The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
TRENDING TANKING
ANDREW SCOTT
The All of Us Strangers and Fleabag star, right, is about to tackle one of literature’s greatest anti-heroes. The Dubliner takes the title role in Ripley, Netflix’s glossy adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. The limited series starts Friday.
THE SOUND OF BREAKING WAVES
It has been named our favourite noise from the natural world. It was followed by the trickle of water flowing in a stream, with whale song in third place, in a OnePoll study for Dolby to mark the launch of its Seven Sonic Wonders of the World album.
DAYLIGHT
Don’t forget, the clocks go forward at 2am tomorrow morning, heralding the beginning of British Summer Time (BST). Now if the British weather could only catch up to the season that would be lovely...
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
The latest instalment in the decades-long supernatural comedy saga, which sees original stars Dan
Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson returning to help save the world from a second ice age, had a great opening weekend at the box office pulling in a whopping $61million (£48m) globally.
CHEAP CHOCOLATE
The cost of cocoa has hit a record high ahead of Easter after poor harvests. Easter eggs including Maltesers, Cadbury and Lindt cost at least 50% more than a year ago, research by Which? found. Chocolate has risen in price by 12.6% in a year, driven by extreme weather hitting crops of the largest cocoa exporters, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
PAPA JOHN’S
The pizza chain plans to close 43 “underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable” after launching a review at the start of the year. It will close the restaurants by mid-May following a consultation process.
ALAN TITCHMARSH’S TROUSERS
North Korea’s state television censored the gardening guru’s jeans when it aired an episode of his Garden Secrets programme from 2010. Jeans are banned in the communist state because they are seen as a symbol of western culture. Alan said he was “surprised” to appear on TV in the country.
EASTER GETAWAYS
Motorists have been warned to expect long delays this weekend. The RAC said journeys on some routes could take twice as long as normal as a double whammy of the Bank Holidays coinciding with the start of the school Easter break is expected to lead to a surge in traffic.