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Teletubbies scene so terrifying it was banned around the world revealed

A banned Teletubbies sketch—titled The Lion and The Bear—has been revealed after decades.

An uncensored version of the sketch, which is from 1997, has been released on YouTube, reports The Sun.

teletubbies was a beloved British children’s television program about four colorful characters — Tinky Winky, Laa-Laa, Dipsy and Po — who roamed around a grassy floral landscape whenever they weren’t hanging out in their earth house, the Tubbytronic Superdome.

The original series ran from 1997 to 2001.

Anyone who watched the show might remember that it was funny, colourful, and educational, but typically not scary.

However, one teletubbies sketch which was broadcast in 1997 was actually so terrifying that it was banned in countries around the world.

“The Lion and The Bear” was a sketch about two cardboard cutout characters who were, unsurprisingly, a lion and a bear.

The Bear arrived first, followed by the lion, who was chasing her.

In the original sketch, the Teletubbies were terrified by the arrival of the Bear who creepily repeated the same sentence several times.

“I’m the Bear, I’m the Bear, and I’m coming!” she repeated.

After she appeared on screen, she continued rhyming in her terrifying voice.

“I’m the Bear, I’m the Bear, with brown fuzzy hair. I’m hiding from the Lion but he doesn’t know where,” she said.

Then the “scary” Lion arrived.

“I am the scary Lion, with big scary teeth. I’m scary on the top and I’m underneath,” he growled.

This dialogue was followed by a dramatic chase scene across the green hills while Laa-Laa told his fellow Teletubbies to hide.

These scenes proved to be too traumatizing for young viewers and were called out by parents for not being “age appropriate.”

One review from 1997 even dubbed the scene as “the greatest horror film of all time.”

Four years later, the BBC edited the sketch to make it more child-friendly.

In the censored sketch, many of the original elements had been changed.

Now the Teletubbies appeared excited about the arrival of the Bear. The Bear’s voice had also been edited to sound less scary and the threatening music was swapped out for something more upbeat.

Instead of being scared by the Bear, the Teletubbies now giggle at her presence.

They continue to laugh all the way through and celebrate when the Lion chases the Bear far away, instead of running away themselves.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

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Kate Middleton has worn $83,000 worth of clothes in 100 days

There are always defining moments in every Queen’s career, say when Elizabeth I stood before her troops at Tilbury in 1588 and gave one of British history’s most famously rousing speeches or in 1947 when the future Elizabeth II delivered her famous radio address from South Africa promising to dedicate her life to her job.

But for Kate, currently the Duchess of Cambridge and the future Queen Catherine, one of the most defining moments came on April 30 2011, the day after her wedding to Prince William, and her first full days as a bona fide member of the royal family.

Crossing the lawn at Buckingham Palace as the newlyweds made their way to a helicopter to whisk them off to start married, just what did Kate choose to wear? An $85 Zara dress.

The symbolism was clear: Kate might have snagged the prince, gotten herself a title and was now calling a palace home but she was the same woman as she had been 48 hours earlier. With one outfit she was making it clear to the world that she would do things her way of her and that despite her elevation to royal ranks, she remained firmly tethered to normal life.

It was a powerful and very canny move and a style strategy we have seen her wheel out again and again in the year since then.

So, what in the name of her extensive collection of tepid coat dresses has been going on of late?

According to my calculations, in the last 100 days Kate has worn more than $83,851 worth of readily identifiable clothes, shoes and jewellery, not including the number of bespoke designer pieces she has showcased, items that I could not find prices for or the value of. the royal jewelery she has worn. (If we added that all in we would easily be well into the six-figures, I reckon. Keep in mind too that members of the royal family cannot accept freebies either.)

What is clear if you pore over photos and details of the last three and a bit months is that over the course of the last 100 days there has been a very discernible shift in her wardrobe towards the much more costly.

Gone, by and large, are her high-street favourites, affordable pieces from mainstream British chains and in their place is an ever-growing roster of four-figure frocks and diamond earrings.

No look came with a higher price tag in this time period than her very chic, pared back ensemble for the Top Gun premiere with Kate opting for a $5,115 Roland Mouret dress, Prada heels, a $4,418 Alexander McQueen clutch and new $18,133 diamond earrings from Robinson Pelham.

