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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Strictly 'cocaine scandal' leaves BBC bosses with 'tough question' as fears grow
An expert has warned that Strictly Come Dancing is facing an 'identity crisis' as the show is hit with fresh scandal just weeks before the start of a new series Strictly Come Dancing is facing an "identity crisis", an expert has claimed, as it's hit with fresh scandal just weeks before the start of a new series. The much-loved dancing show is facing allegations of cocaine use by two show stars, with reports suggesting their substance use was an "open secret" on the show. It follows a rocky few years of controversy and allegations of backstage bullying, misconduct claims and several stars being axed or suspended by the BBC over their behaviour. Despite rehearsals being in full swing ahead of next month, a fresh, dark cloud has settled over Strictly's star-spangled launch. Earlier this month, the BBC enlisted the services of top legal firm Pinsent Masons to investigate recent drug accusations. Former participants, professional dancers and crew members have been invited to speak with solicitors to voice any issues they might have had. Now, the Metropolitan Police have issued a statement to the Mirror as they said: "On Tuesday 12 August, the Metropolitan Police received an allegation about drug-related offences. "Police are assessing the information, and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed. We won't be commenting further at this time." According to PR expert and Celebrity Manager Mayah Riaz, the latest blow risks costing the show loyal viewers. "Strictly's always had its fair share of scandals, but the risk now is that people are simply getting tired of them," she told The Mirror. "A little drama can add spice, but when the headlines are more about controversy than the dancing, it starts to take away from what the show is really about. The big question is: has Strictly become more gossip than glitter? That's the balancing act the BBC has on its hands." The expert, of Mayah Media, warned that if producers want to steady the ship, they must take back control quickly. "That means being upfront rather than pretending nothing's happened," she explained. "Viewers are smart and they'll see through any spin. The only way forward is to admit where things have gone wrong, explain what's being done to fix it, and then push the focus firmly back to the competition itself." Strictly has been the subject of inquiries into bullying and inappropriate behaviour over the past 14 months. Last year professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima made sensational exits from the show after facing serious allegations from former show partners. Now, the PR expert warned, the danger is that "the scandals are becoming the star of the show". "When the drama off the dancefloor overshadows the foxtrot on it, you've got a real identity problem. "The BBC needs to ask itself a tough question: is Strictly supposed to be family-friendly entertainment, or is it sliding into full-on reality TV drama? At the moment it's trying to be both, and that confusion could end up costing it loyal viewers."
Scottish Sun
08-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Quadruple your Boots Advantage card points with our ULTIMATE guide – including quick email trick to when to shop
Super-fan Mayah Riaz has revealed how she's saved thousands at Boots, plus our experts' top tricks for boosting Advantage points SAVVY SHOPPER Quadruple your Boots Advantage card points with our ULTIMATE guide – including quick email trick to when to shop Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MILLIONS of shoppers have a Boots Advantage card - but do you know the secret ways to boost your points? You collect points when you shop, which can be used to pay off your shopping - and experts have exclusively revealed the tricks to supersizing your points balance. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Shoppers use the scheme to bag luxury items for free - and even get their Christmas shopping done for free Credit: Getty The loyalty scheme has been running since 1997, and there are now over 17 million Advantage card members. It works by rewarding shoppers with three points for every £1 they spend. Each point is worth 1p, so if you've saved 1234 points, you'll have £12.34 to spend. To pay for your shopping using your points balance, you'll need the full amount as you can't split payments between points and cash. Many shoppers build up their balance over the year to buy Christmas presents, or get bargains in the mega Boots sale at the end of the year. But there are ways to boost your points balance, and put more money back in your pocket. Shopping pros have revealed their tips to making super savings at the high street favourite. Download the app NOW for quadruple points The Boots Advantage Card app is a "game changer", according to Holly Smith, aka the UK's Coupon Queen. These are where your Advantage points, and tailored offers, will be listed. Sometimes, you can earn double, triple, or even QUADRUPLE your points by using these offers. Tap 'View Offers' under your points balance in the app to see your personalised deals. "Right now, my offers are 500 Advantage Card points if I spend £35 or more in-store, 100 points if I buy any Boots own brand products, and 10% off if I spend £15 or more on children's products – plus loads more," said Holly. We've also spotted offers where you can get triple points for buying a BioandMe product. If you bout the Super Seedy & Nutty Gut-Loving Granola 360g box for £3.19, that would mean you would have got 9 points originally, but with the offer, you could boost your points to 28. The extra points will usually come with stipulations such as when you spend a certain amount, buy selected products or could simply offered as a one or two-time offer. To get the boosted points, you will need to 'load to your card', which means adding the offers onto your card before making a purchase, to get the boost. The offers typically change every four weeks, though there are also one day events that crop up so it's worth checking in regularly to see what's available in store or on your app. See if you can stack your offers to turbocharge your savings. For example, if you had an offer to get double points when you spend £45, as well as an offer to get £3 worth of points when spending £10 on own-brand products, make sure to save your shopping for one big trip to cash in on both the offers by stacking them. The app starts to understand what you usually buy and will become accustomed to your favourite product, and begin tailoring special offers just for you. You shouldn't spend more than you can afford just to get point boosts or buy goods that you wouldn't ordinary have bought - the extra spending will quickly outweigh the benefits of the points. How to sign up to the Boots Advantage Card scheme YOU can sign up for the Boost scheme online and in store. You