Ben Miller, 60, is an English comedian, actor and author. He rose to fame as half of double act [Alexander] Armstrong and Miller, on their sketch show from 1998-2001. He studied physics at Cambridge, and joined The Cambridge Footlights whilst studying for a PhD. He’s since gone on to star in Death in Paradise Austin and opposite Rowan Atkinson in the Johnny English films, as well as authoring 13 children’s books. He’s married to Jessica Parker, with whom he has two children, Harrison, 14, and Lana, 11. He has a son, Jackson, 19, from a previous marriage.
Here, he remembers the moments that shaped him, from people refusing to take him seriously as an actor, to being diagnosed with OCD, keeping his mental health intact and getting mistaken for Rob Brydon.
One of my earliest memories is getting a 5p coin stuck in my throat. My dad did that brilliant dad thing of turning me upside down, beating me on the back, until I coughed it up.
Putin has a sinister new plan. We should all be worried
The last month has seen the fiercest exchange of missile attacks between Russia and Ukraine in more than four years of war.
But the fighting is in dynamic impasse, with a huge amount of killing and damage on either side with little to show for it. Russia now looks to be trying to shake that up.
What has changed?
In the past week, Vladimir Putin has urged new field commanders to get the job done to seize the whole of Donetsk by the end of the year.
Lithuania warned a few days ago intelligence services thought Russia could try to provoke allies in the region in the next few weeks. This points to a dangerous new phase of the war.
The sinister new plan
Russia is using three lines of attack to break the will of Ukraine: to bring misery, a lack of power and utilities with the onset of winter and to grind down the forces on the front line.
The new military appointments and exhortations suggest Putin intends to intensify ground attacks in Ukraine.
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What does this mean for Ukraine?
- The numbers look bleak for Ukraine going into the winter.
- The trashing of its cities, including the targeting of filling stations, aims at depriving Ukrainians of heat and comfort, and even adequate food.
- Ukraine is fighting back hard, but the next phase of the war could stretch it to breaking point.
Why you shouldn’t use your 1999 solar eclipse glasses
With a rare partial solar eclipse later today, many are casting their minds back to the last major eclipse over the UK before the turn of the century.
But experts have warned people not to re-use glasses bought for the astronomical event 27 years ago.
What you need to know
Many parts of the country will experience more than 90 per cent coverage of the Sun.
Depending on your location, it will occur between 6.15pm and 8pm. People in the south-west of England are likely to get the most coverage. For the best view, it is a good idea to head to high ground.
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When will this happen again?
There has been a last-minute rush for eclipse glasses, as many high street shops and online retailers have sold out.
The next total solar eclipse over the UK will not happen until 2090.
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Put the old glasses away
- Only specialist glasses that are ISO 12312-1 certified should be used, experts said.
- People should only use glasses that are undamaged and no more than a decade old.
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How solo working is driving rising hours spent alone
Working from home and other solitary working habits are a bigger driver of loneliness than screen time, research suggests.
What you need to know
- The Resolution Foundation made the findings by analysing UK Time Use Survey.
- It found the average number of people doing paid work alone has nearly tripled in under a decade.
- Working from home accounted for roughly two-thirds of the rise in work done alone.
- The research found that “paid work is the biggest driver of rising time alone among working-age people”.
- Parth Pandya, researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “If policy makers are serious about improving young people’s wellbeing, then work needs to be part of the debate as much as screen time.”
The story in numbers
15%
Among 18 to 69-year-olds, the average proportion of people who were doing paid work alone in the standard working day increased from five per cent in 2014 up to 15 per cent in 2023.
90 minutes
The biggest change was among men aged 18-29, who spent an additional 90 minutes working alone each day.
This means they spend more than two-fifths of the hours they are awake alone.
What does this mean?
The research said: “It is more solo working, rather than screen time, that has driven the rise in reported time alone.
“Despite likely under-reporting of screen time, time alone for young people is still up. So, something else must be driving it – and the diary data points to a sharp rise in solo working.”
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Timeline of recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure
Ukraine has maintained near-daily attacks on Russian oil refineries, pumping stations and exports – targeting the lifeblood of Moscow’s war economy.
By some estimates, the campaign has knocked out a third of Russia’s oil processing capacity.
What you need to know
On 18 July, Kyiv ushered in a new era, targeting Wildberries warehouses – Russia’s equivalent to Amazon and one of the country’s largest companies.