While Kate did re-wear a number of pieces, most notably the white Alexander McQueen suit she first debuted during her and husband Prince William, Duke of Cambridge’s disastrous Caribbean tour and a striking Catherine Walker coat she first donned last year, these are all pieces that cost into the thousands. (There are no prices listed on the Catherine Walker website and you know what they say about having to ask how much something is…)

This is a sartorial tendency that extends to her in her off-duty hours too. Back in 2019 Kate was last photographed at the polo wearing a $740 LK Bennett dress. In July, the 40-year-old was back at watching her husband de ella working up a sweat playing a few chukkas but this time she chose a ladylike Emilia Wickstead number from the designer’s 2019 collection. Currently, a white sleeveless dress that is similar is selling for just under $2000.

Since early May, Kate has worn Alessandra Rich on multiple occasions (whose dresses start at about $2,511 and go up to more than $4,000), plenty of Emilia Wickstead, again costing in the thousands, and a variety of pairs of Emmy heels ($690 to pop) or Gianvitto Rossi pumps which come in at $1022 a pair.

The genius of Kate’s style for so long was her ability to seamlessly pair bargain items, such as the $3.95 earrings she chose for her first official event this year, with high end pieces, a perfect blend of the accessible and the aspirational.

What was so delightful about this was not just the demonstration of her fashion nous but the implication it carried; just because ella she could afford all the designer loot she could cart home from Bond Street did not mean ella she wanted to.

It all felt refreshing and just real and over the years the duchess’ regular choice of budget looks interspersed with the luxe carried with it the message that royal life had not fundamentally changed her as a person.

Which is why this emergence of this recent Kate who seems increasingly wedded to top tier labels only is a bit disquieting. To some degree I feel a certain sense of disappointment that one of the most meaningful ways she has, for more than a decade, set herself apart from the royal status quo seems to have disappeared.

(The only notable exception to this trend came on June 3 during a St Paul’s service during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations when she accessorized her bespoke Emilia Wickstead yellow stunner, which would have set Kate back thousands, and her $2000-plus Philip Treacey hat with … at $34 clutch from homegrown Australian brand Forever New.)

Maybe what I really liked about the Zara-era Kate was that every time she got out of her official car for an engagement clad in a $27 dress it carried with it a certain wonderful sense of defiance and refusal to suddenly change who she was. The takeaway: she She might have a title but she was still Kate.

One way to explain the change in her wardrobe direction might be that it reflects the repositioning we have seen of William and Kate’s image in the last year, from plucky young ‘uns to future king and queen. The runway from where they are now, as working foot soldiers of the royal family, to their coronation inside Westminster Abbey is being very clearly laid out by the Palace, driving home a message of monarchical continuity as the Queen looks shakier and shakier.

Perhaps the argument has been made that it’s fine for a workday duchess to slip into a few pounds worth of polyester but not for a queen-in-waiting. Or perhaps Kate has just grown up a bit and like women the world over is now focusing more on better quality pieces she can wear more often.

But to some degree the ‘why’ does not matter here; what does is what flow-on effect this shift might have.

On a purely functional level, Kate’s deployment of modest clothes over the years went a very long way to making her seem uniquely relatable in a way no royal WAG has before. Now, the more she chooses out-for-reach for everyone but the super-rich labels, the more she risks eroding those gains and making herself into more of a remote figure.

For William and Kate to truly ensure that the royal family remains a thriving concern, they need to seem approachable.

The danger there is obvious – central to the brand the Cambridges’ have assiduously been trying to build is that they are the congenial, normal royals, the hardworking duo happily transforming The Firm from fusty, frosty and all-too grand into a powerhouse of do -goodery.

At a time when the UK is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, seeing the woman who has been sold as the refreshingly normal duchess-next-door gadding about the better part of a $100,000 worth of designer duds is a potentially dangerous and certainly ill-conceived move.

Closes might maketh the man but Zara could help maketh a queen.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

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Top Gear star James May involved in horror car crash on-set of Grand Tour

Former Top Gear star James May has been rushed to hospital after a death-defying stunt went horribly wrong.

