The horrifying truth about how China could cripple Britain in just seconds - by barely lifting a finger... as former MI6 boss makes desperate plea to end our reliance on Beijing: IAN WILLIAMS
The Italian Job is giving Britain's intelligence agencies sleepless nights. In the classic movie, the gang of cockneys led by Charlie Croker (played by Michael Caine) hijacks a truck full of stolen gold after disabling Turin's traffic lights.
The lights are manipulated by a bungling boffin played by Benny Hill, who somehow manages to hack a clunky central computer and cause city-wide traffic jams, allowing Croker's crew to intercept the consignment of bullion.
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Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island Rich List 2025: Molly-Mae is filthy rich at the top of the leaderboard - but did your favourite star make the cut?
It's becoming increasingly rare for Love Islanders to find 'the one' in the villa, but it seems for many singletons that was never their intention. In recent years the motivation for going on the show has become more about fame and fortune than it has about romance. The opportunity to land a lucrative fashion, beauty or entertainment deal on the back of an appearance in the popular series has left finding love in the villa seem almost insignificant. In the past the likes of Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins and Dani Dyer have made themselves household names after beginning their journey on Love Island - but exactly how many millions have your favourite islanders amassed? Let's take a look... From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury - £9 million - 2019 series While their relationship has been on the rocks over the past year, Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury 's bank balance certainly hasn't. Arguably the show's most popular couple ever, the pair found love during series five of Love Island and ultimately finished in second place behind Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea - who parted ways weeks later. Some six years on, 25-year-old Molly-Mae boasts 8.5 million followers on Instagram and has millions in the bank after a host of successful business ventures such as signing a six-figure deal with PLT in 2019. She was too reportedly paid more than £1million for her L'Oreal brand deal and demanded a similar fee for her Beauty Works hair extensions range. Her memoire - Becoming Molly-Mae - sold at a cost of £20 and bulked up her fortune by a reported £2million. While the influencer's Molly-Mae: Behind It All documentary which detailed her recent split from Tommy was reportedly worth six figures. The fan-favourite couple have since mended their differences and are back together having enjoyed a loved-up getaway to Dubai together along with their daughter Bambi, 2. Much of Tommy's earnings have been made from his efforts in the boxing ring. The younger brother of heavyweight legend Tyson Fury, he signed a six figure deal with boohooMAN after leaving the villa and has fought in a number of celebrity boxing bouts. It's believed he made at least £3.7million from his win over Jake Paul in Riyadh. Brand and culture expert Nick Ede believes that if well advised, Fury will make 'at least £10million' in the next 2-3 years - much of it from outside boxing. He is currently worth a reported £3million. Joey Essex - £8 million - 2024 He'd been a household name in Britain for years for his exploits on The Only Way Is Essex, but in 2024 Joey shocked fans when he entered the villa as the season's first bombshell. Saying he was 'looking to find a wife', Joey rekindled a romance with former flame on the outside Grace Jackson before finishing the season with blonde beauty Jessy Potts. Later last year the Essex boy featured in an episode of Selling Sunset where he was in the market for a stunning mansion with a budget of around $5 million. Fans however were surprised Joey could afford such a property, with one questioning: 'Lool Joey Essex can afford a $5 million house?!' The answer to that question is indeed 'yes' nevertheless. After a long career in reality TV, Joey has amassed quite the fortune. Having been paid £60,000 to go in the I'm A Celeb jungle in 2013, nine years later he was paid £211,000 to appear on the Australian version of the show. He's also had a number of business ventures such as a hair product line, he's released an album, a clothing line, fragrances and bagged deals with brands such as McDonald's, Volvic and Batchelors Cup-a-Soup. Thanks to such success, the 34-year-old is estimated to be worth around £8 million. Dani Dyer - £7.1 million - 2018 series Dani, the daughter of EastEnders star Danny Dyer, shot to fame on Love Island season four after a failed stint on fellow ITV series, Survival of the Fittest. She left the show victorious with Jack Fincham and was embraced by the public due to her humour and no-nonsense personality. However her and Jack split months later, with Dani later finding love with West Ham United winger Jarrod Bowen, who she tied the knot with last month. Dani and Jarrod share two children