Thousands of people in England will be able to check whether they have genes linked to cancer.
NHS cancer gene database to identify patients at risk
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The Traitors: When Will It Return For Season 5 And Celebrity Season 2?
From Amanda’s kamikaze mission to Fiona’s explosive argument with Rachel – not to mention, of course, that action-packed finale – season four of The Traitors has consistently had us on the edge of our seats over the last four weeks.
Now that the castle gates are closed for another season, fans around the nation will no doubt already be getting withdrawal symptoms.
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Fear not, though, because lots Traitors action is coming to our screens in the near future, with plenty of shocking banishings, dramatic missions and betrayals to look forward to.
So, when are we in for the next instalment of The Traitors…?
Has The Traitors UK season 5 been confirmed, and when will it air?
BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/Matt Burlem
The BBC has already confirmed another series of The Traitors is in the pipeline, and they are looking for new and willing Traitors and Faithfuls to take part.
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Applications opened for the series in November last year, so if you’ve spent the last four weeks telling anyone who’d listen that you’d do a better job than the Traitors and Faithfuls in the castle, now’s your chance to prove it.
Given the last few series’ start date, it’s fair to assume that season five will air on the BBC in early January 2027.
Will there be another season of The Celebrity Traitors?
BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells
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Before The Traitors returns next year, though, we have a second season of the celebrity version coming in the autumn.
Just days after Alan Carr took the title of Celebrity Traitors champion, the BBC confirmed a second season would be airing in 2026.
While there have been no official announcements about who will take part in the series, the list of famous faces is already growing longer, with Danny Dyer, Ruth Jones and Alison Hammond among the early names tipped to be entering the castle to play the ruthless game.
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“Studio Lambert have done an outstanding job as The Celebrity Traitors has well and truly captivated the nation, becoming a bona fide highlight of the year bringing record numbers of people together to enjoy every twist and turn,” Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC said about the renewal.
How can I watch international seasons like The Traitors Ireland or The Traitors US?
If you need your Traitors fix before then, though, the very first two episodes of The Traitors Ireland land on BBC iPlayer just hours after the season four finale of the UK franchise. These two episodes will also air on BBC One at 12am on Saturday 24 January.
The Traitors Ireland is hosted by Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney, and sees 24 players try to survive the castle without getting murdered or banished in the hopes of winning €50,000 (around £43,000).
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BBC/RTE/Kite Entertainment
Instead of Ardross Castle in Scotland, The Traitors Ireland is filmed at Slane Castle in County Meath, which is around an hour’s drive north of Dublin.
A fourth season of the Alan Cumming-hosted The Traitors US is expected to arrive on BBC iPlayer later this year, too. Previous seasons of The Traitors US have appeared on iPlayer weeks after their US broadcast finished, with the current series set to come to an end in America at the end of February.
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If you can’t wait until then, all three previous series of the American version of the reality show are currently available on iPlayer.
BBC/Peacock TV LLC/Euan Cherry
Unlike the British version of The Traitors, the American franchise has included celebrities in every series, although a non-celebrity version has been commissioned for the first time and will film later this year.
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The current American celebrity version is a who’s who of famous faces, including Love Island UK’s Maura Higgins, Real Housewives legend Lisa Rinna and Taylor Swift’s soon-to-be mother-in-law Donna Kelce.
And if you haven’t already binged them, there is already a whole host of Traitors content available to watch in the UK, with seasons from the aforementioned US, as well as New Zealand and Australia on BBC iPlayer.
Robbie Williams Beats The Beatles’ Chart Record As Britpop Reaches Number One
It’s official – Robbie Williams now has more UK number one albums to his name than any artist in history.
On Friday evening, the Official Charts Company announced that Robbie had beaten the record previously held by The Beatles with the release of his 13th studio album Britpop.
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Britpop has become the Angels singer’s 16th number one, thanks to a combination of his studio albums, greatest hits collections and soundtrack releases.
Last year, he matched The Beatles’ record of 15 UK number one albums after the companion album to the musical biopic Better Man reached the top spot.