The 59-year-old UK TV presenter was filming for his popular Amazon Prime Video series The Grand Tour when he crashed his car into a wall at 120km/h, suffering a broken rib, The Sun reports.

May and his co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson, 62, and Richard Hammond, 52, had been filming a dangerous drag-style race when the accident unfolded.

The challenge involved the stars individually steering speed rally cars through a tunnel towards a rock wall at a Norwegian naval base.

The tunnel’s lights only came on as the cars sped past, giving all three men just seconds to react as they ran out of time before hitting the wall.

May, who is ironically nicknamed ‘Captain Slow’ by his co-stars, hit the brakes too late and crashed into the wall.

He was helped out of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 by paramedics, before being taken to hospital for a brain scan and X-rays. He was reportedly given the all-clear a short time later.

May had to abandon filming while Clarkson and Hammond continued on their Arctic Circle trip without him.

May’s accident happened at the decommissioned Olavsvern naval base near the city of Tromso, as part of a new grand-tour special which will be released later this year.

A television source told The Sun, “It looked extremely worrying at first. Jeremy and Richard were concerned about their mate and the paramedics swooped in quickly.

“As ever on a shoot of this scale, medical staff are waiting in the wings in case — as they did here — things go horribly wrong.

“James smashed his head quite hard in the impact, and was bloodied by it. He was complaining about pain in his back and neck from him. He was only able to join them once given the all-clear a day or so later.”

The shock incident came after Hammond cheated death in a horror accident in 2006, when he was traveling at 460km/h in a jet-powered car while filming for the BBC’s hit show, topgear.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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Kids orphaned as parents fall to death from Bronx apartment

Investigators are probing whether there was a struggle before an Albanian actor and his wife plunged to their deaths from their apartment in New York over the weekend, a police source said.

Florind Belliu, 35, an actor and aspiring filmmaker originally from Albania, and his wife Ornela Shehi, 28, were found in the rear courtyard of 2199 Cruger Avenue in the Bronx at around 9.15am on Saturday, cops and police sources said.

“There were signs in the apartment that indicated it wasn’t all Kumbaya, like they didn’t just decide to leave their kids behind and jump,” the source told the new york post.

The source wouldn’t provide any more details on the alleged “signs”.

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A suicide note was not left behind, according to the source.

Authorities are waiting for autopsy results to determine whether Mr Shehi suffered any injuries not indicative of a fall, the source said.

By late Tuesday morning, the city’s Medical Examiner’s (ME) Office had not made a determination on either Mr Shehi or Ms Belliu’s death.

“Both are pending while the ME awaits additional investigative information,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the signs could include “further testing of remains or investigatory material from the scene”.

Mr Shehi was caught on video plunging from the building’s sixth floor first and hitting the alleyway, with Ms Belliu landing seconds later, sources told the post a day after the couple’s deaths.

The couple moved into the building with their two young children about four months ago, and authorities never received reports of domestic violence related to the couple, according to police sources.

Neighbors told the post on Saturday that the pair were a “quiet couple” who “kept to themselves,” and were often seen taking walks – but also that Mr Belliu had been seen visibly angry Friday.

“I’ve seen them always buying things for the house, like every day together, with two kids together, we didn’t recognize there was something wrong,” said Shadie Perkaj, the wife of the building’s super.

She said Saturday was Mr Belliu’s birthday.

Mr Belliu’s pal Elona Caslli mourned her lost friend on Facebook.

“A multiple tragedy for which there is no word of consolation. God give strength to your children and parents,” Ms Caslli wrote in Albanian.

Ms Belliu was a graduate of the University of Arts in Tirana, Albania, and performed on TV and in the theater before moving to the US, EuroNews Albania reported.

As of two years ago, he was working on two books and a movie script he hoped to pitch to Netflix, the report said.

Police sources said he may have been recently working as a livery driver to help make ends meet.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex accuser Virginia Giuffre ‘was as little as $5.2 million’ despite reports of $21 million

Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre was as little as a quarter of the reported $21 million.

sources told The Sun his lawyers negotiated a cut-price deal of $5.2 million-to-$8.74 million.

That was as much money the disgraced Duke could scrape together quickly to halt her civil lawsuit.

It may explain why Ms Giuffre, 38, was not forced to sign a gagging order as part of the deal — and is now free to write a “tell-all” book, which she promises to do.

