The Mail has launched a new WhatsApp Channel, providing you with the latest news directly to your app. 

WhatsApp Channels let you privately follow people, organisations, sports teams, artists and thought leaders you want to get updates from. 

Unlike personal chats, you can’t respond to messages sent in Channels. 

What’s more, who you choose to follow is private, and will not be visible to other followers. 

Here’s everything you need to know about WhatsApp Channels – including how to join The Mail’s Channel.  

Meta first announced Channels back in June, when it initially rolled out in Singapore and Colombia. 

However, it is now being rolled out in over 150 countries, including the UK and the US.   

‘If you’re new to Channels, our goal is to build the most private broadcast service available,’ WhatsApp explained.

‘Channels are separate from your chats, and who you choose to follow is not visible to other followers. 

‘We also protect the personal information of both admins and followers.’

To follow the The Mail on WhatsApp Channels, simply click on this invite link. 

You can also search for The Mail’s Channel by tapping the Updates tab > Plus+ > Find channels, and searching ‘Daily Mail’. 

Alternatively, use your smartphone to scan the QR code in the fact box, and you’ll be taken to a page to join the channel. 

If you can’t see Channels, try updating WhatsApp via your app store. 

Once you’ve joined The Mail’s channel, make sure you tap the bell icon at the top of the screen to receive notifications. 

Channels will appear under the Updates tab in the WhatsApp app, which can be found next to ‘Chats’, ‘Calls’ and ‘Communities’.

Unlike personal chats, Channels are a ‘one-way broadcast tool’, so if you get an update, you won’t be able to reply to it. 

Channel admins will send the updates to all who have chosen to receive them, whether they’re text, photos, videos, stickers or polls. 

For privacy reasons, the phone number and profile photo of the Channel admin will not be shared with people receiving the updates.

Likewise, following a channel won’t reveal your phone number to the admin or other followers. 

WhatsApp Channel messages will only be stored for 30 days before they are deleted.

‘This is just the beginning, and we’ll continue to add more features and expand Channels based on feedback we get from users,’ WhatsApp added.

Channel 4 has become embroiled in a fakery row after pretending that a man appearing on their reality show Married At First Sight UK was unaware he had been paired up with a transgender woman.

Next week viewers will see Ella Morgan, who was born male and transitioned into a woman when she was 20, wed the contestant before some hours later telling him that she is trans.

They will watch as the man is left in shock when he learns he has just wed the Ms Morgan.

And in a bid to keep the drama going, she doesn’t tell her new husband for some time after the wedding ceremony.

However, the broadcaster has now admitted that they did tell the groom before filming the dramatic scenes, meaning that the organisation has duped their viewers.

It is understood that the man is ‘furious’ with how Channel 4 treated him during his time on the programme and afterwards.

Married At First Sight, which is aired on the broadcaster’s E4 streaming platform, sees contestants not know who they are marrying until they meet them at the altar.

And they keep this pretence up to fans in the pre-recorded episode which airs next Tuesday.

But a Channel 4 spokesperson confirmed to the MailOnline that ‘the groom was told that the match found for him was a trans woman.’

They now risk complaints from both television regulator Ofcom and the show’s fans.

In a statement issued, the network says: ‘This is the first time MAFS UK has featured a trans bride so, to ensure fully informed consent, and with the permission of the bride, the groom was told that the match found for him was a trans woman, after which both parties chose to continue in the process.

‘In all other ways, the integrity of the format was preserved. Our priority during matchmaking is to protect the wellbeing of the cast and create compatible matches, based on detailed assessment of individual preferences, as part of an in-depth, careful matchmaking process.’

Despite the programme being fake, Channel 4 bosses insist that ‘a high duty of care’ was put into their match.

It isn’t the first time that the network, which is state owned, has been embroiled in fake television.

In 2007 its chat show Richard & Judy was exposed to be rigging its phone-in called The You Say, We Pay game, by taking £1 phone entries despite the successful participants already been chosen. The show was axed afterwards.

Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show was axed in 1999 after it emerged that fake guests with fabricated sob stories were appearing on it.

Ms Morgan is the first transgender contestant to appear on the show.

Speaking of her decision to appear on the series, she told the Mail: ‘I’m really proud of it because going into this I was scared to say that I’m trans but now I can hold my head up high.

‘I have changed a lot of people’s minds and I have also found me. I am proud to say I’m trans and so what it’s just a label. I’m still just like any other girl.

