Former Saturday Kitchen presenter James Martin is reportedly in talks to replace Chris Evans as the new host of Top Gear. Evans quit Top Gear after the public failed to warm to the new line-up, with the BBC Radio 2 disk jockey backed up by Friend's star Matt Le Blanc and Eddie Jordan amongst others. Now Martin, a self-confessed petrol head, looks to be in talks about taking the reigns. According to the Sunday People, Martin lost out to Evans when...

After London Mayor Sadiq Khan decided to back Owen Smith for leader rather than Jeremy Corbyn in yesterday's Observer, he was always going to face some amount of criticism. It didn't take long for Corbyn supporters to vent their anger, they roundly booed Khan at a Corbyn rally last night. The divisions in the party continue to grow and as Corbyn loses even more support from senior figures in his party, the grassroots support appears to grow and appear certain that...

The Burkini debate in France has left most of us in disgust at the French government's decision to ban the full-body swimsuit, but one cartoonist has summed it up better than most. French illustrator Pierre Marchetti, who goes by the nom de plume "Nawak", drew a cartoon that addresses the choice faced by Muslim women - whether to betray the laws of their country or the customs of their faith. French prime minister Manuel Valls said the swimsuit is based on the "enslavement...

With the fear of terrorism at an all time high, 2016 looks to be the summer of the 'Safecation' as Brits flock back to Butlin's and Benidorm. But for those returning from their annual getaway, staying safe could have come at a big cost. A new survey commissioned by SPANA has revealed choosing a destination that was too ‘British’ and choosing a destination that was too ‘touristy’ topped a list of the things holidaymakers regret about their travels. Being too lazy...

Students could end up paying over £100,000 for their degree by the time they clear their debt. New analysis has revealed that interest rates of up to 4.6 per cent on student loans could more than double the estimated £44,035 of debt that students are saddled with. Despite being pinned to the retail prices index (RPI), that percentage is still significantly higher than most other types of finance such as mortgages. Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor of Buckingham University, told the Sunday Times: "There is...

For centuries men and women have pondered over whether a friendship can exist between them. Can you be friends without benefits and without one fancying the other? With some believing you can and others strongly believing there’s always an ulterior motive, the answer has the majority of the world split. But what about same sex friendships? Of course we’ve all heard the ignorant slurs: you’re gay so surely you’ll fancy another gay guy? I can assure you it doesn’t work...

Review by Leslie Byron Pitt The fact that the box office chatter about Suicide Squad has droned on longer than Miles Ahead’s U.K theatrical run, says two things to me. One: Cinematic conversation must improve. Two: Thank goodness physical media is still (just barely) being purchased by folk. Don Cheadle’s directional debut is the kind of off the cuff, adult feature that gets lost in the quagmire of near endless nattering of the Hollywood hype machine. Yes, Captain Boomerang and...

There is something gloriously refined about drinking Venetian wine on a warm summer’s evening. Located in the best vineyard sites in foothill and hillsides near the Italian Austrian border, winemakers Masi has been at the forefront of Venetian wine for several decades, working to identify the historic "cru" vineyard sites for Amarone. They produce modern, attractive and well-balanced wines credited for “revolutionising the art of wine-making in the Venetian region”, defined as a “touchstone” of the area by Hugh Johnson....

Is White Rioja an underrated classic? That’s the question Quentin Sadler posted on his wine pages recently, and one I set out to explore on a warm mid-week evening drinking al fresco in central London. Bold red wines are as synonymous with the Rioja region as light clarets are to Beaujolais. But there is a notion that we risk seriously underestimating the region by narrowing our focus on just red. Brits have traditionally eschewed Spanish white wines because they have...