It comes after The Sun revealed last week that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have bought an $8.74 million house in London’s swanky Mayfair — despite complaining about being strapped for cash.

A source said: “It was thought, and widely reported, that Virginia got a settlement of £12 million (A$21 million) from Andrew, but that’s not right.

“It was far less than that, as low as £3 million (A$5.2 million).

“No doubt this will have influenced the conditions of the agreement that she was prepared to sign.”

Ms Giuffre, a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, claimed Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17.

Although the agreement, reached in February, contained no formal admission of liability or apology from Andrew, it said he accepted Ms Giuffre was a “victim of abuse” and regretted his association with Epstein.

A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew was approached for comment.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

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Kate and William at Commonwealth Games shows where Meghan went wrong

Of all the gin joints, chintzy drawing rooms, Chelsea pub back rooms, Norfolk kitchens, and private members’ clubs in the UK; of all possible backdrops for a couple of deeply illuminating royal moments, whoever would have thought the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham would be it?

The first one took place outside a train toilet. really.

Matthew Syed is a journalist and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner – for table tennis, no less. This week, he and his son Ted were traveling to the Games to catch the action and he took to the pages of the Times to recount a truly extraordinary tale about the trip.

“Five minutes before pulling into [the Birmingham station], I use the bathroom (we are traveling first class) as Ted waits outside. As I am doing my thing, I hear him talking to a woman in the vestibule.

“They continue chatting as I use the soap, then tap, then dryer. Judging by the laughter, they are having a whale of a time… By the time I am finished, we are only a couple of minutes from the station.

“’Come on Ted,’ I say, ‘we have to get off!’

“’Oh, and thanks for keeping him company,’ I say, turning to the woman waiting [for] her turn when I am stopped in my tracks. My brow furrows, my face works. ‘Kate?’ I blurt out. There are no security guards in the vestibule; not armed guards. But here is the Duchess of Cambridge, chatting merrily with my son.”

Then we get to our second moment, starring Kate’s husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in a chlorine-soaked aquatic center.

On Tuesday, the Duke, the Duchess and their daughter Princess Charlotte attended the swimming. While sitting in the middle of the crowd, he happily posed for a selfie with a group of Games volunteers who were seated in front of him.

Now, both of these instances could be filed under ‘Aw, aren’t they lovely?’ examples of two people who might be destined for coronations and crowns but who have not let their elevated status turn their heads.

But, this all comes after the publication of Tom Bower’s Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsorsa 464-page full-frontal take-down of Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

And this week’s William and Kate stories? Those two, simple, brief interactions with the public? Well, they go a way to underscoring one of his key arguments about him, which is that Meghan’s expectations of royal life were a world away from the often unglamorous reality. Think, more making polite chitchat outside a public loo than private jets and Pol Roger.

At the heart of Bower’s book is the contention that when Meghan, clad in several hundred thousand dollars worth of couture Givenchy, made her way up the aisle of the 15th century St George’s Chapel at Windsor, she had little understanding of, or interest in learning about, the fabled institution she was joining.

Having, for so many long years, failed to claw her way out of the B-list, here she was, finally, about to become one of the most famous women in the world. The case that Bower makes is that the California native’s assumptions about what would follow were markedly different from what was, in actual fact, about to come next.

In Bower’s telling, even before the opening strains of Handel’s Eternal Source Of Light Divinewhich played as she made her way towards the altar, things were going off the rails.

Pre-engagement, when the couple was dating, Bower says that after “Harry’s demand for a dedicated female bodyguard for Meghan had been approved” that on one occasion, he met the Duke “on the tarmac at Heathrow with a police escort”.

“Meghan sped out of the airport towards Kensington. This was indeed the super-celebrity lifestyle for which she had always yearned.”

Then in the run-up to the big day, Meghan already “was confusing being famous with being a royal,” he writes. However, “the royal world is expected to be one of altruism, history, tradition and low-key patronage for no personal gain.”

Meghan’s misconception, in Bower’s reading of the situation, is that she fundamentally mistook the global fame of the royal family with Hollywood stardom, not grasping that, despite having become a Duchess and been catapulted to the highest stratosphere of stardom, she was not therefore automatically entitled to Beyonce-worthy treatment.

