>> reparations grifters can sod off. legally defining islamophobia will lead to cancellation of free speech. >> when will politicians, my friends, stop the virtue signalling and focus on actual getting things done.7 >> the turquoise tidal wave cannot be stopped. >> and onlyfans not the dream career people thought it was. who knew? >> it's 6 pm. and this is the saturday five. welcome to the saturday five. welcome to the saturday five. welcome to the saturday five. a very good evening to you. i'm darren grimes, and we begin tonight with some truly tragic breaking news. our very own alex armstrong, fresh from his 40th birthday, has announced he's taking a whole week off of television a whole week. i know that your thoughts and prayers will be with alex at this dark

time. rumour has it he's checked himself into the world famous betty ford clinic over in palm spnngs betty ford clinic over in palm springs. not for the usual sins. he has booze or drugs or even an unfortunate gambling addiction. but for something far more insidious a crippling dependence on being on telly. it's said that the withdrawal symptoms have already kicked in. he now refuses to communicate with his partner unless it's via an earpiece. now i, for one, am just relieved he's finally found a healthier way to deal with his unquenchable thirst for screen time, rather than mysteriously taking out the competition who fall foul to sudden illness. patrick christie and i have noficed patrick christie and i have noticed the pattern. alex, we're on to you. and if that wasn't enough heartbreak for one show, kai wilshire isn't here either. now brace yourselves for this one. he's off in saudi arabia. yes. i'm not joking. waleses wokeist warrior. the man who's never met a pronoun he wouldn't

correct you on has jetted off to riyadh. and let's just say, i sincerely hope he left his latest iteration of the trans flag at home. because i'm not entirely sure that mohammed bin salman is as enthusiastic about gender inclusivity as he is about, well, other forms of discipline, shall we say. and who knows, if we're lucky, we might even get a live report from a saudi prison this time next week. a fear not still standing stiff as a board, ready to take on the left, upright, alert and at the ready position is everyone's favourite willie of oz will kingston. and to ensure things don't get too out of hand or in it, we've got our glamorous gp doctor renee on standby, ready to administer the necessary medical interventions, though i'd like to clarify. not that kind of intervention. paws off. and as ever, each of our punchy panellists will make their case. and then it's game on. things spiral faster than ed

miliband blowing £22 billion of your money on a carbon capture scheme, about as effective as diane abbott at a maths contest slated this week in a damning parliamentary report. was that carbon capture stuff? by the way, this man turns me redder than his politics and everyone's favourite, reasoned supremo. of course, chloe dobbs joins us this week, and i'm very much looking forward to seeing what she has to say. she's like a rottweiler. when she gets started to tell you, you know the drill. each host outlines their argument about a chosen topic. then we all pile in and the fur starts to fly. and of course we want to know your views. do send your views and post your comments by visiting gbnews.com/yoursay. and don't forget your questions for ask the five. no topics are off limits. now, before this descends into total chaos or alex mysteriously returns into the studio like a man suffering deprivation, it's time for your saturday night news with sam

francis. >> darren, thank you, and good evening to you. just coming up to 6:05. well, clashes have broken out in london between police and protesters at a demonstration today against plans for a massive new chinese embassy near the tower of london. scuffles saw police wrestling protesters dressed in black, with officers also retreating as masked demonstrators linked arms and appeared to move towards them. two people were arrested for breaching public order conditions. former security minister tom tugendhat has called the development of that embassy a grave mistake, accusing the labour government of ignoring lessons from the past decade. the family of released hostage eli sharabi say they are relieved he's free but heartbroken at how frail he now looks, describing him as confused, gaunt and missing his spark in his eyes. his wife and two daughters were killed by hamas militants during the october the 7th attack. he was paraded by gunmen in gaza

alongside two other captives, in alongside two other captives, in a televised event condemned by israel. meanwhile, all 183 palestinian prisoners due to be released in exchange have now been freed today. the process is part of the first stage of a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas that started last month. back here at home, the foreign office has denied reports it's set to open talks on slavery reparations, with canbbean on slavery reparations, with caribbean officials demanding trillions of pounds from the united kingdom. according to the telegraph newspaper, a meeting could be held as soon as april after barbados prime minister mia mottley previously demanded almost £4 trillion from britain. the foreign office, though, has told gb news the story is false and misleading and insists the government's position remains unchanged. but the foreign secretary, david lammy, has previously been vocal in his support. in other news, the parents of a 15 year old schoolboy stabbed to death in sheffield have been leading a march today in his memory.

caroline and mark willgoose walked with hundreds of others through the city, holding banners and calling for an end to knife crime. earlier, a mass was also held to remember harvey and the vicar at saint joseph's catholic church spoke to our gb news reporter, anna riley. >> it was a very moving service. sometimes simplicity is the best and it came across very well. and people held the family very much in their prayers. one quote i would give from the service is this that we cannot suffer as harvey's family are suffering, but we can suffer with them. walk with them. >> well, the day of remembrance culminated earlier with fans at sheffield united's match clapping harvey in tribute to him. a boy, also 15 years old, has been charged with his murder, with a trial date set for the 30th of june. all reruns of old gino d'acampo shows have been pulled from the itv schedule after allegations of inappropriate behaviour against the tv chef. a new series of

family fortunes that was filmed in october 2023 has not been broadcast so far, and as it stands, there are no plans to do so. d'acampo has been accused of making inappropriate sexual comments while working on a string of itv programmes. he, though, does firmly deny any allegations that have been made against him. the king and queen welcomed celebrities, chefs and diplomats to their highgrove estate last night to celebrate italian slow cooking. the dinner with dishes including crab ravioli and pork, along with wines from england and italy, come ahead of their italian state visit later on this year. among the guests were victoria and david beckham, dame helen mirren and stanley tucci, and the menu honoured a special cause close to the king's heart. it is a tradition of slow cooking. it promotes the right to good, to clean and fair food for all, and strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine, and is championed by

many italians. cuisine, and is championed by many italians . and a cold snap many italians. and a cold snap is sweeping in with temperatures set to drop. i'm sorry to tell you, as low as minus seven degrees over the coming days, the coming days, britain is also bracing for a degrees over the coming days, britain is also bracing for a showery rain, with a yellow showery rain, with a yellow weather warning in place across weather warning in place across much of the country and snow much of the country and snow expected in many northern areas. expected in many northern areas. the met office says demand for the met office says demand for health care is also likely to health care is also likely to rise. but thankfully the return rise. but thankfully the return of the dreaded beast from the of the dreaded beast from the east is unlikely. that's the east is unlikely. that's the news on gb news. a full round up news on gb news. a full round up at 7:00. now, though, it's back at 7:00. now, though, it's back to darren and the saturday five. to darren and the saturday five. >> for the very latest gb news >> for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com/alerts. >> who cares about a beast from an east when you've got a beast from the north east? hey my

friends, it's saturday night and