‘I don’t want to be someone’s dirty secret, but I feel like people aren’t educated these days.

Last year Married At First Sight was rocked by ’emotional abuse’ claims about one of its contestants.

George Roberts married April Banbury at the start of the experiment and was accused of being an emotional abuser by three of his ex-girlfriends, though he denied all the claims.

2021: HEALTH ISSUES, 10 MONTHS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ADMISSION TO A SWISS TREATMENT FACILITY 

January 27 – Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco.

March 18 – Charlene is pictured at the memorial for the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, South Africa

April 2 – Charlene posts an Instagram picture of herself, Albert and their twins Jacques and Gabriella for Easter from an unknown locatoin. 

May 8 – Albert, Jacques and Gabriella attend a Grand Prix event in Monaco without Charlene

May 18 – Charlene shares her first picture from her conservation trip in South Africa

June 3 – New photos emerge of Charlene on her conservation trip

June 5 – Charlene puts on a united front as she shares a photo with her family to mark her niece’s fifth birthday with her brother’s family and Albert and the twins in South Africa

June 24 – Charlene’s foundation releases a statement saying the royal is unable to travel and is undergoing procedures for an ear, nose and throat infection

July 2 – Charlene and Albert mark their 10th anniversary separately. ‘This year will be the first time that I’m not with my husband on our anniversary in July, which is difficult, and it saddens me,’ Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene said in a statement.

August 13 – Charlene undergoes a four-hour operation. The reason is not announced

August 25 – Charlene shares photos of Prince Albert, Gabriella and Jacques visiting her in South Africa

September 1 – Charlene is admitted under an alias to the Netcare Alberlito Hospital after suddenly ‘collapsing’

September 2 – Charlene is discharged, with a statement from the Palais Princier reading: ‘Her Highness is closely monitored by Her medical team who said that Her condition was not worrying’

September 30 – Charlene releases a stylish video promoting her anti-poaching campaign from her South African bolthole

October 3 – Princess Charlene shares a photograph of herself smiling in front of a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare

October 6 – Albert tells RMC radio Charlene is ‘ready to come home’

October 8 2021 – Princess undergoes more surgery in South Africa

November 8 – Charlene arrives back in Monaco. Prince Albert said within hours it became clear she was ‘unwell’

November 13 2021  – Prince Albert attends Expo 2020 in Dubai without Princess Charlene. Following his return from the trip, Prince Albert holds an intervention with Charlene’s brothers and a sister-in-law in which Charlene ‘confirmed’ she would seek ‘real medically-framed treatment’ outside of Monaco

November 16 – Royal household confirms Princess Charlene will not attend National Day celebrations on November 19

November 17 – Prince Albert reveals Princess Charlene has left Monaco and is recovering in a secret location

November 19 – Prince Albert reveals Charlene is in a treatment facility ‘elsewhere in Europe’ after a family intervention

November 25 – Sources tell Page Six Princess Charlene ‘almost died’ after sinus surgery and ‘lost nearly half her body weight’ due to being ‘unable to swallow’. They also said it was ‘unfair’ to portray her as struggling with mental health issues 

December 11 – Royal breaks her silence on Instagram to wish her twins Jacques and Gabriella a happy seventh birthday

December 24 – Princess Charlene of Monaco is still ‘months from recovery’ but will reunite with Prince Albert and their twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriela for Christmas at treatment centre

2022: ROAD TO RECOVERY

January 25 – Princess Charlene celebrates her 44th birthday alone: Royal shares slideshow of snaps from happier times featuring Prince Albert, their children and her swimming career as she continues to receive treatment outside of Monaco

March 14 – Palace announces that Charlene is back in Monaco but will take time to ‘further strengthen her health before gradually resuming her official duties’

April 17 – Charlene is pictured for the first time in a family portrait to celebrate Easter

April 30 – Charlene makes her first public appearance since leaving a treatment facility as she attends Monaco E-Prix with Prince Albert

May 7 – The royal makes her second public appearance at the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament 

May 10 – French media claims Prince Albert has agreed to pay his wife £10million a year to make sure she fulfils her consort role 

May 25 – Princess Charlene continues her return to public life at Monte Carlo Fashion Awards with daughter Princess Gabriella 

May 28 – Princess Charlene continues her return to public life as she joins Prince Albert at F1 in Monaco for the first time since 2019 

