Samantha Womack has said she would’ve delayed her own cancer treatment in solidarity with striking NHS staff who “shouldn’t be eating from food banks”. The former EastEnders actor, 50, announced she had been diagnosed with “brutal” breast cancer in August last year – shortly after Dame Olivia Newton-John died from the disease. Last December, NHS doctors and nurses went on a nationwide strike demanding better pay amid a cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation. Describing herself as a “huge advocate” of England’s national health service, she called it “one of the best gifts we have” in an interview with Press Association. She added: “But when you’ve got the people who are working as hard as they are doing the hours they are, not being supported, even if it would have delayed my own personal treatment, “I would have been out there fighting with them, because I’m absolutely desperate for them to be paid properly and appropriately for what they do,” she continued. “They certainly shouldn’t be eating from food banks.” She also told the agency Newton-John’s death made Womack want to share her own diagnosis, “because I thought everyone knows someone that’s got cancer”. “It was very poignant for me when I got my diagnosis that she had lost her battle and they happened within the same timeframe,” she explained. Womack, who played Ronnie Mitchell on the hit BBC soap until 2017, told fans in January 2023 that she had overcome breast cancer. The British actor is now lending her support to a campaign enabling greater access to a new AI breast cancer diagnostic tool called Digistain. The UK’s first breast cancer risk profiling solution, Digistain helps patients better understand their cancer and the specific treatment that will most benefit them. Womack said she didn’t know about Digistain when her cancer was diagnosed, and that she was “anxious not to have chemotherapy” if she didn’t require the “brutal treatment”. “I knew that there was a test called the Oncotype test, which is very similar....(but) it’s incredibly expensive so it’s just not available to most people,” she added. Womack said the test gives a ratio of how beneficial chemotherapy would be and she was “on the fence” so had two rounds before making the decision to stop. Last October, Womack gave fans a health update while receiving the treatment, explaining that she had gotten her appetite back but was struggling with migraines. Elsewhere in the interview on Friday (12 May), Womack reflected on life after being given the all-clear and how it has changed her perspective. “It’s apparent in every little thing that you think,” she continued. “It’s a bit like learning to think and speak in a different language and it’s quite exhausting, because you’re not quite the same person that you were so everything is just slightly shaded in a different colour.” Read More Rainy bike rides and jellybean bribes: The secrets of royal coronation photographer Hugo Burnand Taylor Swift fans react to new photo ‘confirming’ Matty Healy romance: ‘I’m going to cry’ The Bear star Jeremy Allen White’s wife Addison Timlin reportedly files for divorce Meghan is ‘cuckoo’ in royal nest and her ‘woke hang-ups’ will destroy marriage, says Labour grandee Robert De Niro reveals name of newborn daughter as he shares first photo of seventh child

So, you're ready to buy a new iPhone, perhaps the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14

While we might be most familiar with seeing Gordon Ramsay cooking up a storm in a galley, he says he loves to “get out of the kitchen and get my hands dirty”. That could explain why he’s filmed three series of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted on National Geographic, giving him the opportunity to explore different experiences and dishes from all over the globe. From snacking on alpaca meat 11,000 feet above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, to eating fish curry in Kerala, south India, Ramsay, 56, has been on a culinary tour of the world. “I always love to get out of the kitchen and get my hands dirty,” he says. “It gives me time to embed into local food communities and get inspired.” In the series, Ramsay switches positions – in many of his previous shows, he’s the teacher, but he’s very much the student in Uncharted. He says this “definitely made me more humble, especially when the locals don’t love my dishes”, but ultimately “experience helps me become a better chef”. Now, the chef is releasing a cookbook-meets-travelogue as an accompaniment to the TV show, with the recipes reflecting the diversity of his travels. Dishes include spicy grilled lobster with coconut and breadfruit from Hawaii, chicken pepper pot from the jungles of Guyana, New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp and spice-rubbed steaks with pele pele sauce from South Africa. We chatted to Ramsay about his approach to travel and food… How important is it to have an open mind when travelling? “Having an open mind really helps you to bed in with the local community. For me, I get to better understand the importance of each dish and ingredient. “It really helped me to craft some of the incredible dishes at our final cooks and now this amazing book. And trust me, I’ve taken all that knowledge and used it in my dishes at my restaurants around the world.” How can adventure help you understand a region’s culture and cuisine better? “If you want to go off the beaten path, you’re not getting on the tube or M5 to get there. You have to have some adventure involved! And as I learned in Peru with the mango tree, some of the best ingredients come from being out of your comfort zone.” Has travel always been a part of your food ethos? “When I was a young chef, I wanted to have all the experience and knowledge to help me be the best. I wasn’t going to places like Laos or Tasmania, but I was travelling and taking in everything I could get from every city I went to. “I may not have been rappelling a cliff or diving while learning in France, but trust me, some of those kitchens were just as intense!” What dish in the book took the most effort to master? “I’d have to say the Pandi curry in India. I’ve made many curries in my time, but this one was truly unique since it used pork. I’ve been to India many times, but never to this region and getting in so in-depth with the local purveyors. “I learned so much from the curry – to the coffee liquor to those spicy pickled vegetables – that said, the biggest challenge for me during that trip had to be getting the ants we used for the ant curry out of my hair!” Did you fail at anything? “Of course I’ve failed. I’ve lost fires, burned protein, disappointed the locals – but I’ve always picked myself up and tweaked and finessed my mistakes. “Mistakes aren’t bad when it comes to cooking, it’s the perfect learning experience. So if you fail with any of the recipes, just learn and adjust and keep trying.” What was the most memorable destination you went to? “That’s so tough, that’s like choosing a favourite child. They were all so unique and beautiful, but I think Tasmania was really memorable to me. The culture of bartering and the incredible seafood really opened my eyes to the incredible bounty that island has.” What’s the biggest lesson you learned from filming Uncharted and writing the cookbook? “Resourcefulness and making sure that we only take what we need. Those principles are very similar to what we are running and doing in restaurants, use what you need, take what you need. And making sure it’s seasonality at its best.” ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted: A Culinary Adventure With 60 Recipes From Around The Globe’ (published by National Geographic, £25). You can stream all episodes of National Geographic’s ‘Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted’ exclusively on Disney+. Read More Three meat-free dishes to try this National Vegetarian Week How to make TikTok’s viral whole roasted cauliflower What is coronation chicken? The story of the royal recipe and how to make it Healthy lemony smoked salmon pasta that takes zero effort Easy coronation chicken pie recipe chosen by Mary Berry Andi Oliver on turning 60 and channeling her anger into power

