Harry Styles is getting ready to release a brand-new music video this afternoon, but fans are a bit preoccupied by his appearance.
The 28-year-old Cheshire-born pop superstar took to social media earlier on today to tease the new music video for one of his most-popular recent songs, Music for a Sushi Restaurant – which is opening track on his critically-acclaimed third studio album, Harry’s House, released back in May – by simply just sharing a photo of himself.
The music video for the song, which is serving as the album’s third single, is set to be released at 5pm, and the majority of the singer’s dedicated fanbase are – understandably – pretty excited about it.
But some, on the other hand, just can’t get over what he looks like.
With nothing but a picture to go off, and absolutely no plot line from the video revealed whatsoever, the usually clean-shaven and eccentrically-dressed Styles shared a photo of himself sat shirtless in what appears to be a dirty kitchen (maybe of the said sushi restaurant?) – but the major talking point is the massive unruly beard he’s sporting.
Even though it’s obviously not real and must be a feature of the character he’s playing in the music video, the beard has been grabbing headlines presumably for that fact Styles is very rarely seen with any kind of facial hair.
And for the fact that fans are convinced he looks like Ian Beale from EastEnders, when the iconic character famously played by Adam Woodyatt went through some troubling times back in 2012, found himself homeless, and took on a rather unkept look.
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“It’s giving homeless Ian Beale,” was a typical reaction shared on Twitter.
Other shocked fan comments on Twitter ranged from “This isn’t you Harry, please,” to “Sometimes you just gotta wake up to Harry Styles having a massive beard,” and “Harry Styles with a beard, I don’t know how to feel.”
The iconic character Ian Beale famously fell on tough times back in 2012 and took on a rather unkept look / Credit: BBC
Given how much the picture has been trending on social media today, we also thought we’d ask our audience of over 930,000 followers on The Manc’s Facebook page who they think Styles looks like in the music video.
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Cries of everything from a young Hagrid and a young Brian Blessed, to Jean-Claude van Damme, Tom Hardy, Jim from The Royle Family, and more were thrown out there.
One of the most common suggestions was Tom Hanks in Castaway – which is also pretty accurate.
The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
27th October 2022 