June 6 – Prince Albert says he was hurt by the ‘vicious’ rumours about his wife’s absence from Monaco and his family ‘missed the princess a lot’ 

June 16 – Princess Charlene appears sombre in all-black ensemble for Catholic festival 

June 18 – Princess Charlene of Monaco looks glamorous in all-green ensemble as she steps out with Prince Albert for the Monte Carlo TV Festival opening ceremony 

June 23 – Albert and Charlene attend a science exhibition opening with their children in Oslo – her first overseas visit since returning to public duties

July 4 – Albert and Charlene! Monaco royals hold hands in new portrait to mark 11 years of marriage

July 5 – Charlene visits the Princess Grace Hospital Centre in her first solo engagement since her return to Monaco 

July 9 – Albert attends Monaco’s Rose Ball without his wife, despite it being the highlight of the social calendar

July 18 – Royal joins Prince Albert at the 73rd Red Cross Gala in Monte Carlo 

July 20 – Couple visit The Vatican for a private audience with Pope Francis 

September 4 – Charlene joins Prince Albert and their children Gabriella and Jacques for a rare family appearance at traditional picnic in Monaco 

September 6 – Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco take their twins Jacques and Gabriella, 7, to class for their first day back after the summer holiday

September 12 – Couple attend a memorial service for the late Queen Elizabeth II

September 19 – Princess Charlene attends the Queen’s funeral in London alongside her husband Prince Albert 

October 4-5 – Princess Charlene wows on a solo surprise visit to Paris Fashion Week

October 21 – Princess Charlene of Monaco makes emotional solo visit to an animal shelter as she sends ‘all her love’ to fans following her return to royal duties

November 8 – Royal couple attend the annual Princess Grace Awards in New York 

November 16 – Princess Charlene attends Monaco’s Red Cross Christmas gift distribution with Prince Albert 

November 19-20 – Princess Charlene attends Monaco National Day celebrations with Prince Albert and presents awards at 2022 World Rugby Awards ceremony

December 2 – Princess Charlene takes her seven-year-old twins to Monaco Christmas village along with her model niece Charlotte Casiraghi

December 13 – Attends Monaco’s Red Cross Christmas gift distribution with her husband Prince Albert 

December 14 – Family attend Christmas tree ceremony in Monaco 

December 15 – Princess Charlene of Monaco reveals she feels ‘much better’ and has ‘much more energy’ after lengthy health crisis in an interview with Monaco Matin – the first since returning to royal duties

December 21 – Royals release a stylish family Christmas card

December 23 – ‘Proud’ Prince Albert praises Princess Charlene for ‘turning it around in an incredible way’ after lengthy health crisis, saying she had a ‘very tough year’ 

Channel Seven make huge decision about Matildas’ World Cup match against France in a first for women’s sport in Australia

•  Seven have made big change to programming
•  Move is a first for women’s football in Australia
•  Matildas kick off against France on Saturday at 5pm AEST

By James Cooney For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 20:24 EDT, 9 August 2023 | Updated: 20:24 EDT, 9 August 2023

Biden mocked for choosing The Weather Channel for a rare sit-down TV interview

• President Biden is sitting down with The Weather Channel in Arizona on Tuesday to discuss climate change and extreme weather events 
• Republicans jumped on the outlet choice by referencing Democratic claims that Biden only discussed the ‘weather’ when on  calls with his son and his associates
• Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer told the Oversight panel Hunter put his father on speakerphone 20 times with foreign contacts

By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:08 EDT, 8 August 2023 | Updated: 16:34 EDT, 8 August 2023

Viewers of Channel 4‘s Alone UK have been left baffled after the first episode revealed a cast of ‘unprepared city dwellers’ hoping to survive in the Canadian wilderness.

The UK adaptation of the hit American show, which aired last night, saw a group of 11 Brits head into an area four times the size of the UK near the Mackenzie River, in the Dehcho region of Northwest Canada.

Dropped off alone in the area on the cusp of the arctic circle  – which is home to more than 3,000 bears, as well as moose, cougars and wolves – each person is expected to sustain themselves for as long as possible. Whoever manages to stay the longest wins a £100,000 prize.

While both the original US version, and the Australian adaptation, cast survival experts –  the British competitors were mostly based in major cities and had little to no survival training before a nine-day course they underwent on the show.

