200 former Wilko staff who were sadly made redundant as the business entered administration have been offered jobs at Poundland.
And we absolutely love to see it.
We all know by now that it’s been a turbulent couple of weeks for Wilko after it entered administration back in early September, but after it was sadly announced back that all of the retailer’s outlets across the UK would be forced to close, leaving around 12,500 jobs at risk, a glimmer of hope was offered – and that glimmer of hope was that several dozen stores had been saved.
That’s because Pepco Group – the company which owns Poundland in the UK – managed to strike a deal with Wilko administrators PwC to take control of up to 71 store leases.
The firm also announced plans to covert the 71 stores into brand-new Poundland branches.
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Poundland has offered jobs to 200 Wilko staff who were made redundant / Credit:
The several dozen stores, including six in Greater Manchester, have already begun the process of converting over – with all set to have started new lives as Poundlands before 2023 is out.
At the time of the takeover, Pepco Group was quick to say that it would be offering roles to some of Wilko’s former employees at the sites it is taking control of, but this week, the company’s finally delivered on that promise.
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It’s revealed that 200 ex Wilko staff members have now been offered jobs at newly-converted Poundland stores.
It comes as 71 former Wilko branches have begun the process of converting into new Poundlands / Credit: Poundland
Poundland’s managing director, Austin Cooke, reinforced that the company is keen to “prioritise” former Wilko staff throughout the takeover.
“Our people make Poundland special,” Mr Cooke explained.
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“Last week, they did an amazing job to turn ex-Wilko stores into brand new Poundlands in just six days, and the size and scale of what they’ve achieved has been nothing short of phenomenal, but they worked hard because we meant what we said about moving quickly to create jobs for Wilko colleagues”.
He added that staff would “pull out all the stops” throughout 2023, and particularly in an attempt to “repeat that feat” as they open another 10 stores this weekend.
Mr Cooke continued: “I know from meeting our new colleagues from Wilko, how delighted they were to welcome customers old and new back to their store last weekend, and that’s inspiring us to keep the pace up.
“We want to bring the amazing value [Poundland] promises to more high streets.”
Featured Image – Wilko (via X)
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Liam Gallagher says he turned down an offer to be on The Celebrity Traitors… and the reason why is baffling
Emily Sergeant
Liam Gallagher says he turned down an offer to be on The Celebrity Traitors… but the reason why is not what you’d expect.
It’d be easy enough to imagine the Oasis frontman saying no to a trip to the castle due to work commitments, or maybe because he’s just wanting to rest up ahead the massive Oasis Live ’27 tour next year, but surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly… this is Liam Gallagher we’re talking about, after all) that isn’t the case.
If you’ve never seen The Celebrity Traitors before, it’s a spinoff of the wildly popular main series, The Traitors, and it sees famous faces take part in the ultimate test of deceit and betrayal.
Some of the celebrities taking part this series include Richard E Grant, Miranda Hart, James Blunt, Maya Jama, James Acaster, and more as part of a stacked lineup.
A stacked lineup that Liam Gallagher would undeniably have been a very entertaining part of, but despite this, the rockstar has revealed that not only did he receive an offer to appear on the show, he actually turned it down.
@starshapedcarab I’ve been asked it’s not my thing I’m not a celebrity
Answering a fan’s comment on Twitter this week, Liam confirmed that he had received an offer but it wasn’t really his ‘thing’.
The tweet in question declared: “They should put Liam [Gallagher] on Celebrity Traitors”, to which Gallagher replied: “I’ve been asked [but] it’s not my thing.”
After offering up reason of it not being his ‘thing’ as to why he turned the show down, he then followed up with a slightly more baffling explanation too: “I’m not a celebrity,” he concluded.
We can only assume the denial of celebrity status is due to the fact that Liam doesn’t like the word, and not because he doesn’t consider himself to be famous, as coming off the back of the globally successful Oasis Live ’25 tour and ahead of the upcoming Oasis Live ’27, the band arguably couldn’t be more of a household name.
Many of the comments in response to Liam’s declaration point out that he could be a contestant on the normal BBC series instead, if he doesn’t consider himself a ‘celebrity’. Others also made sure to note that he appeared on an episode of Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox, so he didn’t appear to have an issue with the word then.
So, will LG ever change his mind then? Only time will tell.
Featured Image – BBC & Joshua Halling
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Tesco officially unveils Christmas Meal Deal menu for 2026 and confirms launch date
Emily Sergeant
Tesco has officially unveiled its Christmas Meal Deal menu for 2026, and has revealed when it’ll be arriving in stores.
Spooky season may not have even arrived yet, but it won’t be long before the most wonderful time of the year is here and most of the UK’s major supermarkets have already started stocking their shelves with Christmas food, drink, and gifts galore.
Tesco has now unveiled all the sandwiches and snacks forming part of its iconic lunchtime meal deal selection.
10 new seasonal mains and sides have been launched this year, as well as some classics and returning fan favourites too.
The retailer says its food on-the-go experts have worked hard to bring a variety of festive flavours and great-quality ingredients together this year, with something on offer to cater to all tastes and preferences.
Tesco officially unveils Christmas Meal Deal menu for 2026 / Credit: Tesco
Available in stores and online from next week, with Tesco Clubcard members paying just £3.80 or £5.50 to upgrade to a Premium Meal Deal, some of the all-new main options you can choose from in 2026’s festive lineup include the Fully Loaded Chicken, Stuffing, Braised Red Cabbage & Cranberry Sauce Sandwich, the Christmas Triple Sandwich, and the Pork Meatball Wrap with smoky sage and onion mayonnaise.
Other returning favourites include the Brie and Cranberry Sandwich, the Currywurst Sausage Sub, and the absolute classic Turkey & Trimmings Sandwich.
For veggies and vegans, there’s a new Tesco Plant Chef Christmas Veg Fest Wrap, and for those who follow a gluten free diet, you can grab the Gluten Free Festive Chicken & Trimmings sandwich.
When it comes to snacks to accompany those mains, the festive Mini Pork Pies and Pig in Blanket Sausage Rolls are returning to the lineup this year, alongside some new additions like the Pretzels with Salted Caramel Soft Cheese Dip, and Mini Cheese Twists.
Emily Sergeant -
5th October 2023 
