TV & Showbiz

One Born Every Minute is returning to TV – and this time, it’s filmed in Manchester

St Mary's is the star of the show

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 23rd October 2026

The BAFTA-award winning documentary series One Born Every Minute is returning to our screens this week – and this time, it’s been filmed in Manchester.

The hit series ran for 11 seasons between 2010 and 2018, before taking a break.

But Channel 4’s acclaimed series will return from 25 October, following a whole new set of parents as they welcome new arrivals in one of the UK’s busiest maternity wards – Manchester’s St Mary’s Hospital.

Viewers will be taken back onto the wards for a new series of the observational documentary series, following the intimate, emotional journey of childbirth in 12 new episodes.

They’re promising that this latest season of One Born Every Minute will capture modern Britain, highlighting evolving family dynamics, advances in maternity care, and the real-life challenges faced by NHS staff in 2026.

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Vivienne Molokwu, Senior Commissioning Editor, Reality & Entertainment and Commissioning Lead for E4 said: “Nearly 10 years on, we feel very privileged to once again follow the journey that parents embark on as they welcome their babies to the world.

“We know the roller coaster of emotions that this period brings is something that will really resonate with the E4 audience, and we cannot wait for our viewers to see how the digital age has reshaped how families navigate this stage of life.”

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Will Rowson, Co-Creative Director at Dragonfly TV added: “There’s such affection for One Born Every Minute, and we’re thrilled to return to it. In the years it’s been away so much around pregnancy and maternity care has changed, making this an exciting moment to reimagine the show for an E4 audience.”

One Born Every Minute will return to E4 on Sunday 25 October at 9pm.

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Featured image: Rachel Joseph / Channel Rachel Joseph / Channel 4

TV & Showbiz

Mercury Prize 2026 review: RAYE takes home the crown as Newcastle celebrates the very best in music

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

One of the biggest nights in music kicked off last night as the Mercury Prize 2026 was awarded.

If there was ever a night to fall head over heels in love with British and Irish music, the 2026 Mercury Prize made a very convincing case.

Bringing together some of the country’s most exciting artists under one roof in Newcastle, this year’s ceremony was a reminder of just how much talent is packed into the current music scene.

From established legends to the names shaping what comes next, it was an absolute belter.

Images: Audio North

Held at the Newcastle Utilita Arena for the second year running, I think everybody in that room felt very lucky to be there to see firsthand who took home the coveted prize.

The shortlist brought together an impressive mix of artists, with Florence + The Machine, Olivia Dean, JADE, Suede, Pulp, Dave and Sir Paul McCartney among the big names making the lineup very star studded indeed.

Suede kicked things off with ‘Dancing With The Europeans’, bringing their unmistakable energy to the ceremony, while Pulp delivered ‘Begging For Change’ as part of the HELP(2) charity compilation.

 
 
 
 
 
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It was a line-up that demonstrated the sheer range of music being made across the UK and Ireland, from contemporary pop to established rock and even jungle thanks to Bradford’s own Nia Archives.

And of course, there was one woman who had every reason to leave with a smile on her face.

RAYE took home the coveted Mercury Prize for THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE., an ambitious, genre-hopping album that blends jazz, soul, R&B and classical influences into something so fabulously unique.

Image: Audio North

Newcastle’s own Knats performance was definitely a highlight of the evening, combining slick jazz with spoken-word poetry against a projection of The Tyne Bridge.

A fitting image, and one that underlines the importance of holding such huge events in the north and highlighting the obvious talent that thrives here.

The 2026 Mercury Prize was a brilliant showcase of the country’s music at its best.

And with RAYE taking home the trophy, it’s clear there is plenty of ‘hope’ left in British music.

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Featured image – Audio North

TV & Showbiz

Chester Zoo welcomes The Traitors stars Claudia and Alan – but it’s not what you think

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo Chester Zoo welcomes The Traitors stars Claudia and Alan - and they're vultures

No, Chester Zoo isn’t keeping actual Claudia Winkleman and Alan Carr in enclosures – everybody stand down.

The zoo is in fact welcoming its first pair of hooded vultures, to hopefully boost the critically endangered species, and they just so happen to be named after some of our favourite celebrities from The Traitors.

As famous as Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman are, these two give them a run for their money, as the first of their kind to ever come to Chester Zoo – making them pretty big celebs in the animal kingdom.

The pair of vultures are currently nestling in to their new home, alongside their new white-headed vulture roommates, at the Heart of Africa aviary. It is here that conservationists are hoping the newly bonded pair will start a family, as part of a Europe-wide breeding programme, to help safeguard their species from extinction – no pressure or anything.

Bird Keeper Heather-Anne Pedley said: “Alan and Claudia came to us from the Horstmann Trust, a conservation breeding centre for vultures, where they are an established breeding pair. We named them
after Traitors stars Alan Carr and Claudia Winkelman, because what better way to reflect how funny and engaging they are, than to name them after two national treasures?

“Nobody prepared me for how much I would fall in love with them, their antics and characters. They look like they’ve just put a hood up, and they have this beautiful blue ring around their eyes, like natural eyeliner.”

Alan and Claudia, Chester Zoo's new vultures
Alan and Claudia, Chester Zoo’s new vultures. Credit: Chester Zoo

Hooded vultures are distinctive with dark brown feathers, a buff ‘hood’ and a bald face and throat, with wingspans of up to 180cm. They are native to west, central and southern Africa, where they typically pick up their lunch by soaring over the land, looking for carcasses to feed upon as part of ‘nature’s clean-up crew.’

It’s not all gore though, they are very active, clever and interested in their environment. The couples are monogamous, will preen each other, gently touch each other’s bills and co-build nests – quite the romantics.

Heather-Anne added: “This pair are real love birds, and we are hopeful they’ll go on to breed. Any youngsters they go on to have will become part of a European conservation breeding programme, helping to create an insurance population for this incredibly rare species.

“In the wild, vultures help prevent zoonotic diseases – illnesses that can spread between species – because their stomach acid is so strong they can eat decaying meat that other animals would not be able to digest. This helps prevent the spread of diseases like anthrax and botulism into the soil.”

Despite their crucial role across various ecosystems, vulture numbers are declining and they are now sadly classified as critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

This decline is driven by mid-air collisions or accidental electrocution by scanning the ground for prey whilst perched on uninsulated power lines. These birds are also at risk of being poisoned or even hunted to facilitate an unsustainable demand for vulture body parts and eggs to be used in traditional medicine and rituals, while there is no scientific evidence to support this use.

We are really rooting these two and hope that they settle into their new home.

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