‘Watched the American equivalent for years and they’re all survivalists or similar – this lot are all from the city with no skills and no common sense. Have they not at least watched a couple of series of the US one? What nonsense,’ one viewer wrote.

Among the cast was Naomi, a 26-year-old fashion designer from Chelsea, west London.

The mum-of-one admitted that she ‘gets lost in Tesco’ but says she ‘loves the outdoors’ and wanted to challenge herself to survive.

After setting up camp on the first night, Naomi revealed the wilderness was not what she was use to, moments before she came face-to-face with a bear. 

‘There are so many sounds. My senses are already being heightened. Thousands of noises in London and not one of them sounds like this,’ she says.  

‘I don’t know what the f*** that was. I’m shaking. There is something right outside my shelter.’

The camera then shows a bear that is dangerously close to Naomi’s shelter, she then shouts at it to leave.

The next day Naomi says it was the ‘scariest night of her life’.

‘It knows I’m here now so I need to protect myself.’ 

Amazingly, Naomi actually fared better than other contestants – as joiner Mike, 49, from Manchester was forced home after just four hours.

The reformed drug addict, who had hoped the show would ‘take him out of the norm’ accidentally axed himself in the leg while building a shelter.

As he needed stitches, he was forced to leave the show.

Mike had been building a shelter when he began to use the axe to as a hammer to knock a peg in when it bounced off ‘spongy mossy ground’ – in 60 mph winds.  

‘F***ing hell man, I’ve nailed myself, f***ing hell man, it’s bleeding. Hit the side of my leg with an axe and I know it needs stitches. Absolutely gutted,’ he said.

‘I can’t believe it man, I’m absolutely devastated, I’ve worked with tools all my life,’ he added before a helicopter picked him up.  

Speaking earlier in the show, he explained: ‘I think I’ve got enough about me to deal with the mental struggles that will obviously be there. 

’30 years ago, I was addicted to heroin, it started with like amphetamine and LSD and then moved on to heroin. 

‘Getting clean wasn’t straightforward, it was like waking up and someone saying ‘stop breathing’, so I think that my experience of suffering and getting through suffering gives me a bit of an edge.’

Viewers however weren’t convinced with the teams lack of survival skills – with some questioning why they were cast.

‘Alone UK! Entertaining but awful. I really hope no-one in Canada or America watches it. They need to know we do have survivalists here – just not the ones on Channel 4 right now,’ one person wrote.

‘Been ages since I watched the American version but I swear everyone on it was a survivalist or basically lived in the woods at home and this lot all live in London and work in PR & marketing #AloneUK,’ added another.

‘Alone Uk should be renamed to bear witch project or bear bait….. 

‘Honestly £100k isn’t enough money for me to sleep in bear country!,’ wrote a third.

‘Hmmm, #AloneUK so what if a bear turns up, do they get mauled on camera? I mean if it starts running at them, they’re just f*****. It’s a bit mental,’ said another.

‘I am absolutely convinced most of the people on #aloneuk think tuna comes from a can,’ joked one.

‘I could not do what these people on #AloneUK are doing! Just the noises and the unknown and even the potential of bears and mousse and wolves etc. Nope!’ wrote one.

‘Not sure at all about #AloneUK at all. Not even survival experts like they are in the US version. That’s the attraction. Experts in the field pitting themselves against the toughest environment and even they struggle, but struggle knowing what they are doing at least,’ commented another.

‘This shows has just been an hour of hipsters saying ‘whats that noise’ while looking over their shoulder #AloneUK’ penned one.    

Alone continues on Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4, available now on Channel.com

MAFS 2024 EXCLUSIVE: Major plot twists set to make the Channel Nine dating show more diverse

By Ali Daher For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 09:10 EDT, 3 August 2023 | Updated: 19:48 EDT, 3 August 2023

ITV profits more than halved in the first six months of 2023 as the broadcaster suffered a weak advertising market and upped investment in ITVX.

Adjusted earning fell by 52 per cent to £152 million in the six months to the end of June 2023. 

But ITV Studios, which makes popular shows Love Island and The Chase, saw an 8 per cent jump in revenues, which hit £1billion in the period for the first time.

The plummet in profits comes as the broadcaster has been embroiled in a series of scandals in recent weeks. 

ITV came under fire last month after former This Morning host Phillip Schofield  admitted lying to The Mail on Sunday about an affair he had with a younger male colleague. The programme was later accused of having a toxic working culture. 

