Latest news with #LondonHeatwave
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Hannah Waddingham, 50, downs a glass of wine as she enjoys a boozy day out at Wimbledon
Hannah Waddingham downed a glass of wine as she sat Centre Court watching the match at day 12 of Wimbledon. The Ted Lasso star, 50, cooled herself down in the London heatwave by swigging a drink during the tense match. The actress exuded glamour in a one-shoulder white dress, complemented with green mules and statement sunglasses. The highlight in the Wimbledon calendar attracted some of the biggest names in the business, as the stars of the silver screen ensured they were on the guest list for the penultimate games in the singles competition. It is set to be a scorcher once again with temperatures set to reach a high of 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheight) as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on American Taylor Fritz for a place in the final. Later on Centre Court, World No 1 Jannik Sinner will play seven-time winner Novak Djokovic as the two tennis stars fight to secure their own place. Sunday could be a repeat performance of last year's final between Alcaraz and Djokovic as the two will compete in different matches today. Last month, Hannah revealed she almost ditched her acting career entirely, when her former drama teacher mocked her appearance and knocked her confidence. Hannah, who went to The Academy Of Live And Recorded Arts in Wandsworth where she grew up, was 19-years-old when she was told she would 'never' make it. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Hannah recalled the very cruel comments her drama teacher said about her face. "It looks like one side of her face has had a stroke", Hannah was told. The actress said: 'She really knocked my confidence so much that I then didn't audition for things for years on telly. 'I hope she's rotting somewhere, silly cow. People like that it's their own insecurities and I know that now.' She also revealed she was once told she was 'too big' to appear on camera. It is set to be a scorcher once again with temperatures set to reach a high of 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheight) as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on American Taylor Fritz for a place in the final The 5ft 11in actress claimed that she was turned away from roles due to her model stature, saying the general sentiment was 'you'll be too big on camera so stay in your lane'. Hannah revealed that this wasn't an issue when it came to working with Jason Sudeikis, the 6ft 1in creator and star of Ted Lasso, who was happy for her to wear heels and be taller than him on screen. However, Hannah confessed that there were several men who asked her to remove her heels when filming. She recalled in the interview: 'I even had a couple of day players [actors on set briefly] in Ted Lasso going, "Is it all right if she doesn't wear shoes in this scene?" The heels stayed on.' However, today London-born Hannah is world's away from receiving negative remarks about her appearance, with fans marveling over her beauty on social media. Following her graduation, Hannah - who is the daughter of opera singer Melodie Kelly - concentrated on making it as a theatre actress. One of her first jobs was in the interactive dinner show Joni and Gina's Wedding - where audience members take on the role of wedding guests and are invited to engage with actors. In 2000, Hannah released the single Our Kind of Love - which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his musical The Beautiful Game - to commemorate the composer's 50th birthday. In 2002, she went on to appear in a production of Space Family Robinson before going on to star as Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, which earned her an Olivier Award nod. Alongside her West End work, Hannah began auditioning for more and more TV and film roles - having made her big screen debut in 2008's How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. In 2014, Hannah was cast as Tonya Dyke in the hit ITV series Benidorm before hitting the big-time in 2016 when she was cast as Septa Unella in the fifth season of Game of Thrones. The role put Hannah on the Hollywood map - leading her to then be cast as Jackson's mother Sofia in the hit Netflix series Sex Education in 2019. Two years later, Hannah's career reached all new heights when she bagged a starring role as warm-yet-icy football club owner Rebecca Welton in Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso. Hannah's latest roles have seen her star in Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning and Lilo & Stich.