Robbie previously described Britpop as the album that he “wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995”.
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He recalled: “It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British Music. I’ve worked with some of my heroes on this album; it’s raw, there are more guitars and it’s an album that’s even more upbeat and anthemic than usual.
“There’s some ‘Brit’ in there and there’s certainly some ‘pop’ too – I’m immensely proud of this as a body of work.”
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Britpop was originally supposed to be released in October 2025, but he pushed the release back by several months to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl.
“It’s because of Taylor Swift,” he told The Guardian of the decision to delay the album’s release. “I could pretend it’s not, but it is. It’s selfish. I want a 16th No 1 album.”
While the album was initially postponed to 6 February, he surprise released digitally on Friday 16 January, followed by the deluxe version days later.
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Britpop was preceded by lead single Rocket, featuring Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes.
The album also features contributions from Jesse & Joy and Gary Barlow, who is listed as the co-writer of a song named after Morrissey.
January Is A Month Of ‘Quiet Coping’, Survey Finds
Ah, January. Not only does it seem to go on forever, but it’s also uniquely exhausting – it’s filled with post-holiday blues, grim weather, and, for some, symptoms of SAD.
And, new research from ODEON suggests, the “emotional weight” of the month doesn’t reach a single peak, as the debunked Blue Monday would suggest. Instead, the low mood many feel in the first few weeks of the year is felt pretty uniformly across January.
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Conducted with mental health charity Mind, the results of the survey suggested that people want to be around one another this month without the pressure of too much chat; a move they call “quiet coping”.
How does January affect our mood?
In this research, respondents said that for them, January was linked to tiredness and exhaustion (32%), lack of motivation (31%) and feeling flat or emotionally low (30%).
Only 9% associate January primarily with sadness.
48% of UK adults say January makes them feel pressured to improve themselves or “start over,” even if they don’t really feel emotionally ready.
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36%, meanwhile, said they want to socialise less often, but don’t fancy total isolation.
Instead, they said they crave low-pressure social plans (15%), simply recharging by themselves (38%), talking to a close friend or confidant (21%), and focusing on their routine (36%) to “quietly cope”.
Suzie Welch, Managing Director of ODEON UKI, said: “For many people, coping quietly, through familiarity, shared spaces and experiences that don’t demand conversation or explanation, is what helps them get through the start of the year.
“Our partnership with Mind continues to be about recognising those quieter moments and making space for people to feel welcome exactly as they are.”
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Socialising is good for us – but more isn’t always better
Healthy relationships are linked to better longevity, a decreased dementia risk, and even more diverse gut bacteria.
But a little socialising seems to go a long way. Some research suggests that people who went from “seldom” seeing their loved ones to seeing them once a month saw some health improvements, while those who saw them every day had the same health challenges as those who never saw them at all.
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All of which is to say there’s no need to force yourself into January burnout – “quiet coping” can be all about forging time for yourself and not placing too much pressure on social engagements if you need it to be.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
Abortion at 15 ‘changed my life’, says Senedd candidate
Tessa Marshall has shared the experience to highlight issues such as women’s rights and sex education.
US officially leaves World Health Organization
Trump ordered the withdrawal a year ago, accusing the UN agency of failing to adopt reforms and mishandling the pandemic.
Maternity services rated inadequate at two hospitals
The CQC finds that only minimal improvements have been made at two NHS hospitals.
Scientists ranked monogamy across mammals and humans stand out
Humans appear to be much closer to animals like meerkats and beavers than to most other primates when it comes to exclusive mating, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The study presents a comparative ranking that measures levels of monogamy across a range of mammal species, including humans.
For decades, scientists studying human evolution have relied on fossil evidence and anthropological fieldwork to draw conclusions about mating behavior. In non-human animals, researchers have instead turned to long-term observations of social groups and genetic paternity testing to understand reproductive patterns.
Measuring Monogamy Through Siblings
The new research takes a different path. Dr. Mark Dyble of Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology examined the ratio of full siblings to half-siblings across many mammal species, as well as among human populations spanning thousands of years. This sibling balance serves as a proxy for how exclusive mating tends to be.