The broadcaster was hit with controversy again today after it emerged that James Martin has been reprimanded over allegations he bullied and intimidated staff on his food show.

ITV reports that total advertising revenue in its first half declined 11 per cent to £811million while total revenues slipped 1 per cent to just under £2billion.

Dame Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV, said: ‘Looking forward we see a more encouraging outlook as advertisers build their campaigns around the large streaming and linear audiences expected to be drawn to the Women’s World Cup, the Rugby World Cup and the eagerly anticipated return of Big Brother.’ 

While advertising suffered, ITV was handed a boost from digital revenue growth of 24 per cent via its ITVX platform. 

McCall said digital revenue growth was due to a ‘step change in our viewer metrics – with more viewers watching more content and staying longer’, adding that the group is on track to achieve ‘at least’ £750million of sales by 2026. 

She added: ‘As we said at the full year results in March, 2023 is the year of peak net investment in our streaming business and we expect profit to grow from here.’ 

ITV also revealed that advertising revenue was expected to be down 4 per cent in July and up 7 per cent in August.

The company said that it was too early to give a forecast for September although the signs were positive and it expected to see growth in the third quarter.

The news comes after earlier this month, ITV told investors that it was no longer considering an acquisition of television production company All3Media.

The potential deal emerged last month with reports suggesting ITV was ‘actively exploring’ a takeover of the Fleabag and Gogglebox maker, in a deal that was said to be worth more than £1billion.

But McCall told investors ITV is ‘no longer actively exploring’ a potential deal, though it will ‘continue to monitor’ the Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global-owned firm.

News of ITV’s plummeting profits comes as the broadcaster today confirmed that it had spoken to Mr Martin after concerns were raised over the treatment of crew members during the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure in May.

It is thought this is the second time ITV has been made aware of Mr Martin’s conduct following a separate incident in 2018, when he allegedly launched a foul-mouthed tirade against staff after a drain was blocked at his home during the production of his show, James Martin’s Saturday Morning. 

After investigating the matter, ITV chiefs told the programme’s production company Blue Marlin that changes would be made immediately, online news website Deadline reports. Mr Martin said ‘lessons have been learned’ and apologised for ‘acting emotionally’.

Sources at ITV told the Mail that bosses would be taking a ‘close interest in any future filming’ featuring the chef, whose affable demeanour has earned him a huge fan base. 

A statement from the channel said: ‘Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken.’ 

ITV said it had made a number of recommendations for the production company to implement ‘as soon as possible’, including ‘best practice’ over staff welfare procedures.

It also said it had reiterated the company’s Supplier Code of Conduct to the company, which stipulates that the making of programmes aired on the network are free from ‘harassment and abuse’ and that crews are treated with ‘courtesy, dignity and respect’.

Sources at ITV say the recommendations are in the process of being implemented and that they are ‘not prepared to tolerate any kind of unkind behaviour’.

In a joint statement, Mr Martin and Blue Marlin said they  ‘agree lessons have been learned’.

The recent complaints are thought to be the second allegation of bullying against the chef, who was accused in 2018 of launching a foul-mouthed tirade after a drain was blocked at his home during the production of James Martin’s Saturday Morning.

An ITV source said the broadcaster did not have a record of that complaint, but Blue Marlin admitted that Mr Martin had ‘responded emotionally’ and subsequently apologised.

James Martin’s Spanish Adventure was commissioned by the channel’s entertainment boss Katie Rawcliffe, who has previously made it clear that she wants the culture at the broadcaster – and its shows – to be ‘kinder’.

The allegations about Mr Martin come just weeks after ITV was embroiled in the scandal surrounding Mr Schofield.

A Blue Marlin spokesperson said: ‘An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2018 where James’ home was badly damaged. 

‘Blue Marlin Television accepted responsibility. James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets.

‘James apologises for any offence or upset caused, as he did at the time to the crew involved.’ 

They added: ‘Following this and some issues filming James Martin’s Spanish Adventures, James and Blue Marlin Television agree that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV.

‘Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITV’s recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing.

‘Since the 2018 incident, Blue Marlin Television has continued to film over 500 shows at James’ home. 

‘Blue Marlin Television remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority.’

An ITV spokesman said: ‘At ITV people and their welfare are our highest priority. The production companies who make shows for us have primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off screen.

