in his role, and invited him to visit Israel,” Saar said in a statement. “Honduras has a long history of friendship with the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

Under Hernandez in 2021, Honduras became only the fourth country to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in breach of international law. Asfura has also aligned himself with Trump and other right-wing leaders in the Americas, including Argentina’s Javier Milei.

The Argentinian president hailed Honduras’s election results on Wednesday, calling it a victory against “narcosocialism”, although the National Party’s Hernandez is a convicted drug trafficker.

“The Honduran people expressed themselves with courage at the ballot boxes and chose to end years of authoritarianism and decay,” Milei wrote in a social media post.

“From Argentina, we celebrate the triumph of freedom and reaffirm our commitment to democracy, the popular will, and the unrestricted respect for institutions in the region.”

Asfura’s victory marks another win for right-wing candidates in Latin America over the past year. Chile and Bolivia have also elected ultraconservative presidents in 2025, and last year, El Salvador’s right-wing leader Nayib Bukele comfortably won re-election.

The results appear to reverse the “Pink Tide” – the wave of left-wing leaders who rose to power in the region in the early 2020s.

The rise of right-wing governments in the region coincides with a US pressure campaign against Venezuela’s left-wing President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump has imposed an oil blockade on Venezuela and amassed US troops and military assets near the country.

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Pope Leo has told Christians that the Christmas story should remind them of their duty to help the poor and strangers.

In his Christmas Eve sermon, the pope said the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn showed followers that refusing to help those in need was tantamount to rejecting God himself.

Leo, who has made care for immigrants and the poor key themes of his early papacy, said Jesus’ birth showed God’s presence in every person as he led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics into Christmas at a mass in St Peter’s Basilica.

“On earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other,” said the pope during the solemn service, attended by about 6,000 people inside the basilica.

Leo, the first US-born pope, is celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis. The pope, who has criticised Donald Trump’s divisive immigration crackdown, quoted a line from Pope Benedict XVI lamenting that the world does not care for children, the poor or foreigners.

“While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person,” said Leo. “Where there is room for the human person, there is room for God. Even a stable can become more sacred than a temple.“

Outside the basilica, about 5,000 people watched the service on screens from St Peter’s Square, holding umbrellas and wearing ponchos under a hard rain in Rome.

Leo, 70, came outside to greet them before the start of the mass. “I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening, even in this weather.”

On Thursday, the pope will celebrate a Christmas Day mass and deliver a twice-yearly Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message and blessing.

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The US Justice Department said Wednesday it may need several more weeks to release the so-called Epstein Files after finding more than a million documents that are potentially relevant to the case.

A deadline set by a Congressional committee for the release of the documents related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has long passed.

Why is the release of the Epstein files delayed?

A social media post by the Justice Department describing the documents’ discovery does not mention when had the new documents been found, but it did mention the department’s lawyers are working “around the clock” to remove information that could disclose the victims.

“Due to the mas volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks,” the post read.

The discovery of the documents comes after Justice Department officials said several months ago that they had already carried out an extensive review looking for available documents related to the case.

This means the documents will be made public after the congressional deadline set for Friday.

How did US lawmakers react?

Eleven senators, both Democratic and Republican, turned to the Justice Department’s watchdog, calling for it to investigate the authority’s failure to release the files on time for the deadline.

The senators said victims “deserve the full disclosure” and the “peace of mind” of an independet examination.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, one of the authors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law that requires the US government to open its cases regarding Epstein and longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, said the DOJ “broke the law” by missing the deadline.

Democratic senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the news about the new documents blamed US President Donald Trump for engaging in “a massive coverup.”

“The question Americans deserve answered is simple: What are they hiding, and why?”

Initial release of Epstein files unveils thousands of photos

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Two people were hospitalized Wednesday morning in an incident in suburban Maryland where federal officials say ICE officers fired their weapons at a pair of undocumented immigrants in a van who were allegedly trying to ram the agents.

Police were called to Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, around 10:50 a.m. Wednesday morning.

ICE officers were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” there and identified the driver of the van, Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, an illegal immigrant from Portugal, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, a fellow undocumented person from El Salvador, was in the passenger’s seat, DHS said.

“The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicle and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles,” according to DHS. “He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over.”

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ICE agents fired on a van they said was trying to ram them during a Wednesday morning immigration operation, in an incident that injured two people (Department of Homeland Security)

“Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver,” the agency added. “Sousa-Martins then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger.”