together, with the Love Islander also having one with her jailed ex Sammy Kimmence in 2021. She has capitalised on her skills as an actress thanks to the platform Love Island gave her after winning in 2018. The star coined the phrase 'Perf with Surf' for an advertising campaign with washing powder Surf and she has a podcast with her famous father called Sorted with the Dyers. In 2021 it was revealed she had raked in a whopping £250,000 the previous year, with accounts for Dani's firm I Want It, I Got It Ltd showing the star had a cash reserve of £318,630 for 2020, a near £70,000 increase from £251,318 in 12 months. Dani's podcast with her similarly-named father Danny, titled Live and Let Dyers, has also been a major earner with the TV personality reportedly paid a six figure sum to host the show. She has written a book, gained more than three million Instagram followers and released lucrative clothing collections with In The Style. Olivia and Alex Bowen - £5 million - 2016 series Season two runners-up Olivia and Alex Bowen have also proven the power of the longstanding couple in the financial stakes, with the pair racking up a £5 million fortune collectively thanks to brand endorsements, TV appearances and their fashion brand, Exempt Society. Olivia and Alex, formerly a sales executive and scaffolder, soared to fame in 2016 when they appeared on the ITV2 reality show, where she was an original star and he a late and extremely popular entrant. While their romance was initially thrown into despair when he enjoyed a night of passion with Zara Holland, things soon flourished for the duo. Loved-up couple Olivia and Alex tied the knot in a luxurious Essex ceremony two years after meeting on Love Island during series two. Their star-studded day secured them a lucrative £25,000 magazine deal and saw stars such as Gabby Allen, Pete Wicks, Tina Stinnes and Kady McDermott attended. They scooped another reality show with TLC's Olivia & Alex: Happily Ever After? The couple welcomed their son Abel in June 2022 and revealed they are planning on having more children. In 2020 Olivia admitted she could earn up to £50,000 a month, a far cry from the pay cheque she received working as a sales executive. Amber Davies £3.2 million - 2017 series West End star Amber Davies is said to be worth £3.2million having returned to her acting roots after her Love Island stint. Having successfully auditioned for her dream role in Dolly Parton's musical 9 to 5, she also has 1.3million followers on social media and often gives them a glimpse at life backstage. She previously starred on stage in Back to the Future: The Musical where she played Lorraine Baines and also bagged a role in Pretty Woman as Vivian. She's currently appearing in The Great Gatsby in London's Coliseum theatre, after netting a reported £1.5 million during her time in 9 to 5 the musical. During an appearance on Dancing On Ice in 2024, Amber was paid a reported £60,000. As well as her theatre work, she still makes money from collaborations, having landed a £500,000 deal with fashion brand Motel Rocks. Maura Higgins - £3.2 million - 2019 series Molly-Mae's good pal Maura Higgins, 34, is said to be worth £3.2 million, using her impressive 4.1 million Instagram following to help her bring in some deals. Maura won an army of fans during her time on the show, with her quick wit and notorious showdown with model Tom Walker becoming iconic as they were due to spend the night in the hideaway. Her sensational snaps caught the attention of Elite Model Agency in 2019, with Maura joining the likes of Naomi Campbell on their books. She also reportedly netted a total of £500,000 for her work with clothing brand boohoo and lingerie giant Ann Summers. But arguably the biggest contributor to Maura's fortune was her appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! late last year. A heap of brand deals followed meaning the reality star is expected to earn £1.5 million this year alone. Kem Cetinay - £2.5 million - 2017 series Amber Davies' ex-boyfriend Kem Cetinay has followed her onto the rich list and is said to be worth £2.5 million. The hairdresser, 29, signed a reported seven-figure deal with Primark dealing with the front grooming range which includes hairdryers, clippers and CBD. Shortly after leaving the villa Kem released a single with fellow Islander Chris Hughes that peaked at 15th in the UK music charts. He began co-presenting the podcast Love Island: The Morning After with Arielle Free in 2018 but the pair were replaced by Sam Thompson and Indiyah Polack this year. Kem also had a go at broadcasting and was the backstage host of Dancing On Ice on the most recent series. In July of last year, Kem was announced as the new radio host of The Capital Weekender shows on Friday and Saturday nights in a deal worth six figures. On the business-front, he owns a restaurant in Romford called Array, a move that came as a shock to fans as he failed to impress on Celebrity Masterchef. Megan Barton-Hanson - £2 million - 2018 series Megan Barton-Hanson, 31, won legions of fans on the 2018 series due to her stunning looks and romances with