CRYPTIC CROSSWORD: NO. 28,745

Across

7 Crime fighters on triple abroad (8)

9 Fanatic keeping something from Fabergé back, something small but valuable? (6) 10 Confidence broken by Huddersfield’s first forceful attack (6)

11 Sea creature having little power or balance (8) 12 Providing insurance, landlord produces explanatory note (8,6) 15 Celebrity set off, short of time at the end (4)

17 Follow male leaving the bar (5) 19 Steal writer’s heart (4) 20 Nuts stupidly left on floor? Yes (3,4,7)

23 Go across for a small pie (8) 25 Dance with bad leg, so move jerkily (6) 27 Frightened? Son was concerned (6) 28 Ventriloquist’s doll put by ladder in rehearsal (5,3)

Down

1 Small island songbird female released (4)

2 Grounds to say no? (6) 3 Fine friend flipped, in a panic (4)

4 Wrong turn unfortunately taken in outskirts of Uxbridge (6) 5 Sceptic acting so oddly (8) 6 Riddle over wrong set of china, perhaps (3,7)

8 Nationalist at uprising after start of parade (7)

13 Crazy eating at one in the city, maybe (3,2,5)

14 Head of glamour girl in

Mirror? (5)

16 Improve railway leading to factory (8)

18 Reportedly speak highly of exercise book (4,3)

21 A study mounted involving Virginia, a US state (6)

22 On, next to English extra (3,3) 24 Travel free heading for Eastbourne (4)

26 Noisy couple on lake capsized (4)