The individuals are both in stable condition and the ICE officers were “not severely injured,” DHS said.

Anne Arundel Council member Allison Pickard said she was alarmed by the gunfire in the normally quiet, residential area, which took place on Christmas Eve morning when children were outside.

“It’s concerning that there was open gunfire in my community involving ICE agents,” Pickard told The Washington Post. “There’s a waterfall effect to these things happening, no matter who is involved.”

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Local police, as well as ICE and the FBI, are investigating the shooting (AP)

Anne Arundel police, the FBI, and ICE were all seen at the scene of the shooting, where a wrecked white van could be observed in a stand of nearby trees.

Local police will investigate the shooting, and the FBI will probe the alleged attempt to ram federal agents, while ICE will conduct its own internal investigation.

Resident James Hicks told the Baltimore Banner he heard ICE chased the man from an area Walmart store into the neighborhood, at which point the van driver maneuvered between two houses and stopped in a wooded area. He then heard three gunshots and later saw the driver on a stretcher.

“Shot him three times, I seen him laid out,” Hicks told the outlet.

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There have been at least nine shootings during federal immigration operations this year, according to data (AP)

The man “shouldn’t have tried to run them over,” Hicks added.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department told The Independent the injured individuals were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in nearby Baltimore for treatment.

The Independent has contacted the FBI Baltimore field office and the Anne Arundel County police department for comment.

“I am aware of the ICE-involved shooting that occurred earlier today in Glen Burnie,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore wrote on X. “As information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community.”

There have been at least nine shootings during immigration operations since the Trump administration took office, according to a database from gun violence news site The Trace.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Rebecca Hulatt won a massive lottery prize just a day after she happened to find herself by a wishing well
• Hulatt, who works as a nurse, told lottery officials that just before her big win, she was taking a walk with her 19-year-old son Brandon
• After a long shift the following day, she unwound by playing the lottery — and then couldn’t believe her good fortune

The day after a chance walk put her in the path of a wishing well, a mom ended up getting exactly what she hoped for.

Rebecca Hulatt, 43, recently took home a £250,000 prize (approximately $340,000) from the U.K.’s National Lottery Instant Win Game.

Hulatt, who works as a nurse, told lottery officials that just before her big win, she was taking a walk in the Peak District with her 19-year-old son Brandon — something that only happened because his car happened to break down.

“Before Brandon met up with his friends, we went for a walk and came across a little wishing well tucked away on the trail,” she said. “We both threw in 50p. He wished for a new car, I wished to come into some money.”

After a long shift at the hospital the very next day, the nurse explained that she “decided to unwind by playing a National Lottery Instant Win Game and suddenly saw I’d won.”

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Hulatt added.

Hulatt’s first big purchase with her lottery funds was a new Audi A1 for Brandon, who was struggling to get by with his old vehicle.

“To think that both our wishes came true at the same time is just unbelievable,” Hulatt added. “The Peak District already held special memories for us, but now it feels like the most magical place in the world.”

A longtime racing fan, Hulatt told lottery officials that she’s looking forward to spending more time at the tracks alongside her son.

She’s also placed an offer on a larger home with more green space.

Rebecca Hulatt.

The National Lottery UK/Instagram

“Having a garden of my own feels like such a dream. I can’t wait to stretch my green fingers again and just spend time outdoors at home,” she added. “It will be wonderful to have friends and family over, sit in the sunshine, and finally enjoy gardening properly. It’s something I’ve longed to do for years.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Huge congratulations to Becki on her incredible £250k Instant Win Game prize. It is almost unbelievable that both Becki and Brandon’s wishes came true just a day later!” Andy Carter, senior winners’ advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said of the win, according to Grimsby Live.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go to gamtalk.org.

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A local ballet company in Oklahoma helped a terminally ill girl achieve her lifelong dream just a few years ago – and is now cementing her legacy by naming a new character after her.

Olivia Francis’s wish to be a part of the Nutcracker came true in 2022 despite her diagnosis of Friedreich’s ataxia – a rare, terminal neurological condition that affects her ability to walk.

Now, the 12-year-old will be honored for years to come, as the Oklahoma City Ballet added a new character to be played by different children each year in Olivia’s honor, according to a post by her mother, Mary.

Olivia found out the news during an ‘amazing night’ on December 12, where she had dinner and watched the show she once starred in.

The little girl saw some of her favorite members of the show and met some new people as well, according to the upload.

