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‘I didn’t have anything to prove’: what Traitors finalist Jade Scott learned about survival from video games

Accused, isolated and constantly under scrutiny, The Traitors contestant drew on years of social deduction gaming to stay calm under pressure

The latest series of The Traitors, which ended last week on a nail-biting finale, featured some of the usual characters – from guileless extroverts to wannabe Columbos endlessly observing fellow contestants for the slightest flicker of treachery. But one faithful stood out for her quiet determination, despite a ceaseless onslaught of suspicion and accusation. That person was Jade Scott, and I wasn’t at all surprised when, quite early on in the series, she revealed she was a keen gamer.

“Minecraft was my way in, when I was 15,” she says. “I made loads of friends at school playing that.” From this innocent introduction, however, she moved on to darker titles: the first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the multiplayer battle-arena game Dota. “That’s where my interest in strategy gaming really kicked in,” she says.

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© Photograph: Paul Chappells/Studio Lambert/BBC/PA

© Photograph: Paul Chappells/Studio Lambert/BBC/PA

© Photograph: Paul Chappells/Studio Lambert/BBC/PA

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Nudist neighbours to sweary mums: the best TV characters you never actually see on screen

Their faces may not have been given any airtime, but they remain some of the most beloved characters in television history – in shows like Friends, Frasier and This Country. Take a bow, Ugly Naked Guy …

When you think of television characters, chances are you remember the ones you can actually see. But this is a wildly unfair slight on a small but powerful minority: the characters who remain staunchly offscreen. For decades – mostly in comedies, with a handful of dramatic exceptions – these invisible workhorses have more than earned their keep, and they deserve their props. Here are the 10 best characters whose faces you have never actually clapped eyes on.

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© Photograph: Youtube

© Photograph: Youtube

© Photograph: Youtube

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Nigella Lawson confirmed as new Great British Bake Off judge

The TV cook and food writer replaces Prue Leith, who has stepped down after nine seasons on the show

Nigella Lawson has been announced as the new judge on The Great British Bake Off. She replaces Prue Leith, who stepped down after nine seasons of judging contestants’ culinary creations, so she could spend summers enjoying her garden, explaining: “I’m 86 for goodness sake!”

Lawson will join the programme for its next series, the 17th, which will launch later this year. She will serve alongside Paul Hollywood, who will continue in the role he has held since the baking competition launched on BBC Two in 2010.

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© Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian

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‘The most stressful TV experience on record’: Alex Honnold and the rise of potential death as live entertainment

Witnessing the free climber’s ascent of the Taipei 101 without ropes on Skyscraper Live was an astonishing experience. But beneath panicked viewers’ sweaty palms, there was a queasy truth about the future of television

Well, have your balls descended back out of your body yet? Netflix’s Skyscraper Live has been and gone, and it may well qualify as the single most stressful viewing experience on record. Alex Honnold’s unassisted ascent of the 508 metre Taipei 101 was an absolutely extraordinary achievement. Whether or not it represents the future of television, though, is a completely different matter.

Honnold’s work is already well-known. As the star of Free Solo – a feature documentary once again so nerve-racking that the only way to comfortably enjoy it was under the influence of industrial sphincter relaxants – he has long been the poster boy of people climbing up stuff without ropes.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

© Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

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‘Eternally spellbinding’: the TV shows that baffle you – but you can’t get enough of

Crimefighting nuns, giant killer white balloons and Aubrey Plaza getting stuck in a wall … here are your favourite ever mind-bending TV series

Catterick is my favourite baffling TV show. It stars Vic and Bob and a stellar backup cast – Reece Shearsmith, Tim Healey, Mark Benton, Matt Lucas and Morwenna Banks. It starts off innocuously enough with Carl Palmer (Bob) returning to Catterick to visit his brother Chris (Vic) but quickly descends into anarchy. The extremely loose plot centres around the criminal antics of mummy’s boy Tony (Shearsmith) but there are more tangents than a geometry conference. From ripped up posters of George Clooney and haunting dance routines to Chris Rea and Foreigner, Catterick should be top of your TV destinations. Tom Whelan, South Shields

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© Photograph: 2020 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

© Photograph: 2020 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

© Photograph: 2020 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

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Saturday Night Live: Teyana Taylor’s so-so episode is saved by one standout sketch

The Oscar nominee doesn’t get many chances to shine in an episode with a genius One Battle After Another toy commercial

Saturday Night Live recognizes the first year of Donald Trump’s second term with the 1st Annual Trumps – “the awards honoring the best in being or succumbing to President Trump.” Trump (James Austin Johnson) acts as host for the ceremony, which he hopes will distract from “what all my little freaks and psychos in ICE are doing” and “my dead purple hands”.

He joins vice-president (“for now”) JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane) to give himself the first award. This is followed by horrifying monsters Aunt Gladys (Sarah Sherman) from the movie Weapons and White House adviser Stephen Miller (Andrew Dismukes) handing out the award for best ass kisser to Kristi Noem (Ashley Padilla), only for Trump to interrupt her, Kanye-style, and take that one too. Then, Trump’s “close ex-friend” Elon Musk (Mike Myers) accepts an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement in Comedy (“even if he doesn’t always intend it”), glitching out while also paying tribute to some of the things we lost over the last year: the East Wing of the White House, Nato, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and more. A solid skewering of Trump’s insatiable lust for recognition, as seen by his pathetic acceptance of a re-gifted Nobel Prize from “that woman whose name I already forgot.”

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© Photograph: NBC/Rosalind O'Connor

© Photograph: NBC/Rosalind O'Connor

© Photograph: NBC/Rosalind O'Connor

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Tell us your favourite TV moments of all time

As television turns 100, we would like to hear your highlights of the century

As television turns 100, we’ve charted TV history in a timeline of 100 extraordinary moments. Now, we would like to hear your highlights. Did we miss anything? What is your favourite TV moment of all time?

If you’re having trouble using the form click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.

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© Photograph: trekandshoot/Alamy

© Photograph: trekandshoot/Alamy

© Photograph: trekandshoot/Alamy

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