Actor Catherine Tyldesley has spoken out after being revealed as the mystery Mancunian celebrity behind ‘cake gate’.
The former Coronation Street star took to social media on Wednesday night to address an email exchange between a PR company and a baker, in which the small business was asked to supply free cakes in return for ‘exposure’.
The emails between NVRLND and Yorkshire bakery Three Little Birds showed the publicist asking for over 100 free cakes, including a birthday cake for the star, a smaller cake for her husband, and 100 cupcakes.
NVRLND had said in the email they were working for a ‘well-known’ Manchester celebrity who was about to celebrate their 40th birthday, and that payment ‘would be made in the form of promotion on their socials with over 700k followers, as well as OK Magazine’.
The email continued: “They will be crediting all the suppliers on this platform.”
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“The party has a guest lists full of celebrities, and industry people from tv / film and music, so loads of work would come from it.
“NVRLAND would also use you for our future events and parties.”
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The bakery owner then hit back, saying: “Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on the socials, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer.”
Addressing the row last night, Tyldesley shared a video on Instagram from a car to her nearly 650K followers in which she said she was not working with OK Magazine as far as she was aware and that she did not know the emails had been sent.
She defended the PR company as ‘amazing’ and said they had been ‘completely misrepresented in this matter’ before signing off, saying ‘utterly bizarre’.
In the post’s caption, she added that she had been receiving ‘horrendous’ abuse online and that she hoped that the video would ‘put an end to it’, before signing off: “And here’s to turning 40!”
Featured image – Catherine Tyldesley
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Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd August 2023 