Take the issue of luxury gifts. Bower writes: “Palace gossip related that the publicity departments of some famous designer labels – Chanel, Dior, Armani, Givenchy and others – had been surprised by calls from a member of Meghan’s staff with a request: Meghan would be delighted if the House were to bequeath a handbag, shoes or an accessory to Kensington Palace in the near future. These items would be treated as goodwill gifts, the publicists were told. The women were puzzled by what they called ‘the Duchess’s discount’.

“In the past, their offers of gifts to Kate had been rejected on principle that the royal family did not accept freebies. Meghan’s staff, it appeared, were not worried about that rule.”

The veteran biographer writes that it would only be in 2019 that the Duchess “began to understand that the British monarchy, costing the public just £85 million ($A148 million) a year, was neither flush with money nor an invincible luxury Rolls-Royce machine. The power and influence which she assumed to have acquired from her marriage to Harry was an illusion.”

In the summer of that same year, one particular Meghan incident made international headlines. Attending Wimbledon with a couple of friends, their party de ella sat in the middle of a sea of ​​empty seats for a match, unlike when Kate regularly attended and took her place de ella in the stands, sitting in the midst of other tennis fans.

At one stage during the match, when a man sitting in the section in front of Meghan’s, got up to take a selfie of himself with the players, one of the Duchess’ protection officers “warned him about taking pictures in her vicinity,” according to the Daily Mail.

Former BBC sports commentator Sally Jones was also courtside.

“I felt this tap on my shoulder and was asked not to take pictures of the Duchess – but I had no idea she was there until then. I was absolutely gobsmacked,” Jones told the Email.

That Meghan took umbrage (or someone on her team took umbrage) at anyone trying to take her picture, despite that she had chosen to sit in a public place, where there were live TV cameras, looked all too much like suspiciously diva-ish behaviour. .

Contrast that scene with the events this week in Birmingham: In each instance, we have members of the royal family, at sporting events yet demonstrating two starkly different approaches to royalty.

At the end of the day, what William and Kate seem to fundamentally understand is that royalty is not the same thing as celebrity; it is not about special treatment, favorable seats or four-figure accessories finding their way into your wardrobe, free. It is about tedious devotion to duty no matter how repetitive or dull it might often be. (How many times do you think the Queen has asked, “And what do you do?” In her life de ella? I think we could confidently say the figure would have to be in the hundreds of thousands.)

The meat and potatoes of royal life is not swanning off to New York for an A-list baby shower held in a $100,000-a-night hotel suite but sitting through hospital wing openings and charming pensioners.

Really, HRHs are part public servants, albeit ones who don’t have to contend with home brand tea bags in the office kitchen, and part politicians stuck on lifelong hustings, forever trying to win the public over one handshake and smile at a time.

None of this is any sort of secret; none of this is insider knowledge. So why wasn’t Meghan better prepared?

One of the points that the Duchess of Sussex made during the Sussexes’ infamous Oprah Winfrey interview last year was that she “didn’t do any research about what that would mean” to marry into the royal family.

“I didn’t feel any need to, because everything I needed to know, he was sharing with me. Everything we thought I needed to know, he was telling me,” Meghan said.

That turned out to be a bit of a mistake now kids, didn’t it?

That an intelligent, educated woman would give up her career, adopted homeland, one of her dogs, and all of her friends to move across the world to dedicate her life to an ancient institution she knew nothing about defies all logic.

If she had done even a cursory Google search, she might have come across an excellent piece that Patrick Jephson, Diana, Princess of Wales’ long-time private secretary, had written way back in 2006 called “What Kate Should Know” in which he imagined what advice his old boss might give the younger woman.

Jepshon argues that the Princess would have urged Kate, that “modesty must be your watchword” and to “go easy on the conspicuous consumption”.

He writes: “Remember that living in a very big house surrounded by servants and riding in a gold carriage are all the excess that your future subjects will readily tolerate in their royal family. Don’t overlook the priceless symbolic value of Tupperware boxes, and try to develop a famous enthusiasm for turning off unnecessary electric lights.”

The piece (you can read it here) is basically a very sensible warning: Don’t let the gilded trappings of royalty go to your head. Understand the job for what it really is and get on with it.