‘We make clear our expectations in this regard as part of our pre-greenlight duty of care processes. This includes having appropriate independent controls in place to enable everyone who works on their shows to confidently and confidentially raise concerns.

‘Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken.

‘As a result, we made a number of recommendations for Blue Marlin to implement as soon as possible, sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our Supplier Code of Conduct.’

Last month, Dame Carolyn admitted she failed to launch a formal investigation into Mr Schofield’s affair when rumours emerged within the network.

The chief executive was among three broadcast bosses grilled by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the wake of the presenter’s departure after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.

Mr Schofield’s lover, referred to during the hearing as ‘Person X’, denied the relationship with the former host of This Morning ’12 times’ when quizzed, but an official probe was never launched.

Dame Carolyn was told by SNP MP John Nicholson: ‘This morning you’ve talked about the way ITV talked to [Person X]. You’ve called it a review twice and an investigation once.’

She then interjected to clarify: ‘I’ve never called it an ‘investigation’. I might have said ‘investigated’.

‘We did investigate, but I wouldn’t call it an ‘investigation’ because that gives it a kind of formality and structure that, because of the rumours and because of the time period, it didn’t have.’

In a statement the month before, once the affair was exposed, a spokesman said: ‘ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.

‘Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then-agency YMU.’

Mr Schofield was accused of bullying by former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who told of her bad experience after appearing on This Morning.

‘I just found him to be quite bullying in his attitude towards the co-host who was standing in for Holly Willoughby,’ she told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: ‘That made me feel more uncomfortable than answering the questions. 

‘When the camera was on me and I was talking, he started aggressively jabbing at the scripts with his hands, the pages were rattling. The co-presenter looked terrified.’  

This Morning’s former resident doctor Ranj Sing also spoke out, slamming its ‘toxic’ culture and saying he raised concerns about ‘bullying and discrimination’. He said he felt like he was ‘managed out’ for whistleblowing. 

Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes also hit out at Mr Schofield, claiming he had ‘created an atmosphere’ on the programme ‘where people hated him’, labelling him a ‘chief narcissist’ whom others wanted to avoid.

This week it emerged that This Morning will be centred around Schofield’s former friend and co-presenter Holly Willoughby when she returns in September.

ITV had been mulling over making a big money hiring to replace Mr Schofield but decided not to.

The star will instead have rotating co-hosts when she fronts the show from Monday to Thursday rather than chiefs poaching a bigger star from a rival show or channel.

Insiders at This Morning say that they will mostly be Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle, though Ms Willoughby, 42, will be joined sporadically by Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond who currently host on Fridays and holidays.

It means that Ms Willoughby’s dream that she would be paired with Ms Hammond, 48, is over because she is too busy to commit to working four days on the daytime show, say insiders.

Ms Willoughby, who is currently on a family holiday on the Algarve, is to sign a new contract ‘any day now’ which could be even more lucrative than the £700,000 deal that she is already on.

A 17-year-old boy from Afghanistan who was rescued from a sinking dinghy alongside 38 others in a tragedy which killed at least four told authorities that French fisherman ignored their desperate cries for help.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said those on board the vessel in the English Channel could see the dinghy passengers were drowning but ‘did nothing’.

The boy, whose uncle in Iran had paid people-smugglers 1,500 euros for him to make the illicit crossing from Calais in the early hours of December 14 last year, told police their boat, overcrowded with 46 people, appeared to ‘explode’.

The evidence was heard during the trial of boat pilot Ibrahima Bah, 19, who denies four counts of manslaughter and one count of facilitating a breach of UK immigration law by piloting the ill-fated small boat.

The dinghy had already been taking on water and one passenger was so scared he had performed last rites, Canterbury Crown Court, Kent, heard.

But the teen said the African driver of the home-built craft reassured them they would be saved if they continued into English waters.

In a police video-recorded interview played today in court, he described how the treacherous journey turned to tragedy.

‘Water was pouring into our boat. We knew that we were going to go down and there were French fishermen circling us, looking at us, ignoring us and doing nothing,’ he said, assisted by a Dari interpreter.

‘They could see we were dying and going down and they were doing nothing. We were still in French waters.

‘The African was saying: “It’s not very serious, we can still get to the other (English) boats where they could help us because these ones are looking and letting us die but we can get there”.

‘There was water everywhere and we were screaming, shouting and saying “We are going down”.