‘Oklahoma City Ballet will always hold a special place in our hearts,’ wrote her mother.

‘Olivia found out they will have a permanent part in The Nutcracker, “Olivia or Oliver,” depending on who is playing the part.’

Photos of the smiling little girl accompanied the announcement, showing her enjoying her night out while surrounded by Christmas decorations.

After Francis could no longer perform in the ballet, Ryan Jolicouer-Nye, the artistic director, created the role for other children who dreamed of being on stage 

Olivia Francis, 12, performed in the Nutcracker despite her diagnosis of a rare neurological disease called Friedreich’s ataxia

Francis, pictured with her mother Mary, was honored by the Oklahoma City Ballet after they named a new permanent character after her 

Three children stepped into the role this past week during the show’s performance, according to the Ballet company’s Facebook page.

Juliana Creamer performed on December 20, Malaysia Jenkins followed the next day, and Whitley White on December 22.

The ballet company teamed up with Oklahoma Children’s OU Health this holiday season to make the young stars’ dreams come true.

Before the children’s performances, dancers visited the kids at the hospital to read holiday stories and practice dance stretches.

‘The Nutcracker really is a ballet for kids and families, and that goes down to the dancers,’ said Erica Portell, Oklahoma City Ballet Director of Community Engagement.

‘We have a lot of children who are cast in this show, and we are so excited that some of the child dancers are patients right here at Oklahoma Children’s. They are going to be amazing and spectacular. They’ve been working really hard in rehearsal, and I am excited to see them do it on stage.’

Whitley White performed as ‘Olivia’ on a December 22 performance of the Nutcracker

White told KFOR that she danced as a little kid, but it would be her first time performing.

Ryan Jolicouer-Nye, the artistic director, created the role years ago after Francis inspired him.

‘When Olivia could no longer do it, I wanted to make sure we had a seat open for any child who had a dream to be on stage but couldn’t,’ said Jolicoeur-Nye to the outlet.

When Francis first found out that she would finally be able to perform on stage alongside her fellow ballerinas, she cried.

Performing in the iconic ballet was a dream she first wrote about in her first-grade notebook, according to OKC FOX.

The production company told Francis the news that she would be part of the stellar performance on her birthday, making the surprise even more special.

She then made her sensational ballet debut on December 10, 2022 and continued to star on stage through December 18.

The keen dancer starred in the show in 2022 – and now a permanent character has been named after her

Francis has always dreamed of being a ballerina – but just months after she started her first dance lessons, she was hit with her diagnosis

Clips of the performance showed little Francis using her arms to join in the choreography, while other actors on stage move her wheelchair around in line with the dancing.

During rehearsals, she was seen gracefully gliding across the stage while holding a toy doll alongside the other ballerinas.

Despite admitting she was slightly nervous for her performance, Francis said that the best part of being involved in the Nutcracker was making friends with others on set.

Francis told KOCO the role as Clara’s sister Marie is not the way she envisioned she would be in the holiday production – but she said: ‘I’m really grateful.’

She noted: ‘Mostly I’m just acting, but there is one part where I can dance.’

And when she did get up to dance, Racheal Nye, the school director for the Oklahoma City Ballet, said ‘everyone just has their eyes on her.’

Nye said that Francis’s presence on set and her determination ‘inspired’ everyone. 

Friedreich’s ataxia is a genetic disorder damages the spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and the cerebellum portion of the brain. 

For Francis, it is unlikely that she will ever be able to walk with her condition. She was diagnosed in 2020, and there is currently no cure for Friedreich’s ataxia.

Francis’s mom Mary said that watching her superstar daughter on stage brought a tear to her eye.

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The Princess of Wales personally requested compoer Erland Cooper to watch her and Princess Charlotte perform his piece, Holm Sound, at Windsor Castle for tonight’s Together At Christmas on ITV

20:40, 24 Dec 2025Updated 21:14, 24 Dec 2025

Princess Charlotte playing the piano with her mum the Princess of Wales as part of the Royal Carols: Together at Christmas concert(Image: Kensington Palace)

The composer behind the piece of music played by the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte has spoken of his pride of witnessing their “incredible bond”. Kate was joined by her 10-year-old daughter for a special performance to launch her Together at Christmas carol concert broadcast on ITV1 this evening.

She personally requested Erland Cooper to accompany them at Windsor Castle earlier this month as they performed his piece Holm Sound. The award winning composer and producer, from Orkney in Scotland, cited as “one of the most unique, consistently engaging composers of his generation”, is renowned for taking inspiration for his melodic work from nature and connection.