If only Meghan had read Jephson’s piece; if only she had gone into royal life with a much clearer sense of what she was signing up for. That’s not to say ella she should have swallowed it holus bolus once she got there or not have tried to inject at least something fresh into the creaky monarchy – but forewarned is forearmed.

If Meghan had done a spot of Googling, she might also have come across the famous essay written by the journalist and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge in 1955 at the height of Princess Margaret’s fling with Group Captain Peter Townsend. In the piece, Muggeridge argued that “the application of film star techniques” to the royal family would ultimately have “disastrous consequences”.

He also said that the monarchy was “an institution that is accorded the respect and accoutrements of power without the reality”.

And, if the former Suits star had read a bit more still, she would have learned that the reaction to Muggeridge’s essay was so swift and furious it forced him out of the Garrick Club. (What a horrendous!)

Taking on the monarchy is not for the faint-hearted but joining it? That’s for people happy to take trains, make small talk with the public and to pretend to like watching competitive bowls.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

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Antiques Roadshow guest stunned after she learns truth about ring

A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left stunned after the ring which she described as an “ugly lump of glass” was given a whopping evaluation by the show’s jewelery expert.

Valuer on the UK TV show Susan Rumfitt revealed a guest’s Art Deco cocktail ring with a yellow sapphire was worth almost $9000.

The guest explained the ring had belonged to a relative of her mother’s who lived in Philadelphia in the US, The Sun reports.

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“When she died, her jewelery was sent to my mum, which included rings and brooches,” she said.

She confessed she thought the ring was “an ugly lump of glass” and “a bit too much” for her.

Rumfitt replied: “That’s a shame, it’s a gorgeous color though, it’s a really pretty colour.

“And if it is glass, it’s definitely a nice piece of glass.”

But then the guest was shocked to discover the jewel was in fact a huge yellow sapphire.

“I can understand why you thought it might have been a citrine as you do get that range of yellows from that light, very punchy yellows,” Rumfitt said.

She said the sapphire was about 16 carats, leaving the guest open-mouthed.

“It’s certainly brightened up my day, and if it went into auction you would be looking at an estimate of between £4000 and £5000 ($A7000 to $A8700),” Rumfitt said.

“You’re kidding me,” the guest replied. “That’s ridiculous.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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Sports

Adam Peaty swimming news, star savages over arrogant BBC interview

English swimming goliath Adam Peaty has apologized over an “arrogant” interview that followed his incredible collapse at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.

Peaty’s defeat in the event he has owned for 10 years left Aussie legend Ian Thorpe staggered. It was a result almost nobody saw coming.

The world record holder had been undefeated in the 100m breaststroke at major meets since 2014. He had qualified fastest for the final and led the event with 25m to go. However, English teammate James Wilby pushed ahead of him to take the gold.

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The magnitude of the boilover was written all over Wilby’s stunned face as he looked up to the big screen to see that he had won. With Aussies Zac Stubblety-Cook and Sam Williamson exploding at the death, Peaty suddenly went from the gold medal position to missing out on the podium completely.

It has been an explosive fall-out to the result with the 27-year-old declaring he won’t be coming back to the Commonwealth Games in four years’ time. It followed a social media backlash over comments that have been branded “arrogant” by fans.

Peaty spoke to the BBC on the pooldeck after finishing outside the medals and said losing in the Commonwealth Games meant little to him after already scooping up three Olympic gold medals.

“It doesn’t feel amazing, but it doesn’t feel bad either,” Peaty said.

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Adam Peaty speaking on the BBC.Source: Supplied

“It’ll probably be my last attempt tomorrow, but I’m not bothered about it. The Commonwealths to me, in the grand scheme of things… it’s about two years time (the Olympics).

“That’s no disrespect. I’m still four weeks into my program, I can’t put that expectation on myself.”

Retired English swimmer Mark Foster responded to Peaty’s comments, saying: “I think he’s trying to say it doesn’t matter, but it does matter.

“It’s the Commonwealth Games, it’s a multi-sport event and I think when he was growing up, the Commonwealth Games would have been a big deal.

“But the fact that he’s won lots of Worlds and Olympic Games, maybe he’s trying to play it down to himself that it doesn’t matter.”