Eyal Booker and Wes Nelson. Her biggest financial success came when she launched herself as an OnlyFans model, becoming one of the site's biggest names. She banked a million in 12 months and is said to have raked in the cash selling lingerie. Having also appeared on Celebrity Ex On The Beach, Megan is said to be worth £2 million. She made well over a million in the last financial year and is also thought to have made a fortune selling sexy lingerie. Megan's proud stance on her sexuality also landed her a lingerie edit, Megan Loves, with Ann Summers, as well as her own collection of sex toy picks with the multinational retailer. Her biggest financial success came when she launched herself as an OnlyFans model, becoming one of the site's biggest names. She banked a million in 12 months and is said to have raked in the cash selling lingerie. Having also appeared on Celebrity Ex On The Beach, Megan is said to be worth £2 million. Away from her Only Fans, Megan has released her own range of mushroom supplements, Foreea, and has sponsorship deals with Shein, White Fox and Love Honey that make her £200k. Olivia Attwood - £2 million - 2017 series Also boasting a net worth of £2 million is series three star Olivia Attwood, 34. She shot to fame on the show with Chris Hughes, 32, before making a name for herself in the world of presenting. Olivia found love away from the villa and tied the knot with footballer Bradley Dack, 31, in the summer of 2023. She's earned a lot of money fronting a host of ITV shows, from the aptly named Getting Filthy Rich to Bad Boyfriends, for which she has reportedly been paid £350,000 a series. During her time as a Loose Woman panelist, the 34-year-old is believed to have earned several thousand per appearance. And her new Sunday afternoon radio show on Kiss with Pete Wicks pays a six figure sum to the former Love Island contestant every year. During her time as a Loose Woman panelist, Olivia is believed to have earned several thousand per appearance Ekin-Su Culculoglu - £1.6 million - 2022 series 'Turkish delight' Ekin-Su Culculoglu, 30, who won with Davide Sanclimenti, 30, was tipped to become the most-successful Love Island contestant ever. Ekin left the Love Island villa not only as the show's winner but with the biggest following, and now has a staggering 4.3 million Instagram followers. She has since made a return to the villa for series two of Love Island: All Stars where she found a connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard, 29. However just a couple of weeks ago the couple announced their split. The Essex-based actress was 'inundated with offers' by multiple retailers following her landslide win first time round and signed the biggest clothing deal in the show's history with brand Oh Polly. The actress competed in Dancing On Ice in 2023 and then headed to the states to take part in their version of The Traitors. She was reportedly offered a staggering £100,000 for her appearance on Dancing On Ice. Ekin however became the third contestant to be voted off the ITV show however after causing controversy with her debut performance.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Maura Higgins 'unfollows ex Pete Wicks and Olivia Attwood amid their feud' - four months after her split from the TOWIE star
has reportedly unfollowed her ex Pete Wicks and his close pal Olivia Attwood amid their 'feud'. The former Love Island star, 34, split from Pete in February this year after a short fling. Soon after Maura made a jibe about Pete 'cheating' on her - which led to Olivia defending Pete to insist that he was never unfaithful. The Sun reports that Maura has now unfollowed them both amid the tensions. The publication claims Olivia and Pete have also unfollowed Maura. A representative for Maura has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. MailOnline exposed their secret rift last year after Olivia accused 2019 Islander Maura, 34, of using the 'same script' including her reasons for entering the ITV2 dating show – 'revenge on an ex.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In March this year Olivia revealed the meaning behind the 'cheating' joke she made about her friend Pete on the Brits red carpet. The TV presenter, 33, made the cheeky quip while talking to MailOnline on the night after it was claimed Pete's infidelity ended his relationship with Maura. Speaking about Sam Thompson, Pete told us: 'It's hard for Sam tonight because I've got a new work wife. But, he's not far away, he's over there actually.' He added: 'It is a little bit weird because it feels like I am...' 'Cheating?' Olivia interrupted as they both broke out into fits of laughter, before she added: 'Not the first time, I might add.' 'Because... I have never done that,' Pete said. Olivia then clarified on her Instagram Story that they only joked about the claims because they are untrue and she 'doesn't find cheating funny'. Taking to social media, Olivia wrote: 'Cheating's not funny. Pete didn't cheat. That is the joke. Hope that helps.' She added: 'Well I appreciate that you could read between the lines - I had to comment because A LOT of people couldn't - because that's not something I would find funny at all.' The former Love Island star went on to explain that she seemingly means no ill will towards Maura and is simply being protective of her friend. Olivia said: 'And I'm just going to caveat that with with I'm very protective of my friends but I don't hate / have feuds / at war with anyone. 