READ MORE: Kate Middleton teases exciting mystery guest in exciting carol concert surpriseREAD MORE: Kate Middleton gets surprise nod from King Charles in his 2025 Christmas speechThe pair played Erland Cooper’s piece Holm Sound(Image: Kensington Palace)

Speaking of his shared passion for the natural world with the princess, who has credited immersing herself in nature as a marker in her recovery from cancer treatment last year, Erland said: “It was such a treat, such a lovely, warm and inviting day to be present with Their Royal Highnesses. It completely took me by surprise. I’m used to rambling around the ruins and brochs of the Orkney Islands, but to go to Windsor Castle itself was a slightly different architectural wonder.”

Erland, 43, wrote his classical piece in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, taking inspiration from the wild environment of the Orkney islands. The Princess of Wales, who has played the piano since the age of 10, first wrote to Erland to express her love of his music and thank him for his dedication to promoting the beauty of the natural world through his craft.

Through their exchange of messages, the future queen revealed how she had enjoyed teaching Charlotte his compositions at home, creating a special bond between them. As she planned to create a special moment as part of her fifth annual Together at Christmas carol concert, celebrating hundreds of community heroes at Westminster Abbey, the princess requested to play one of her favourite pieces with her daughter as part of the television on ITV1 on Christmas Eve.

The composer Erland Cooper

“I’m always in the head and hearts and back gardens of others. I often think, in this case, this little piece of music sort of landed on her shoulder like a bird,” Erland said. “And when you write a piece of music and you share it with the world, you’re sort of letting that out, and you’re letting it go, and you have no idea how far and wide it might fly. So it’s always a great surprise when people write to me or call me, and this was, you know, one of those great surprises. I didn’t expect it at all.”

Describing the moment as “a wonderful bit of serendipity” after originally composing the piece for his mother, Charlotte, Erland said: “We had a very warm, creative conversation earlier in the year, which was lovely, and then it culminated with an invitation to Windsor Castle. The princess asked ‘Would it be okay if we perform this piece of music that we so enjoy together?’

“It was such a lovely request so I said absolutely no problem at all. I was invited to witness this incredible bond between mother and daughter performing together and for that I am so grateful. And there’s a wonderful bit of serendipity as the piece was composed and dedicated to my mum, also called Charlotte, they didn’t know about, that it’s about motherhood, and how family plays such an important role and such a key part to all of this.

“The Princess and I both have a sort of shared love of music that celebrates the natural world and its rejuvenation and the wonder that you know that comes from it. There’s so much joy and warmth and creativity and ideas surrounding those themes.”

Kate with her children Charlotte and Prince Louis during Together At Christmas (Image: PA)

Erland, whose work combines field recordings with traditional orchestration and electronic elements, is renowned for burying the only copy of his first classical album as part of the “return to the natural earth” process. In 2021, after deleting all digital copies of his composition, he planted the master tape in peaty soil in Orkney, along with a “cheap violin”, the original score in a biscuit tin and a note to return to sender if it was ever found.

Erland posted clues on his website, but said if no-one found it he would dig it up himself and release the music in 2024, no matter how much the recording had changed. The score was discovered by two fans who found the soggy spool of magnetic tape buried in Stromness and returned it to him.

The record, titled Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence, later became a number one classical album, in collaboration with nature, topping the UK official charts in 2024.

Erland added: “I merely tap into the energy of the natural world, and I’m very grateful for it. It is a constant source of inspiration. It’s the life blood of my work. The idea behind my first piece was to compose, decompose, and then recompose. The finished piece would be a collaboration with Mother Nature. We all have this incredible connection to the natural world and I find it so warming that the Princess of Wales has found solace and such comfort in nature.”

On witnessing Kate and Charlotte sharing the stage together for their joint performance, he said: “It was just lovely. I think I was there for a little bit of encouragement. I mean, imagine anybody performing a piece of music in front of a film crew, and then the person who wrote it. Princess Charlotte played beautifully, she really has a wonderful way of playing the lighter notes just beautifully. So we were able to celebrate in that together.

“It’s certainly one of my favorite winter solstice moments. To walk into the Castle, to be greeted by a Steinway grand piano, and then to have a really poignant recital and performance. It was a very special, sort of quiet moment. There’s a power in reaching out to people, and that’s what they did here.”

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