‘We kept screaming and asking: “Help, help, help”, but they were coming and looking and saying “No” and just going away.

‘The guy who was controlling the engine was trying to reassure us, saying: “Don’t panic, stay calm, we will do something. These guys are not doing anything but we can get to the other boats and they might help us”.’

The boy said they were ‘some distance’ into the crossing and described being in ‘no-man’s land’ as one Afghani tried to bail out the water.

But he told police he and the 45 others were ‘packed in’ the boat, which then collapsed into itself under the extra weight.

The 17-year-old said how the inflatable ring ‘exploded’ because there were ‘too many’ people on board. 

A total of 39 people were eventually rescued by an English fishing boat, the Arcturus, assisted by HMS Severn, lifeboat crews and the air ambulance.

The boy did not have a life vest and said he could feel himself losing sensation in his body as he held onto a rope in the icy water before being pulled onboard.

Bah, 19, was among those rescued. He faces four charges of manslaughter in relation to the four men who drowned. One has been identified as Hajratullah Ahmadi while the others remain unknown.

The court heard he accepts he drove the boat but denies all five offences.

At the start of his trial, jurors were told Bah allegedly joked to one passenger: ‘I will either take you there or kill you all’.

He later told police he had been assaulted and threatened into taking control of the inflatable in return for free travel by the Kurdish agents in charge of the human trafficking operation.

Those on board had paid thousands to make the trip, one as much as 8,000 euros, the court heard.

But prosecutor Duncan Atkinson said despite being untrained and unlicensed to pilot a boat, by law Bah had a duty of care to his passengers and that his actions amounted to manslaughter by gross negligence.

He said the risks of such a ‘a home-built inflatable made from low quality materials’ being put to sea were ‘present and obvious’.

‘The inflatable carried with it an obvious and serious risk to the life and limb of each of those on board,’ Mr Atkinson told the court.

‘Whilst the defendant, like the others, was a migrant seeking a better life in the UK, he had also, like those others, voluntarily consorted with the agents of organised crime who profited from that quest.

‘More than that, he accepted, in return for a free crossing, responsibility for his fellow passengers.’

The small craft, just 25 to 28ft in length, was neither ‘typically designed nor manufactured’ to undertake a journey in what is the world’s busiest shipping lane, said the prosecutor.

There was insufficient lifejackets, no safety equipment such as flares or a radio, no deckboards and was being navigated without lights and by mobile phone.

It was also carrying more than double its maximum passenger capacity of 20.

The Afghani teenager told police he had been in a Jungle camp in Dunkirk for about six weeks when he made the crossing, the court heard.

He had left his home in Afghanistan about 18 months earlier and reached France via Austria and Switzerland.

But he said he wanted to reach the UK to study and ‘make a better life’.

The crossing in December last year was his second by boat in a month, the first having failed when they got lost after spending 13 hours at sea.

He described how three Kurdish men drove the migrants in vehicles to the beach at about 1am, inflated the boat and then ordered them to carry it to the water.

The court heard they were punched, kicked and beaten for not hurrying up.

One of those beaten was an African, said the teenager.

‘This was human trafficking so you have to follow their instructions because if you don’t follow or fall behind or are slow, they beat you up,’ he explained.

Once the boat was in the water, the migrants scrambled for a position.

‘There wasn’t any space to move. All 46 were packed, squeezed to fit into that,’ added the boy.

He said the Kurds got the engine going and the inflatable set off.

Asked who controlled the engine during the crossing, he told police ‘one of the Africans’ but he never spoke to him personally.

‘Everyone was thinking of themselves. Everyone was praying to make it with our lives,’ said the boy.

He added that the agents had decided who was to drive, something the Afghanis would ‘shy away’ from.

‘They don’t give us any safety instructions on what to do or how to do things. Any instructions would have been given to the driver,’ he said.

The teen also told police it was ‘common knowledge’ that once in British waters migrants would be rescued, regardless of whether they were drowning or not.

Asked if the driver had any assistance from others on the boat he said: ‘They (the Kurds) would have given him which direction to take. There were other Africans there but I didn’t see any working as his deputy or helping him or assisting him.’

Jurors at Canterbury Crown Court were previously told to put any ‘bias, emotion, sympathy and prejudice’ aside while deciding the case. 

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Published: 02:47 EDT, 13 June 2023 | Updated: 03:10 EDT, 13 June 2023