'You guys have seen my work schedule - I don't have time to eat most days.' She continued: 'When I get up in my feelings I probably shouldn't do coded Instagram Stories because then things get misconstrued. I'll just say it with my chest in future if I'm upset.' The next say after the music awards ceremony, Pete took a swipe at his ex Maura after she kissed Danny Jones at the BRIT Awards afterparty. The former TOWIE star and the Love Islander agreed to part ways after a series of rows just before the event. Maura was then seen sharing a 'drunken kiss' with McFly's Danny Jones - who has been married to his wife Georgia for over a decade - as they attended Universal Music's BRIT Awards afterparty. Seemingly making a dig at his ex on his Staying Relevant podcast, Pete savagely said his would 'banish Love Island from the world' when asked by a fan. His co-star Sam Thompson laughed and replied: 'That's so aggressive.' Pete continued: 'It takes over everything, that's all anyone talks about for f**king three months of the year.' He added: 'It's very difficult to have small talk with people when that's their reference because I don't know anything about it.' Sam said: 'Let's be honest I can't imagine you hanging out with people who say, "When's the nearest episode of Love Island?"' Pete responded: 'No but even when I walk through the office... just no.' Maura starred on the fifth series of the ITV programme back in 2019, while Sam's ex, Zara McDermott, also featured on the show in 2018.
Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Just how psychopathic are surgeons?
These are the people we trust to hold a sharpened knife above our bare bellies and press down until they see blood. We let them tinker with our hearts, brains and bowels while we lie unconscious beneath their gloved hands. Surgeons live in a world of terrifying margins, where the difference of a millimetre can be the difference between life and death. That level of precision demands an extraordinary calm, or what you could also call a cold detachment. But what happens when that same self-possession curdles into something darker? In recent weeks, two surgeons have made headlines for all the wrong reasons. In France, Joël Le Scouarnec was sentenced for abusing hundreds of children – some while they lay anaesthetised in his care. In the UK, plastic surgeon Peter Brooks was convicted of the attempted murder of fellow consultant Graeme Perks, whom he stabbed after breaking into his home in Nottinghamshire. Today, Brooks was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years at Loughborough Courthouse. It would, of course, be absurd to taint an entire profession with the acts of two individuals. But it does resurface a long-standing, uncomfortable question: might the very traits that make a surgeon brilliant also mask something far more troubling? 'When people hear the word psychopath, they tend to think of serial killers and rapists,' says Dr Kevin Dutton, a psychologist and the author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths. 'But the truth is that certain psychopathic traits – focus, emotional dispassion, ruthlessness, self-confidence – can predispose you to success, and in an operating theatre, they really come to the fore.' Dutton has spent much of his career trying to prove that 'bad psychopaths' – people who have these characteristics but who can't regulate them – are the ones who commit crimes. A 'good psychopath', by contrast, is someone who can dial those qualities up and down at whim. He recalls one neurosurgeon who was regularly brought to tears by bits of classical music, but who also said, 'Emotion is entropy. I have hunted it to extinction over the years.' Similarly, a cardiothoracic surgeon told him that once a patient was under, he no longer saw them as a person – just a piece of meat. 'Once you care, you are walking an emotional tightrope,' says Dutton, 'but if you see the human body in front of you as a puzzle to solve, then you are more likely to save their life.' 'There's a ruthless part of me' Gabriel Weston, a London-based surgeon and the author of Direct Red: A Surgeon's Story, describes her profession as one that requires you to 'flick off a switch'. Sent to boarding school at a young age (much of British surgery is the product of elite schools), Weston learnt early how to detach emotionally – a skill she found served her well in the theatre. 'If you asked my family, they'd say I'm very emotional in that I cry in films or at art or literature,' she says. 'But there's a ruthless part of me. I use that in surgery – and in other parts of life where emotion just gets in the way.' Over time, Weston learnt to distinguish between two kinds of surgeons: those who switch their feelings back on once they leave the operating room, and those who never do. 