British stop-motion icon and part of Wallace & Gromit
The BBC has highlighted a funding crisis as licence-fee income declines and audience habits shift. The corporation is exploring options from subscriptions to a universal levy while warning that current funding may not sustain its public-service mission. With 23.3 million licences active and around 80% of households paying, the BBC is under pressure to reinvent its funding model before the 2027 charter renewal.
The Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI have announced the 2026-27 list of named storms. Austen, Boelo, Chloe and 18 others will be used between September 2026 and August 2027 to help communicate risks of severe weather across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Matthew Rhys has become the first actor to win two lead acting Emmys in a single night, taking honours for Widow’s Bay (lead comedy) and The Beast in Me (lead limited series). He also holds an earlier lead drama win, making him the first man to win in all three lead acting categories. The night saw Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay dominate with multiple awards, while Jean Smart and Stephen Root set records in other categories.
Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep movie deploys Halloween-themed mischief as Shaun invents a serum that magnifies a pumpkin patch. Chaos ensues when a bald farmer is transformed into a hair-raising Big Foot, while the sheep race to save Mossy Bottom in a silent, humour-forward adventure.