For many Russians, the war now feels a lot closer to home, with social media filled with videos of explosions and business owners crying over their destroyed stock.
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The timeline of key events
Kyiv has raised the stakes in recent weeks with dozens of attacks. The logic is to aggravate economic problems and harm public support for the war.
- 30 April – Ukraine said it hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries more than 1,500 kilometres from the front line.
- 24 June – A strike on an electricity substation took out the power in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.
- 4 July – Ukraine hit a major oil terminal in St Petersburg.
- 2 August – Kyiv said it hit an oil refinery and airfield 600 kilometres from the border in Saratov region.
- 3 August – A drone hit a Wildberries warehouse in one of a series of similar attacks on the company.
- 6 August – Ukraine hit two oil refineries, trying to reduce the profits of Russian oil.
When and where to catch a glimpse of Perseid meteor shower
Just hours after the partial solar eclipse, Wednesday night will see stargazers treated to yet another astronomical event.
But what is the Perseid meteor shower and where can you see it best?
Everything you need to know
The Perseids are seen as streaks of bright meteors across the night sky. They are caused by debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet and are seen in the UK every summer.
Its peak nights are 12 and 13 August this year. Much of the UK will have clear skies overnight, with a new moon meaning the display should also be more visible.
Where best to see it
- Try to go somewhere without light pollution, preferably away from cities.
- Allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and gaze up towards the widest clear expanse of sky.
- You could see hundreds of “shooting stars”, with the best time between midnight and sunrise.
- Areas of the Highlands, mid-Wales and rural Northumberland are often cited as having the least light pollution.
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Why billionaire Lord Sugar has hit out at American Express
Lord Alan Sugar has called American Express “a bunch of idiots” after he was denied an increase on his credit limit.
star, 79, who has a reported net worth of £1.138bn, said he spoke to someone who was aware of his “financial status”, but it made no difference.
What is the row about?
Lord Sugar wrote on X to complain he had been on the phone with American Express for an hour, and eventually “my request was refused due to their system”.
Replying to some criticism in his comments, the entrepreneur responded: “I AM NOT MOANING JUST EXPOSING WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS AMEX ARE.”
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Council flat to billionaire status
Some in Lord Sugar’s comments accused him of “trying to flaunt your status” after championing his modest background.
- Lord Sugar was born in Hackney, east London, in 1947 and grew up in a council flat.
- He left school at 16 and briefly worked in the civil service as a statistician.
- He founded electronics company Amstrad at the age of 21 and found commercial success by mass-producing affordable consumer electronics.
- Sugar began hosting reality competition show in 2005.
- He sold his stake in Amstrad to BSkyB in 2007 for £125m.
- His net worth is reportedly £1.138bn.
Are you having as much sex as everyone else?
It’s natural for libido to wax and wane due to life events, dating status or hormonal changes.
And it can be hard to say what a “normal” sexual frequency is. But research and case studies give us a rough idea.
The statistics
When it happens
61%
A 2023 survey concluded that almost two thirds (61 per cent) of us wait until night-time to have sex.
Only 14 per cent opt to get busy in the early evening, and 10 per cent in the morning.
Research from 2019 suggests that the average number of times British live-in or married couples have sex per month is three.
Are Gen Z having less sex than older people?
I see my partner on the weekends and have sex with others in the week.
Leanne, a 27-year-old influencer from Bristol has sex three or four times a week, but only sees her long-distance partner on the weekends. They have agreed they can both sleep with other people during the week.
35-year-old Rebecca usually sleeps with her partner once or twice per week due to not having much child-free time.
Clare, 32, says her job is busy and she has to schedule sex with her partner on weekends, or some afternoons twice a month. “Occasionally this slips and I do worry that it makes us not as connected,” she says.
I haven’t had the issue of my sex life drying up with menopause. I’m more aroused now.
I’ve been married for 15 years. I love my husband, but our sex life is non-existent, and has been for about five years.
I’m not really motivated to seek out partners; I vaguely like the idea of it but not enough to take any action.
I’ve been married for 20 years and sex has become something of a rarity. We maybe have sex once a week on a Sunday morning as we’re both relaxed and I can take Viagra late on Saturday night – without it, I can’t perform.
JACK, 63, OFFICE WORKER, KENT
The seven rules that could save your marriage
Keep your sense of self
I did what I thought I was supposed to do and forgot my needs and wants. I think it’s really important that you’re an individual and not just a person who is married.