The Birmingham Mail reported fans on social media said Peaty’s comments were “arrogant” and “disrespectful”.

“Adam peaty is disrespectful to every other athlete at the Commonwealth Games Acting like he doesn’t care While all the other athletes are trying they best to win medals,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another posted: “Adam Peaty, I think you need to take a deep breath, have a word with yourself and take a look at the para swimmers. Used to really respect you and what you were trying to achieve but feel let down by tonight’s comments.”

World record-holder Peaty qualified second-fastest for the 50m breaststroke final, scheduled for Wednesday morning, behind Australia’s Sam Williamson.

After moving through to the end, Peaty appeared to apologize for his comments.

He wrote on Twitter: “Thankful for all the supportful messages I’m getting at the moment. It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months, but mostly the last few days.

“Sometimes in the heat of the moment my emotions better me and I can’t speak with a clear mind.

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James Wilby was stunned. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
England’s James Wilby celebrates winning. Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP.Source: AFP

“These championships mean a lot to me being a home games but I have to think bigger picture to keep my spirits high. It really, really isn’t easy. My last Commonwealth Games race will be tomorrow.”

Peaty said he simply hasn’t had the time to return to his best shape as a result of a lengthy rehabilitation from several foot injuries. He said he didn’t have the aerobic fitness to challenge for the 100m breaststroke and even said he needs to lose 4kg before competing at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.

He said he has a long way to go before Paris.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Peaty said.

“I don’t see the point in doing something I wouldn’t do that well at, at the moment. We’ll see.

“I don’t know what went wrong. With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong. There’s a lot of debriefing to do. I need a full reset now.

“It was a slow ending, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course, I’m disappointed, but that’s what makes you go faster next time.

“I’ve kind of lost that spark, whether it’s with my foot, but I’ll be looking to find that over the next months and into the next two years.”

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Adam Peaty swimming news, star savages over arrogant BBC interview

English swimming goliath Adam Peaty has apologized over an “arrogant” interview that followed his incredible collapse at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.

Peaty’s defeat in the event he has owned for 10 years left Aussie legend Ian Thorpe staggered. It was a result almost nobody saw coming.

The world record holder had been undefeated in the 100m breaststroke at major meets since 2014. He had qualified fastest for the final and led the event with 25m to go. However, English teammate James Wilby pushed ahead of him to take the gold.

The magnitude of the boilover was written all over Wilby’s stunned face as he looked up to the big screen to see that he had won. With Aussies Zac Stubblety-Cook and Sam Williamson exploding at the death, Peaty suddenly went from the gold medal position to missing out on the podium completely.

It has been an explosive fall-out to the result with the 27-year-old declaring he won’t be coming back to the Commonwealth Games in four years’ time. It followed a social media backlash over comments that have been branded “arrogant” by fans.

Peaty spoke to the BBC on the pooldeck after finishing outside the medals and said losing in the Commonwealth Games meant little to him after already scooping up three Olympic gold medals.

“It doesn’t feel amazing, but it doesn’t feel bad either,” Peaty said.

“It’ll probably be my last attempt tomorrow, but I’m not bothered about it. The Commonwealths to me, in the grand scheme of things… it’s about two years time (the Olympics).

“That’s no disrespect. I’m still four weeks into my program, I can’t put that expectation on myself.”

Retired English swimmer Mark Foster responded to Peaty’s comments, saying: “I think he’s trying to say it doesn’t matter, but it does matter.

“It’s the Commonwealth Games, it’s a multi-sport event and I think when he was growing up, the Commonwealth Games would have been a big deal.

“But the fact that he’s won lots of Worlds and Olympic Games, maybe he’s trying to play it down to himself that it doesn’t matter.”

The Birmingham Mail reported fans on social media said Peaty’s comments were “arrogant” and “disrespectful”.

“Adam peaty is disrespectful to every other athlete at the Commonwealth Games Acting like he doesn’t care While all the other athletes are trying they best to win medals,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another posted: “Adam Peaty, I think you need to take a deep breath, have a word with yourself and take a look at the para swimmers. Used to really respect you and what you were trying to achieve but feel let down by tonight’s comments.”