According to Dyble, species or societies with higher levels of monogamy tend to produce more children who share both parents. In contrast, populations with more polygamous or promiscuous mating systems generate a higher proportion of half-siblings.
To quantify this pattern, Dyble developed a computational model that links sibling data from recent genetic studies to known reproductive strategies. The result is an estimated monogamy rating that can be compared across species and cultures.
While the model is not meant to be perfectly precise, Dyble says it offers a more tangible way to compare mating systems across both animals and human societies over long stretches of time.
“There is a premier league of monogamy, in which humans sit comfortably, while the vast majority of other mammals take a far more promiscuous approach to mating,” said Dyble, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Cambridge.
“The finding that human rates of full siblings overlap with the range seen in socially monogamous mammals lends further weight to the view that monogamy is the dominant mating pattern for our species.”
A Longstanding Debate About Human Pairing
Whether humans are naturally monogamous has been argued for centuries. Many scholars have suggested that stable pair bonding helped fuel the cooperation that allowed humans to thrive globally.
At the same time, anthropologists have documented enormous variation in human marriage systems. Earlier research shows that 85% of pre-industrial societies allowed polygynous marriage — where a man is married to several women at the same time.
Genetic Data From Ancient and Modern Societies
To estimate human monogamy levels, Dyble analyzed genetic evidence from archaeological sites, including Bronze Age burial grounds in Europe and Neolithic settlements in Anatolia. He combined this with ethnographic data from 94 human societies worldwide, ranging from the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania to the rice-farming Toraja people of Indonesia.
“There is a huge amount of cross-cultural diversity in human mating and marriage practices, but even the extremes of the spectrum still sit above what we see in most non-monogamous species,” said Dyble.
The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, show that humans have an overall full sibling rate of 66%. That places our species seventh out of eleven studied and firmly within the group considered socially monogamous, with a preference for long-term pair bonds.
How Humans Compare to Other Mammals
Meerkats show a 60% rate of full siblings, while beavers rank slightly higher than humans at 73%. In both cases, the data point to a strong tendency toward monogamy alongside some flexibility.
The species most similar to humans in the study is the white-handed gibbon, with a monogamy rate of 63.5%. It is the only other highly ranked “monotocous” species, meaning it typically produces a single offspring per pregnancy rather than litters.
Another notable entry is the moustached tamarin, a small monkey from the Amazon. It is the only non-human primate in the top group and usually gives birth to twins or triplets, resulting in a full sibling rate of nearly 78%.
All remaining primates in the study display either polygynous or polygynandrous (where both males and females have multiple partners) mating systems and fall much lower in the rankings.
Mountain gorillas show a full sibling rate of just 6%, while chimpanzees come in at only 4% — on a par with dolphins. Macaque species score even lower, ranging from 2.3% in Japanese macaques to just 1% in Rhesus macaques.
An Unusual Evolutionary Shift
“Based on the mating patterns of our closest living relatives, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, human monogamy probably evolved from non-monogamous group living, a transition that is highly unusual among mammals,” said Dyble.
A similar shift appears in some wolf and fox species, which practice forms of social monogamy and cooperative care, even though their ancestral canids were likely group-living and polygynous.
Grey Wolves and Red Foxes enter the upper tier with full sibling rates close to half (46% and 45% respectively). African species score even higher, with Ethiopian wolves at 76.5% and African Wild dogs ranking second overall with an 85% monogamy rating.
At the top of the list is the California deermouse, which pairs for life once mated and achieves a full sibling rate of 100%. At the opposite extreme is Scotland’s Soay sheep, with just 0.6% full siblings because each ewe mates with multiple rams.
What Makes Humans Different
“Almost all other monogamous mammals either live in tight family units of just a breeding pair and their offspring, or in groups where only one female breeds,” said Dyble. “Whereas humans live in strong social groups in which multiple females have children.”
The only other mammal thought to maintain stable, mixed-sex, multi-adult groups with several exclusive pair bonds is the Patagonian mara, a large rabbit-like rodent that lives in communal warrens made up of long-term couples.