Telegraph
20-06-2025
- Climate
- Telegraph
Are London commuters treated worse than cattle in hot weather? I took the Tube to find out
Whether you're commuting to work or simply travelling around London, on even a relatively mild summer's day it's practically a guarantee that you'll arrive at your destination drenched in sweat. The hottest temperature ever recorded on London's Tube is a matter of some debate. During the 2006 heatwave, unsubstantiated reports of 47C made headlines. During the 2022 heatwave, Transport for London (TfL) advised customers to only travel if absolutely necessary, and reporters recorded temperatures over 40C on the Tube. According to TfL's own stats, the highest temperature recorded in 2024 was a comparatively cool 31.1C on the Victoria line in August. Yet, for context, regulations prohibit the moving of farm animals if temperatures exceed 30C. Truly, today's commuters are treated worse than cattle. But just how bad can it get? With the mercury already at 26C outside, and armed with a Tommee Tippee baby room thermometer, I jumped on the Tube just after the morning rush hour in central London to find out. Which is the hottest Tube line? Starting at Tottenham Court Road at 9.30am, I hopped straight on the Central line to Oxford Circus. It is infamous amongst Londoners for being the stickiest of all the Underground's lines, and according to TfL's data in 2024 it was in fact only the second hottest (behind the Victoria line), with stations reaching a peak of 30.6C. On the train, my thermometer beat this comfortably. Central line: 31.7C From Oxford Circus, I raced up to Warren Street on the TfL's 'official' hottest route: the Victoria line. It's worth emphasising that TfL only records temperatures at stations, rather than the trains themselves, with highs of 31.1C recorded. My on-train reading was much warmer. Victoria line: 33.6C The Northern line is considered one of the Underground's 'Deep' lines (Hampstead lies 58.5m below ground level) so consequently ventilation isn't always great. My journey avoided plumbing those depths while spiriting me from Warren Street back to Tottenham Court Road, but it was still hot, hot, hot. Northern line: 32.4C From the baking to the merely simmering, the journey from Tottenham Court Road to Bond Street via London's newest stretch of underground railway, the Elizabeth line, really shows the difference that air conditioning can make. Elizabeth line: 25.8C By the time I boarded the Jubilee line from Bond Street to Westminster I was starting to get used to the heat. Jubilee line trains are some of the smallest physically so there is very little room for ventilation or air conditioning units to be installed. Jubilee line: 31.3C The modern 'walk-through' District and Circle lines, like the Elizabeth line, are blessed with air conditioning. However, as they are only partially overground, they suffer from 'solar gain' where the trains and tracks heat up due to the sun when it's hot outside. On my journey from Westminster to Embankment, I could still feel the heat. District line: 30.4C Bakerloo line trains date back to 1972 and are therefore the oldest rolling stock still in active service on any railway line in Britain. I feared temperatures would be excessive, especially when I saw the swathe of newspapers placed over the ventilation within my carriage, but it turned out the Bakerloo was relatively cool. Bakerloo line: 30.9C With new air-conditioned trains coming into service on the Piccadilly line from the end of 2025, it should rapidly cool down in the coming years. Just as well, as my journey from Piccadilly Circus to Green Park saw me recording the hottest temperatures on my Tube odyssey. Piccadilly line: 34.2C The average temperature of my morning's travel was 31.3C, which, given that I was travelling before midday, is alarmingly hot. It's certainly warm enough for TfL to activate its hot weather plan: warnings that passengers should carry a bottle of water at all times could be heard frequently on my journey. Why does the Tube get so hot? A report by Rail Engineering in 2007 found that the vast majority of the heat is caused by the friction of the trains braking on the tracks. During the 2022 heatwave, trains were ordered to run more slowly to mitigate the release of braking heat. Once the underground gets hot, it stays hot. The clay into which the underground tunnels were dug acts as a heat sink, absorbing around 80 per cent of the heat generated. Scientists have estimated that when the tunnels were first dug, that clay would have been about 14C, and it is now 19-26C. Ventilation systems on the older and deeper lines such as the Piccadilly and Bakerloo were not designed to cope with the levels of heat produced by modern trains, so only around 10 per cent of heat is vented out of the network. The size of the tunnels on the London Underground are the second smallest of any underground railways in the world (only the Glasgow Subway has smaller tunnels) making it difficult and expensive to fit extra ventilation and air conditioning systems into them. What is TfL doing to cool down the Tube? There are a variety of schemes underway to help reduce temperatures underground, from air cooling units to massive chillers at some stations. Groundwater beneath Victoria station has been used for cooling; Green Park features an underground aquifer which helps cool it. Ventilation capacity and new fans are also being installed. Some Tube trains – including the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Elizabeth line – now feature air-conditioning within their carriages. The Piccadilly line will join this list when its new trains enter service from the end of 2025. The Bakerloo, Waterloo and City, and Central lines will be next in line, though no firm timeline has been announced. A TfL spokesperson told The Telegraph that despite 2019 reports of new air-conditioned trains being unveiled by 2030, funding was never secured and it was unlikely the trains would be air conditioned within the next 20 years, with Bakerloo line trains being given priority before then. Despite the Victoria line being the hottest on the underground last year (with temperatures averaging 30C between June and October) there are no plans to upgrade trains on the Victoria, Northern or Jubilee lines. How to stay safe when travelling in hot weather Always carry water to avoid dehydration. During hot weather, you can lose 1.5 to 2 litres of water an hour through sweat. 'If you don't replace these fluids, your blood thickens and your heart has to work harder to maintain your blood pressure and oxygen levels,' warns Dileep Lobo, a professor of gastrointestinal surgery at University of Nottingham, who researches fluid and electrolyte balance. According to nutritional therapist Madeleine Shaw, it could also be worth adding an electrolyte sachet to your water before you travel: 'This is a great way to start the day and really important on hot sweaty days,' she says. TfL regularly advices passengers to get off the train if they feel dizzy or unwell, as it is easier for paramedics to reach people on platforms than on the trains themselves. Carl Eddleston, TfL's Director of Streets & Network Operations, said: 'With continuous hot weather forecast over the coming days, we are encouraging customers to carry water with them when they travel. 'We have a comprehensive hot weather plan in place to protect the network's infrastructure with resources on standby to help respond to the impact and to keep services running. 'Please look out for each other while travelling. For the latest information on how TfL services are operating, customers should use TfL's real-time travel tools, including status updates, Journey Planner and TfL Go.'
