Culture desk Sound of 2026: Reluctant rock stars Royel Otis kick off the music countdown The Australian indie pop duo had to be talked into becoming a band. It has more than paid off. January 5, 2026
Culture desk Prince William and Catherine win legal battle over ski holiday pictures The images of the royal couple and their children had appeared in a French magazine in April. January 4, 2026
Culture desk Artists awarded grants to in last 2025 funding round ArtHouse Jersey says 2025 saw £55,000 being allocated to local artists. January 3, 2026
Books & Fiction Monster or victim?: The fascination of Hedda Gabler, the ‘female Hamlet’ who divides opinion An unhappy bride plotting others' downfalls, 19th-Century anti-heroine Hedda Gabler is one of the great roles for women – and as new film Hedda... January 3, 2026
Books & Fiction ‘I took up poetry to help deal with anxiety’ Steven Beattie, who works at the Royal Stoke Hospital, is to be Stoke-on-Trent's next poet laureate. January 3, 2026
Culture desk Actor Timothy West ‘died peacefully’ after hospital stay The Bradford-born actor had been receiving palliative care after suffering a head injury in a fall. January 2, 2026
Culture desk The Traitors returns with new ‘secret traitor’ in major shake-up Not even the viewers know who host Claudia Winkleman has assigned as the fourth "secret traitor". January 1, 2026
Books & Fiction George Orwell classics Animal Farm and 1984 translated into Welsh Animal Farm and 1984 will both be published in Welsh for the first time. January 1, 2026
Books & Fiction Cambridge library exhibition ‘lets children see themselves’ An exhibition shows how black people are represented in British children's literature. January 1, 2026