'They don't just have psychopathic traits,' she says. 'They live in that space permanently.' They can also come with a reputation for being not just difficult, but dangerous. Harry Thompson*, a British abdominal surgeon, describes a world of towering egos and simmering aggression. 'If you think about it, all surgeons were in the top five of their class,' he says. 'They are all very competitive, and many play sports: they want to prove they are better than everyone. And if you are at the forefront of major surgery, you think you are invincible. It's a boiling-house environment of jealousy, envy and hatred.' He recalls one consultant who stabbed a plain-clothes policeman with a disposable scalpel after being stopped for speeding en route to the theatre. Another smashed a ward office clock when a nurse arrived five minutes late. Physical assaults were, he says, more common than you would think. 'I was in one operation when a student, John, was an hour and a half late, because he overslept. The surgeon thumped the student's head against the theatre wall until he was unconscious, screamed, 'Nobody move!' then started kicking him. No one ever saw John again.' Nor is the patient always spared. 'When I was training, I saw one surgeon thump a patient for removing a drain from his own bottom after an operation because it had become painful,' says Thompson. 'The patient only admitted this (in tears) after the surgeon had made the nurses and junior doctors line up and interrogated each one in turn about who had done it.' Thompson used to work with Simon Bramhall – the liver surgeon who made headlines and was later struck off for branding his initials onto patients' livers using a laser. 'Simon had always been a bit mad,' says Thompson. 'He was fascinated by the programme Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and he always wore a white suit [like the character Hopkirk], tie, shoes and socks.' As for tattooing his patients' organs: the initials were discovered by his colleagues only during a second surgery when his once-subtle etching was now grotesquely enlarged by liver damage. While Bramhall's actions sparked public outrage, some in the medical community were nonplussed. Perhaps because this is a far more commonplace occurrence than we realise: an article in Harper's Magazine cited examples of anonymous ophthalmic surgeons who had lasered their initials onto retinas, and orthopaedic surgeons who had etched theirs into bone cement. 'Why would you do that? Ego, of course,' says Dutton, 'and it isn't incidental in surgery. It's selected for. From the moment you start training, you have to fight – quite literally – for your space at the operating table.' 'I find it very freeing not to be pleasant' Dutton researched which of the various disciplines within the profession had the highest rates of psychopathy, and the results are revealing. Number one is neurosurgery (which is bad luck for any fans of Grey's Anatomy), followed by cardiothoracic or heart surgery and then orthopaedic. 'The last one is brutal as you have to smash people's bones,' says Dutton. 'Cardio more than anything is about life and death, but neurosurgery is particularly interesting to me. I think it's because this is the only branch of surgery where, if something goes wrong, you leave the patient permanently crippled or blinded or incapacitated, so only very few people can take such a calculated risk under pressure.' And though these traits are often seen as typically male, women are by no means exempt. Weston says the most difficult surgeon she ever worked under was a woman. 'She was very attractive and well-liked – mostly for being gorgeous and good at her job – but privately she made my life hell. Maybe she didn't like another woman being on the team but she did that horrible thing that women do of presenting this incredibly benign face while being very cruel in private. For months, she blamed me for mistakes that weren't mine, stole credit for my diagnoses, and made me feel like my surgical skills were terrible. She was truly villainous.' And yet, Weston admits, the operating theatre offers her a rare freedom: 'If you are a woman who is quite tough and unsentimental, surgery is a really amazing environment in which you can be yourself. There are many areas of my life – mainly motherhood, but also writing – where there is an expectation that I will be softer than I am. Like Simone de Beauvoir, I find it very freeing not to be pleasant.' Perhaps there is something in all of this (criminal and violent behaviour aside) that we, as patients, secretly find reassuring. We don't want our surgeons to hesitate. We don't want them to be emotional or anxious. We want them to be brilliant: laser-focused, supremely confident, even terrifying if that's what it takes to save us. In life, we dislike arrogance. On the operating table, many of us yearn for it. 'I had one boss,' says Thompson, 'a French surgeon. He used to say: 'There are the porters, the nurses, the managers – and then there are the surgeons. Above them, God. And above God? Me.''