Dyble emphasized that the study focuses on reproductive outcomes rather than sexual behavior.
“This study measures reproductive monogamy rather than sexual behavior. In most mammals, mating and reproduction are tightly linked. In humans, birth control methods and cultural practices break that link.”
“Humans have a range of partnerships that create conditions for a mix of full and half-siblings with strong parental investment, from serial monogamy to stable polygamy.”
Elon Musk Mocks Donald Trump’s ‘Board Of Peace’ With Land Grab Pun
Elon Musk mocked Donald Trump’s new “Board of Peace” by joking about the US’s aggressive foreign policy moves today in Switzerland.
The former presidential adviser laid into the fledging body, which – according to Trump – “might” replace the United Nations while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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Musk said: “I heard about the formation of the peace summit. I was like, is that P-I-E-C-E?”
“You know, a little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela,” Musk laughed. “All we want is piece.”
The entire summit has been overshadowed by Trump’s determination to take “control” over the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland, which is also part of Nato.
The president has since backed down over his aggressive threats, dropping his claim that he would slap tariffs on European allies who oppose a potential takeover.
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Trump claims he now has a “framework of a future deal” with Nato which meets his Greenland demands.
The US president also ratified his new Board of Peace on the sidelines of Davos, with a handful of countries around the world agreeing to sit as members.
The Davos summit comes weeks after Trump stunned international partners by launching an attack on Venezuela and kidnapping its president, Nicolas Maduro.
Today’s appearance from Musk marked the Tesla, SpaceX and X chief’s first ever appearance at the conference, which is known as a gathering for the world’s elite.
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His attendance was particularly surprising considering he has been a vocal critic of the gathering in recent years, calling it “boring” and describing WEF as an “unelected world government that the people never asked for and don’t want”.
The world’s richest person also used to be the president’s right-hand man but he quit his role as chief of the DOGE – Department of Government Efficiencies – last year, sparking several spats with Trump online.
They have since mended their relationship though Musk has not returned to the administration.
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Zelenskyy Launches Surprise Attack On ‘Lost And Fragmented’ Europe Amid Peace Talks Push
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lashed out at his European allies for not taking enough action over Russia’s continued war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president accused the continent of failing to “take the lead in defending freedom” while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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He claimed Europe is a “fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers” and looks “lost” as it tries to convince Donald Trump to force Moscow to end its four-year offensive.
“Instead of taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide, especially when America’s focus shifts elsewhere, Europe looks lost, trying to convince the US president to change,” he said.
“If Europe is not seen as a global force, if its actions do not scare bad actors, then Europe will always be catching up with new dangers and attacks.”
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Trump has often promised to end the Ukraine-Russia war, but – a year after he returned to office – peace still seems elusive.
Putin has been dragging his heels repeatedly over negotiations, even when the US president effectively offered Russia rewards for being the aggressor and invading Ukraine in 2022.
While Russia continues its grinding offensive and bombards Ukraine’s national infrastructure, Trump has repeatedly blamed Zelenskyy for the slow progress in negotiations.
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The Ukrainian president also told WEF that Europe’s hesitation to act would have repercussions beyond Ukraine, emboldening other authoritarian regimes aside from the Kremlin.
“Who in Europe needs that message to become reality? And yet Europe has not even tried to build its own response,” Zelenskyy said.
He added: “Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech by saying Europe needs to know how to defend itself.
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“A year has passed and nothing has changed. I am forced to say the same words again.”
He pointed out that in 2025, most of the time was spent discussing long-range weapons for Ukraine, but now “no one is even talking about it”.
He said: “Today they target Ukraine. Tomorrow, it could be any Nato country.”
Zelenskyy claimed he had a “productive and substantive” one-hour meeting with the US president at Davos – their first in-person conversation this year – but no fresh agreements seemed to emerge.
He also announced that a two-day trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the US and Russia are set to start on January 23 in the United Arab Emirates.
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Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are set to meet with Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
