The giant of stage and screen is 87 and still hates looking in the mirror. At home with his husband, he talks about weeping, sleeping with Daniel Craig, terrifying directors and the joys of white wine and a nap

Derek Jacobi is chatting to the photographer in the living room. His voice is unmistakeable – rich, buttered, every sentence beautifully parsed and phrased. I’m in the kitchen with his husband, Richard Clifford, who is making coffee. He tells me they have been together 47 years. “We met when I was 22 and he was 39.”

“I’m a child snatcher,” guffaws Jacobi from the lounge.

The allegations of rape and sexual assault made by ‘brides’ on the show reflect what many other women experience. Sadly, so do the responses

She said no. She didn’t want it, she made that very clear, but he did it anyway; pushing her feelings aside as though they didn’t matter, because to him they seemingly didn’t. It’s a story so depressingly common that most women probably carry a private version of it in their heads, either buried in their own memories or confided to them by a friend. But still, there’s something profoundly shocking about the idea of it happening right under the noses of a TV audience.

Perhaps you’ve never watched Channel 4’s hit show Married at First Sight, which involves putting total strangers through a purely ceremonial “wedding” and making them live as husband and wife for six weeks to see whether they actually want to make a go of the relationship. But you’re almost certainly familiar with Panorama, which this week told the stories of three former “brides”. Lizzie and Chloe (not their real names) both say they were raped by their on-screen “husbands” – and, in Lizzie’s case, also subjected to alarmingly violent outbursts of temper and an alleged threat of an acid attack – while Shona Manderson, who has spoken publicly, accuses hers of sexual misconduct. All three men, it should be said, deny the allegations.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

I was rushing towards the turnstile when I noticed a bundle of clothes in a corner. I walked over, peeled back a dark sweatshirt, and saw him

In the summer of 2000, I could never have imagined becoming a father. I was 34, living in New York City, with a good job in social care, but still in a tiny apartment. I had been with my partner, Pete, for just over three years; we were serious, but we didn’t live together. Becoming a parent was not on my radar.

One August evening, I had finished work late and was hurrying to a dinner reservation I had with Pete. I was rushing towards the turnstile at Union Square station when I noticed a bundle of clothes in a corner. I saw it move and stopped in my tracks. I walked over, peeled back a dark sweatshirt, and saw him: a newborn baby, with the umbilical cord still attached.

Gardeners tending to allotments were terrified to see animal roaming wild after mauling one of its keepers – but critics have long been concerned

A tiger on the loose among garden allotments. Panicked residents summoning armed police ill-equipped to deal with a dangerous predator. And, behind it all, Germany’s self-proclaimed “Tiger Queen” and her private menagerie.

In startling scenes over the weekend in the eastern town of Schkeuditz, near Leipzig airport, the mix proved fatal for a big cat named Sandokan and left a keeper seriously injured.

While Friday morning is the official announcement, the makeup of the squad has become clear and features some big calls

Thomas Tuchel has a way to go to emulate his Brazil counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, in terms of sheer spectacle when it comes to the announcement of a World Cup squad. Ancelotti took centre stage at the elegant Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to reveal his 26 players, going name by name, the large audience of celebrities and influencers erupting when he eventually confirmed that Neymar was in.

There will nevertheless be a sense of razzmatazz on Friday morning when Tuchel confirms his England squad for the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico. It is a seismic day in the football cycle, one that does not need additional trimmings. But it will get them anyway, with the Football Association going digital-first in an effort to harness the excitement and zap it straight to supporters’ devices.

Take your lead from Harry Styles and go for short shorts, or dig out your favourite knee-length pair

Parents speak for first time about daughters’ heroism on the day and their courage in dealing with critical injuries, scars and trauma

From the outside, the small gathering of young girls looked like an ordinary playdate. They chatted giddily, practised pilates and twirled around in their new outfits to the music of Harry Styles.

But on the sidelines, some of the parents were in tears. The last time these girls shared a room was on 29 July 2024. That day, they fled in fear as a hooded teenager turned a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport into one of the most horrific attacks on children in modern British history.

Thames Valley police believe more witnesses may be out there in inquiry into alleged misconduct in public office by former prince

Police investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor want witnesses to contact them if they believe they have information about alleged sexual misconduct, corruption, fraud or the sharing of confidential information involving the king’s brother.

In a sign of the potential expansion of their “unprecedented investigation”, Thames Valley police vowed to rigorously investigate claims against the former Prince Andrew.

Updated code of practice covering England, Wales and Scotland also relates to changing rooms and follows supreme court ruling

• What is the updated EHRC code of practice about and how does it apply?

Single-sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must exclude transgender men and women, according to a new code of practice from the equalities watchdog.

But the long-awaited guidance also says that businesses and service providers have to offer practical alternatives such as gender-neutral toilets for people who do not wish to use services for their biological sex.

Spending committee finds MoD most wasteful and also points to cancelled schemes such as Rwanda and Stonehenge

Cancelled government projects such as the Rwanda deportation scheme and the road tunnel under Stonehenge are wasting billions of pounds of taxpayer money a year, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.

About £6.6bn was written off by government departments last year alone – state spending that did not achieve its intended objectives or create any value for the taxpayer, the public accounts committee said.