World record-holder Peaty qualified second-fastest for the 50m breaststroke final, scheduled for Wednesday morning, behind Australia’s Sam Williamson.

After moving through to the end, Peaty appeared to apologize for his comments.

He wrote on Twitter: “Thankful for all the supportful messages I’m getting at the moment. It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months, but mostly the last few days.

“Sometimes in the heat of the moment my emotions better me and I can’t speak with a clear mind.

“These championships mean a lot to me being a home games but I have to think bigger picture to keep my spirits high. It really, really isn’t easy. My last Commonwealth Games race will be tomorrow.”

Peaty said he simply hasn’t had the time to return to his best shape as a result of a lengthy rehabilitation from several foot injuries. He said he didn’t have the aerobic fitness to challenge for the 100m breaststroke and even said he needs to lose 4kg before competing at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.

He said he has a long way to go before Paris.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Peaty said.

“I don’t see the point in doing something I wouldn’t do that well at, at the moment. We’ll see.

“I don’t know what went wrong. With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong. There’s a lot of debriefing to do. I need a full reset now.

“It was a slow ending, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course, I’m disappointed, but that’s what makes you go faster next time.

“I’ve kind of lost that spark, whether it’s with my foot, but I’ll be looking to find that over the next months and into the next two years.”

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Horror cycling crash in Men’s 15km Scratch, Matt Walls, Matt Bostock, news

English cyclist Matt Walls was involved in a horror crash at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday when he was catapulted over the barriers and into the crowds at the Lee Valley VeloPark.

The Olympic omnium champion, competing in the men’s 15km scratch qualifiers at the London venue, received treatment for more than 40 minutes before being taken away by ambulance.

Spectators were also hurt after Walls and his bike came over the top of the barriers on the high banking of a corner.

Two other riders — the Isle of Man’s Matt Bostock and Canada’s Derek Gee — were also taken to hospital, while two spectators were treated for minor injuries at the velodrome.

A statement from Team England said: “Following medical treatment in hospital, Matt Walls has been discharged with stitches in his forehead, scrapes and bruises but thankfully no major injuries.”

The Isle of Man team said Bostock had a CT scan from which the initial prognosis was positive.

General view of a crash in the Men's 15km Scratch Race Qualifying Round.
General view of a crash in the Men’s 15km Scratch Race Qualifying Round.Source: Supplied

Witnesses said that because of the gradient of the banking, spectators in the front row had been unsighted for the crash.

One man received treatment for cuts to his arm while a young girl also received medical attention.

Walls had been trying to avoid riders who had failed. The stricken pair of New Zealand’s George Jackson and Australia’s Josh Duffy slid up the banking, forcing Walls up on to the barrier and then over it.

Gee also surfed the top of the barrier but managed to avoid following Walls into the stands but he fell heavily.

A Birmingham 2022 spokesman said in a statement that three cyclists and two spectators had been treated by the on-site medical team.

“The three cyclists have been taken to hospital. The two spectators did not require hospital treatment,” the statement added.

Canadian Mathias Guillemette was disqualified from the race for causing the initial crash and the rest of the morning session was cancelled.

British five-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Kenny, who is competing for England at the Commonwealths, called for bigger barriers or screens to be fitted in velodromes to improve safety.

Kenny, speaking a day after England’s Joe Truman was knocked unconscious in a crash, fears the sport is growing more dangerous.

“I think the crashes are getting worse and it’s because the speeds are getting higher, the positions (on the bike) are getting more extreme,” she said.

“Some of the pursuit positions people are getting in, you see people crashing into the back of people.

“At some point the UCI (cycling’s governing body) are going to have to put a cap on these positions. Maybe there should be screens because Matt should not have been able to go over the top and into the crowd — that’s pretty damn dangerous.” Australia dominated the afternoon session, with Georgia Baker taking gold in the women’s 25km points race and Kristina Clonan winning the women’s 500m time trial in a time of 33.234sec.

Australia’s Matthew Richardson won the men’s sprint, denying Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicholas Paul a second gold of the Games.

New Zealand’s Corbin Strong won the men’s 15km scratch to leave the Kiwis on six cycling golds, one behind Australia.

Most of the events at the Commonwealths are being held in Birmingham but the track cycling is taking place in London.

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