Sudan's war has left university lecturer Ali Seif without pay for months. To make ends meet, he has turned to making soap in his room...

Amazon Prime Day is here and so are the deals — lots and lots of

Countries worldwide are scrambling to secure rice after a partial ban on exports by India cut global supplies by roughly a fifth

Global stock managers are bracing for pain as China’s dramatic slowdown undermines the prospects for companies elsewhere that

Tightly packed with new reveals, the Xbox Games Showcase was the closest Summer Game Fest

TL;DR: As of August 19, get SheetGPT Single User Plan: Lifetime Subscription for only $48.99

Williams boss James Vowles was alert and sharp to McLaren’s amusing attempt at subterfuge during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Alex Albon, who has been a revelation at Williams this year, was valiantly defending sixth position from McLaren’s Lando Norris, positioning his car perfectly to maintain his place in the order. Yet McLaren, desperate to pass Albon with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rapidly chasing behind, tried something different: a ‘dummy’ pit-stop. “Box to overtake,” McLaren told Norris over the team radio, with the British driver responding: “Yeah I’m pushing confirm.” The papaya team even sent their mechanics into the pit-lane, looking as though they were going to bizarrely pit their driver. But Williams – and the experienced former Mercedes chief Vowles – were wily and shrewd to the situation, aware that McLaren were merely dummying in an attempt to try and force Williams to pit Albon. “Heard their dummy and saw their pit lane, I thought ‘if they want to stop they can stop, but I’m not!’” Vowles told Sky F1 afterwards. “From McLaren’s perspective and Mercedes’ and Alonso, just one foot wrong and all three would’ve got through. We were very concerned about them. “What saved us was our straight-line speed [today]. We were six or seven kph up on theirs, it was just enough that they couldn’t get through. “We make it look easy, at least Alex does. Alex did a sterling job. We don’t quite have that race-pace but we have a driver out there who can get his elbows out and fight for points. That’s what he did today, he did a sterling job. “Again not a foot wrong. Seventh is just reward, the car pace was slightly behind that but he shone relative to that.” Ultimately, neither Albon nor Norris could keep Hamilton behind, with the seven-time world champion finishing sixth. Albon finished seventh – for another impressive six points for Williams – while Norris came home a place behind in eighth. Max Verstappen won the race – a record-breaking 10th in a row – with Sergio Perez second and Carlos Sainz third. Read More Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix F1 Italian Grand Prix LIVE: Race results and reaction as Verstappen wins at Monza

Rising onion prices in India pose a greater risk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government than a recent

"Wedding season" is generally thought of as spring, but the most popular months to say "I do" are actually in the fall. Maybe it's the foliage, maybe it's the much-anticipated relief from the heat, but fall weddings, much like autumn itself, are definitely a thing. While the multi-hued leaves make for stunning wedding pics for the newlyweds, finding fall wedding guest dresses can often stump attendees. Looking for an outfit that is dressy while still feeling seasonally appropriate is deceptively difficult.