KATIE STRATFORD*, A 55-YEAR-OLD MUM OF TWO, WHO DIVORCED ATER 19 YEARS
Seven rules to save your marriage
The small things
Small things, like being brought a cup of tea or saying thank you, make a big difference.
Karen Deulofeu, who ended her six-year marriage, believes all couples should seek support, even before they think they need it.
Listen properly by repeating what you have heard and ask if you’ve got that right.
Don’t lose communication
People don’t talk about the deep issues; nobody else is going to do it for you. You don’t want to ask questions because it might rock the boat…you have to keep talking, and talk about what it is that you want within the relationship to keep going forward.
KATIE STRATFORD
Seven rules to save your marriage
Remember that things change
“What you see on social media and what friends say is quite often the nice version. Everything is a phase,” says Deulofeu.
Look at yourself first
“Focus on what’s in your control and what you can do differently, rather than the other person or a situation that you can’t control. Invest in understanding yourself,” she adds.
It’s important to enjoy being a kid. Both my parents were English teachers, so I was surrounded by books, and encouraged to read above my level such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. But they weren’t pushy. My wife and I have adopted the same approach with our kids – to study for enthusiasm and interest, and encourage them through praise.
The characters in my first three children’s books were named after my own kids. Lana’s quite keen on being a character, but Jackson and Harrison have never shown any interest.
If there’s a magic secret to marriage, I don’t know it. I’ve been married twice – first to Jackson’s mother, now to Jess. We met through work; I’d co-written a film, she worked for the film studio, so she was kind of my boss. She still is. The key is not taking anything for granted. You need to be yourself as much as you can be. It’s also about communication. Sometimes the last thing I want to do is be honest about how I’m feeling.
If you met me, you probably wouldn’t know I suffer from anxiety. I’m not an introvert. I was diagnosed with OCD in 1998. I don’t think it removed the anxiety, so to help with that, I rely on meditation, and meditate twice a day.
I obsessively count objects, like the number of windows in a tower block. I’ve got a mathematical mind, as opposed to being a germophobe who might obsessively tidy. I also tessellate shapes in my head – so I’ll take objects and repeat them so they fit seamlessly together, like tiles on a floor.
People find me the funniest when I’m trying my hardest to be serious. It was really exciting to study physics at Cambridge, but it was so full-on, I didn’t really have time for anything else. It was only when I was doing my PhD that I auditioned for a play, because I’d always been interested in drama and comedy. I got the part of Cassio in , which is a bit of a boring part, but every time I went on stage, the audience burst out laughing. By the second or third performance, I thought: “I should lean into this.” The more seriously I played it, the more people would laugh. And that’s kind of been what I’ve done ever since.
The first time Alexander [Armstrong] and I went on stage together was magical. And it’s been magical ever since. It’s so special that it’s beyond belief. We had our heart set on doing something that seemed so difficult. The sketch show format had fallen completely out of fashion. Harry Hill, who was the darling of the stand-up scene at the time, said: “You and Alexander are like two old men in one of those old shops in Burlington Arcade, making things nobody wants anymore.” What turned the tide was , which became this extraordinary phenomenon, and people started deciding maybe they quite liked sketches again.
Rowan Atkinson will always be my comedy hero. I was very nervous the first time I went to meet him and read for the part of Bough in . But when I ended up doing a screen test with him, on set and in costume, it all clicked. I’d done quite a few films before, but Johnny English was a quantum leap, as they say.
I try to eat 30 different vegetables a week. Like many middle-aged men, if you ask me about my gut health, I could speak for hours about kimchi and fermented yoghurt. I’m really interested in health, so I think about what I eat.
I have therapy once a week and I meditate every day. I really want to live a full family life and achieve at the highest level I can in my work. You’ve got to be in pretty good form to do that. Mental health is really important. I also like to read books about spirituality – I’m a big believer in spirituality and trying to connect with something bigger than yourself. I’m still fascinated by science, but the laws of physics just tell you how the universe evolves. It doesn’t tell you how it came to be there in the first place.
People often mistake me for Rob Brydon. I bumped into him at a members’ club in Oxfordshire, and we were both wearing exactly the same clothes – light brown chinos, brown suede shoes, a white T-shirt with a denim jacket over the top. We kissed on an episode of once, actually.
Ben’s debut novel, A Very Dangerous Pursuit