WHAT THEY SAY

Those who tried to stand on their dignity soon lost their footing. Those who wondered whether Australia’s housewife superstar might this time just go too far, were always proved right. No-one was safe. Barry Humphries, through his creations, poked and prodded us, exposed pretensions, punctured pomposity, surfaced insecurities, but most of all, (helped us) laugh at ourselves - A message from the King leads tributes to Barry Humphries at a state memorial service for the late entertainer at the Sydney Opera House.

I wrote my letter to Santa. Like my kids, now I’ve just got to see whether I’ve been naughty or nice and see what I get mate - Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou on the possibility of Spurs doing business in the January transfer window

Thank you for years of laughter, you were still laughing right up to the end. Adored, loved, respected by us all, a legend in my eyes that’s for sure - we have stories and memories to last for many more years to come - Lisa Riley, who played Steve Halliwell’s Emmerdale character Zak Dingle’s onscreen niece Mandy, after his death at 77.

“I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well. - Alex Batty’s grandmother and legal guardian after he was found safe and well in France after six years.

I was inconsolable that night. Obviously, I would have been sad, but I think it was fuelled by living with her for so long - Imelda Staunton on filming scenes as Queen Elizabeth II for The Crown on the day the monarch died last September.

> Actress Imelda Staunton