It’s official – Glee will return to our screens

At last month’s series 13 premiere, director Ryan Murphy revealed he’d written an for a Glee reboot.

It’s been 11 years since the final episode of the musical-comedy-drama aired but now “Gleeks” have something to believe in as reported that Disney+ and Hulu officially picked up a revival of the iconic show.

I just finished the script an hour ago, so, we have a script. Brad, Ian, and I, who wrote all the first two seasons, have written something. I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members.

murphy in an interview with entertainment tonight

Ryan Murphy seemingly confirmed that 10 of the original cast members are “enthusiastic” about reprising their roles – who are they?

Sources revealed to that Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry, is “in”. Heather Morris confirmed in an Instagram post that Brittany Pierce “is alive and well” and back for more”. Chord Overstreet, who played Sam Evans, seemingly announced his return on X: “Reunited and it feels so good!”

Will it pick up from where the series ended in 2015? Or will it fast-forward a decade?

As of the series finale, it left off as:

• Mr Shue becomes the principal of the up-and-coming performing arts school, McKinley High, and names its auditorium in Finn’s honour.
• Rachel wins a Tony Award, marries Jesse St James and becomes a surrogate mother to Blaine.
• Mercedes pursues a career in pop music and ultimately ends up as an opening act for Beyoncé.

How popular was Glee?

10 million

The chaotic six-series-long drama attracted an average audience of 10 million viewers a week, transforming stars like Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff as household names.

207

Known for its ballads, the show landed 207 covers on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside winning six Emmys and four Golden Globes during its run.

Blood tests could identify men most at risk of prostate cancer

Researchers at Oxford University have discovered signs in men’s blood that could protect those most at risk of the disease.

Here is everything you need to know.

This latest research will help predict which men will develop the cancer most aggressively and hopes that doctors will soon be able to screen for it in hospitals.

• It found that 12 proteins in the blood were linked to a future diagnosis of the cancer – sometimes appearing as late as 15 years.

The expert view

Prostate cancer is not one disease. By measuring thousands of proteins in blood collected years before diagnosis, we can investigate how men who develop aggressive cancer differ from men who do not. We hope this will improve how we assess risk in the future.

Dr Zhe Huang, a postdoctoral epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health

• The research found that the immune system may be keeping early cancerous stages in check before diagnosis.
• It opens avenues to identify the processes that drive aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
• It could help implement a national screening programme, which does not currently exist in the UK.
• It could help prevent unnecessary biopsies and treatments for slow-growing tumours.
• While these proteins do not always equate to cancer, they help reveal biological changes which can lead to the increased likelihood of it.

• 7proteins linked to aggressive cancer.
• 1,500men a year will be offered tests under the latest NHS proposals, unless they have symptoms.
• 12,000men a year die from the disease in the UK.
• 63,000men are diagnosed with the cancer annually in the UK.

‘Unfair’ prescription costs in England should be scrapped – experts

Prescription charges in England should be scrapped, pharmacy leaders have said.

A new poll found that 79 per cent of people think it is “unfair” that patients in England are charged – while those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not.

What did the study find?

1,781 adults

A survey of 1,781 adults in England, carried out by Savanta on behalf of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), found one in 10 people said they have gone without a prescription in the last year because of the cost.

Another 12 per cent said they had delayed getting their prescription for the same reason.

• The NPA said that prescription charges are a “cruel tax on illness” as they called on the Chancellor to scrap the charges in the Budget.

What happens elsewhere?

Prescription costs were abolished in Wales in 2007, in Northern Ireland in 2010 and in Scotland in 2011.

In England, the current prescription charge is now £9.90 per item. Some prescriptions are free including contraception and medicines prescribed for hospital inpatients.

• The NPA said it is a “national scandal” people are deterred from buying medicines because of cost.
• The Association said pharmacists have reported patients with multiple one-off medicines asking: “Which is the most important one to take?”
• The NPA has estimated that £732.8m was raised by prescription costs in in 2025-26.

The expert view

“No patient should ever see cost as being a barrier to accessing the medicines they need but this polling shows an alarming number do. It is a national scandal and deeply unfair that anyone could consider stopping vital medicines because of cost”

NPA chairman Olivier Picard

Universal credit payments to increase by up to £350 a year

Millions of benefit claimants are on course for at least a 3.5 per cent rise in their payments next April after inflation climbed to its highest level in almost a year.

Why will benefits rise?

3.5%

The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that the Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation rose to 3.5 per cent in September.

That was up from 3.1 per cent in August. 

• September’s figure is the one ministers traditionally use to set benefit rates for the next year.
• By The i Paper’s calculations, most people on universal credit will see a larger rise of around 4.3 per cent, because of a law requiring the basic payment to go up faster than inflation.

Which benefits will rise with inflation?

The law says disability and carers’ benefits, such as personal independence payment and carer’s allowance, must rise at least in line with inflation.

What else?

• For most other working-age benefits, such as child benefit, ministers can decide whether to raise them by inflation, by less, or not at all.
• If they rise by 3.5 per cent, child benefit for the eldest child would go from £27.05 to around £28 a week.
• Carer’s allowance would go from £86.45 to around £89.50.

Storm Austen arrives in UK – where will be worst hit?

Storm Austen is expected to bring heavy rain to much of Scotland at the end of the week, with homes and businesses warned of potential flooding.

• The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain which takes effect at 6am on Friday, ending at 3am on Saturday.
• The warning area covers much of Scotland, from as far south as the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.
  
• Parts of the west, including all of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Glasgow are affected, with the majority of the east also set to be hit by the rain.
  

What impact could the storm have?

There is a “small chance” homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to buildings, according to the Met Office.

Commuters have been warned to check trains and buses, while flooding may affect drivers. There is a chance communities may be cut off due to flooded roads, and power cuts are also possible.