Fandom memes, influencers and TikTok deal helped secure industry’s holy grail: gen Z loyalty

There are not many plaudits left for The Celebrity Traitors, which has delivered tension, crowd-pleasing ineptitude and the most famous fart in television history.

Yet for all the show’s achievements, one in particular – a feat that TV executives across the globe have been desperate to deliver – may stand out as the most impressive: it has got gen Z watching live TV.

A newspaper report about a missing girl, the memory of a midwinter emergency … Susan Choi, Andrew Miller, David Szalay and others on what inspired their shortlisted books

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

Ruth was 14 years old and being treated for an eating disorder when she died after being detained under the Mental Health Act. She wasn’t allowed to see her family for more than a few hours a week. How did the system we trusted – and I worked for as a GP – fail us so tragically?

I remember so clearly the moment it dawned on me that the mental health ward where my teenage daughter was being treated felt like little more than a prison. Ruth had been so trusting. So had we. That all changed the day she was moved from our local hospital to Thames Ward at Huntercombe hospital in Berkshire. When we left, she walked so easily down to the hospital transport with me and the play therapist – who hugged her tight and waved goodbye. When the van door opened at the other end, the stark building loomed over us. We were met and escorted up a flight of stairs and through the double, air-locked, doors, one slamming closed behind us, the person with the keys waiting for the first lock to click before opening the next. This was a sealed unit, devoid of natural light, my eyes aching already from the harsh glare overhead. We were taken to an inner room, lined with windows. The goldfish bowl, they called it.

Ruth’s hand slipped into mine, head down as they told me it was time for me to go. “But I haven’t settled her into her room or met any of the staff yet,” was met with: “Parents aren’t allowed on the ward.” I asked again, and they conceded I could see her room, just once, but then I had to leave immediately. It was hospital policy.

The budget could involve a range of rises – here’s how they would stack up for different levels of income

In a gloomy state of the nation speech this week Rachel Reeves signalled that a rise in income tax could be on the cards in this month’s budget.

Labour had promised in its election manifesto not to increase the levy (or the other two “big three” taxes – national insurance and VAT), but the chancellor appears to be preparing the ground for an almighty U-turn to fill a bigger-than-expected £30bn hole in the public finances.

We tested various curry kits and found they offer astoundingly good value compared with takeaways. Did somebody say just heat?

• The fair price for 14 everyday items, from cleaning spray to olive oil

Takeaways are so eye-wateringly expensive these days, they’re often even more costly than eating out. Delivery companies charge restaurants obscenely high rates, destroying profit margins, and add even more charges and cost to the consumer. Yes, they’re convenient (itself part of the problem), but I’d rather cook dinner myself and save my cash to eat out once in a while.

One way I stopped ordering so many takeaways – post-pandemic, during which I ordered far too many – was to tell myself that it’s quicker and cheaper to cook something simple, rather than order in. Sometimes, however, we all want something we haven’t cooked ourselves, right? And that’s where curry kits come in. They’re very quick to make up with the simple addition of a few veggies, a can of beans and/or some prawns or chicken from the freezer. OK, there’s still a little washing-up, but that’s a small price to pay.

The Tesla CEO once hinted he was done with politics – but he’s been leaning further into the international far right

When the far-right activist Tommy Robinson emerged from a London courtroom this week after a judge cleared him of a terrorism charge, he gave thanks to the man he said had bankrolled his defense.

“Elon Musk, I’m forever grateful. If you didn’t step in and fund my legal fight I’d probably be in jail,” Robinson said. “Thank you, Elon.”

Endocrinologists warn taking testosterone unnecessarily can suppress natural hormone production

Social media misinformation is driving men to NHS clinics in search of testosterone therapy they don’t need, adding pressure to already stretched waiting lists, doctors have said.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a prescription-only treatment recommended under national guidelines for men with a clinically proven deficiency, confirmed by symptoms and repeated blood tests.

Shabana Mahmood’s proposals draw scorn from some Labour MPs, while others want government to go further

Shabana Mahmood is to announce changes to the UK’s immigration rules modelled on the Danish system, largely seen as among the most stringent in Europe, the Guardian understands.

Last month, the home secretary dispatched officials to Denmark to study its border control and asylum policies. Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.

Comments by Karoline Leavitt follow allegations that Panorama documentary misled viewers with its editing of a Trump speech

Donald Trump’s press secretary has described the BBC as “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine” in an outspoken interview that comes after allegations of bias at the broadcaster.

Karoline Leavitt, a senior White House official in the Trump administration, said watching BBC bulletins while on trips to the UK “ruins” her day, saying taxpayers were being “forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine”.

Exclusive: Detainees at Rakefet include nurse deprived of natural light since January, and teenager held for nine months

Israel is holding dozens of Palestinians from Gaza isolated in an underground jail where they never see daylight, are deprived of adequate food and barred from receiving news of their families or the outside world.

The detainees have included at least two civilians held for months without charge or trial: a nurse detained in his scrubs, and a young food seller, according to lawyers from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) who represent both men.