can grab a physical card in store, and then register the card online at the Boots' registration page here. If you're signing up online, head to the Boots Advantage Card application page here. Enter your email address to register. Or, you can sign up through the Boots app. Download it for free and follow the instructions. Advantage prices Boots has followed in the steps of major supermarkets by offering special lower prices on thousands of selected products to advantage card holders. You can get up to 50% off certain products. For example, we've spotted offers where you can get almost 10% off nearly everything if you spend £25. Another offer we spotted is that you can get £5 off Fenty skin hydra vizor SP30 moisturiser range. The Invisible Moisturizer from this range is £35, which means you can get it for £30. Consumer deals expert Dan Evans from said: "Loyalty cards have become more of a must have than just a nice extra, in this day and age, especially with instant discounts at the till helping cut the cost of your bills. "With so many retailers competing for attention, shopping around really pays off." I've saved thousands with my Boots Advantage card - here's my tricks to boosting points Mayah Riaz, 42, from Nottingham is a pro at boosting her Advantage card points, and has saved 23,732 points worth £237. 32. The publicist at Maya Media estimates she spends around £100-£200 a month at Boots, which would ordinarily mean around 300-600 points worth between £3 and £6. However, through savvy shopping tricks, Maya manages to boost her points to around 400-800 points a month worth between £4 and £8. She says she's saved thousands thanks to the scheme, which she has been a member for since 1997. She says: "I always make a list of things I need and when they have points offers, I bulk buy items during this period. "I also use the app regularly so I can get coupons and points tailored for me." She also tries to shop with friends who don't have the loyalty card so she can swipe hers. Mayah admits she has also asked to swipe her card if she sees someone in the queue who doesn't have an advantage card. She says: "I used to do this a lot when I was younger but it's more difficult these days with self check-outs and also I don't always go in-store for my shopping." She said: "I love buying my perfume with the points, as that feels like a treat. "Only this week I looked to see I have enough points to buy a new GHD straighteners which is currently discounted too. "But part of me hasn't been able to let me buy it as I can't bear to lose nearly all of my points in one go." Spend on points weekends Delay your shopping trips to the weekend, where Boots is more likely to launch points offers. Shops will more likely launch offers over the weekend to tempt customers in stores. Typical deals that have launched in the past include 1,000 extra points when spending a sizeable amount such as £50 or £60. Quick email trick Boots Advantage card offers will usually be advertised by email. The trick is to sign up for marketing emails to hoover up all the available offers. Sign up to the Boots mailing list here. Make sure to check your inbox on Thursdays or Fridays, so you can plan your trip. You could even set up a special email inbox for offers from Boots, and other retailers, so it doesn't clog up your normal inbox. That way, you'll never miss a deal. Recycle for points Boots has a scheme where you can recycle your empty cosmetics, health and beauty packaging to get a big points boost worth up to £5. There are usually drop-off points located in store. To use the scheme you'll need to download the Boots Scan2recycle app. Scan at least five empty items through the app for recycling. You can recycle items that can't ordinarily be recycled at home, such as mascara, eyeshadow pallets or travel-sized toiletry containers. Once you've dropped off the empty packaging, you'll then get a voucher in your app which you can scan when spending £10 or more to get a 500 points boost. Parenting Club If you have kids, then you can boost your points by spending on essentials like nappies and baby food. To do this, sign up to the store's Parenting Club if you have a child under five. You can boost your points by bagging eight instead of three for every £1 spent on baby items. You also get access to in-store events, free gifts and extra savings when you sign up to the Club so it's worthwhile if you have a little one. Stack offers to boost your savings. For example, shoppers can currently get 10% off a £30 on selected baby products with the code BABYJULY. Plus, save an extra 5% on your shop with the code BIRTHDAY. So if you spent £30 on qualifying products, your shopping would actually be £25.50. 'I save my points to get my Christmas presents for FREE' Carol Wiltshire, 60, is the founder of underwear brand String Nix saves her points to spend at Christmas each year. The savvy shopper from Guildford spends around £200 a month in Boots. And has recently joined the Over 60s club which allows her to bank eight points for every £1 spent on certain items. She mostly saves the points to help out during the costly festive period. Carol said: "I have around 9,000 points at the moment which is the equivalent of £90.00. "By Christmas I like to have around £200 - £300 in points to spend on little luxuries, stocking fillers and everyday essentials." Carol makes a list of everything she needs when ordering online or go to the store. And always uses the app to get offers such as double points. She added: "Boots Advantage is a really nice rewards programme because you actually see a cash amount rather than just points. "If you have the app on your phone you don't need cash, you can use your points to pay for the whole basket." Over 60s can earn extra points Older shoppers can get boosted points too. When you hit 60 and you have an Advantage card, you can join Boots Over 60s rewards, which means you'll scoop eight points for every £1 spent on on Boots Own and exclusive brands. These include names such as No7, Soap & Glory, Botanics, Liz Earle, Champneys, Soltan, Natural Collection and Joules. There is also access to in-store events, as well as exclusive offers. This is in addition to the 10% off Boots Price Advantage prices. Get a Birthday bonus Treat yourself on your birthday and get free bonus points in the process. During your birthday month, you can double your points, which is six points for every £1 spent. Make sure you put in your date of birth when signing up so you can access the offer. Remember to add the offer to your card before spending. Big ticket items can boost points Did you know you can get kitchen appliances at Boots? The Advantage scheme works on these products, so you can bank huge points with these big ticket items. For example, if you bought the Bosch 10kg washing machine for £499, you could get 1,497 worth of points - worth £14.97. Before you make your purchase, see if you can buy the same model for cheaper elsewhere. If you can't, then you've got yourself a huge bargain.
