OPRAH LANDS £6.5M PAYDAY
TV legend Oprah Winfrey will rake in £6.5million from her chat with Harry and Meghan.
The 67-year-old talk show host’s own company, Harpo Productions, sold the rights to US network CBS for over £5million.
The price was pushed up further by companies desperate to have adverts on during the two-hour show.
And it was also syndicated around the world – with more than 70 countries in negotiations to air it. ITV has splashed out a reported £1m to show it.
Harry and Meghan were not paid for the interview.
HOW much more does Jenna Duffy have to do to prove she needs help?
This young woman has stepped forward to talk about her suicide attempts and point out the self-harm she’s endured – just to get someone to listen.
A cry for help doesn’t get any more stark than that.
The 17-year-old tells how she was repeatedly sent home from hospital after a string of suicide attempts and even felt “chastised” for going to hospital during a pandemic.
She was treated by accident and emergency but turned away from a mental health assessment because she “wasn’t mentally unstable enough”.
Nobody should be treated or feel like that for having a psychological illness.
Our young people have been through so much in the last year – with lockdowns, being detached from education and away from their friends – that an already growing mental health crisis will be a lot worse once we are out of the pandemic.
The proper support needs to be in place for Jenna and people like her.
They should not be turned away or made to feel like they shouldn’t be there.
Jenna’s not only an intelligent and brave woman but also has a supportive family around her who will fight for her.
But the NHS mental health services need to get behind that battle as well.
Like Jenna says, she doesn’t want to die and doesn’t want to be just another statistic. But she feels nobody is listening. That can’t be allowed to happen – someone needs to hear her before it’s too late.
I DO NOT WANT TO BE JUST ANOTHER STATISTIC – PAGE 17
PEOPLE who harm animals are some of the worst in our society.
That’s why it makes sense to have those convicted of causing harm placed on a national register.
The Scottish SPCA has called for it as part of their A Better Scotland for Animals blueprint which is part of their pre-election manifesto.
It also targets the use of snares and those who cut off the ears of bulldogs to make them look more fierce.
A ban on electric shock dog collars is also in there, along with a review aimed at tightening up the ban on fox hunting.
Time after time this newspaper has reported on inhumane abuse of animals and it’s clear there needs to be tougher measures.
The Scottish SPCA is campaigning for cross-party support for the plan ahead of May’s Holyrood election.
It would surely be a vote winner for any prospective MSP.