Steph McGovern announces debut novel

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TV presenter Steph McGovern has announced her debut novel and said it is about “power, corruption and lies”.

Deadline was announced at an event, attended by Pointless star Richard Osman and McGovern, 42, at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, taking place between July 18 to July 21 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Broadcaster McGovern said: “Deadline is a book idea I’ve had since my early days on breakfast TV.

“Writing it has given me the chance to spend the last few years secretly living in a parallel universe where the high-pressured, high-profile environments I’ve worked in, and the colourful characters I’ve met along the way, have all fed into my own invented dark story of power, corruption and lies.

“I’m buzzing to be launching the book at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

“I’ve been coming here to stalk my favourite authors for ten years. Now to be here as an author myself is mind blowing.”

Deadline centres around Rose, a young broadcaster who is preparing to interview one of the most powerful men in the country, but as the live TV interview begins, she hears a voice in her earpiece telling her that her family have been kidnapped.

Mystery crime writer Ann Cleeves said: “For years Steph has been supporting other crime writers at the festival.

“Now at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in her own right.

“She’s written a pacy, witty, engaging thriller, entertaining and delightfully authentic, but hard-hitting and thought-provoking too. I can’t wait for you all to read it.”

McGovern is most known for presenting Steph’s Packed Lunch, which broadcast its final episode on Channel 4 in December 2023.

Pan Fiction will publish Deadline in hardback in July 2025.

Published: 20/07/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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Governments pledge to ban trail hunting in spotlight as Boxing Day hunts meet

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There were also 553 reports of “hunt havoc”, in which hounds caused disruption such as chasing other wild animals or pets, worrying livestock or causing traffic incidents, or disturbing the public, the organisation said. Emma Judd, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “It’s 20 years since the Hunting Act was passed but, since then, figures we compile consistently suggest hunts still chase and kill foxes as they did before the ban. “Hunts may claim they are following a pre-laid animal scent trail, known as trail hunting, but this has been shown to be nothing but a smokescreen to conceal old-fashioned illegal hunting.” She said trail hunting and loopholes in the Hunting Act made it “all but impossible” to enforce the law, and called for the Government to strengthen the legislation and introduce custodial sentences for those hunting wild animals with dogs, and to set out a timetable for doing so. Dan Norris, Labour MP for North East Somerset and Hanham and chairman of the League Against Cruel Sports, urged ministers to “listen to the majority view, including in rural areas, to close the legal loopholes that allow needless cruelty to animals, and implement a proper ban on hunting once and for all”. But Mr Bonner accused parts of the Labour Party of the politics of “perceived class and prejudice” and said: “It’s very sad that we may be going back to a point where we have to waste even more parliamentary time on this irrelevant issue. “If they are claiming that somehow this law needs to be changed to address illegal behaviour, then it needs to be very carefully thought through, and any proposals are brought forward do just need to address that. “Because what there can’t be any any case for is stopping people going into the countryside with a pack of hounds or dogs, and carrying out a completely benign activity, which is what hunts are doing.” He said there were 12,000 hunting days carried out each year which were legal and legitimate. While he said moves to require hunts to lay non animal-based scents and bring in a “recklessness” element to the offence would be survivable for most hunts, he warned Labour against “opening Pandora’s box” by revisiting the legislation, as he said it could become a toxic political battle. In the wake of widespread anger with Labour in rural communities over issues such as changes to inheritance tax for farm businesses and an acceleration of the phaseout of farming subsidies in favour of environmental payments, Mr Bonner also said it would be extraordinary to push a ban. “Given where the government is in its relationship with the countryside already, frankly it would seem extraordinary that they’d want to double down on an issue which really doesn’t matter.” While there are hundreds of jobs supported by hunting, it is a relatively niche activity, he said, but added it plays a key role in parts of rural Britain where farming is tough and mental health and loneliness are big issues. “It’s one of those elements that brings the rural community together and to remove that through an act of spite, if that was to happen, would be something which I think people would react extremely badly to,” he said. Joe Emmett, master and huntsman of the South Devon Hunt, said: “The hunt plays an important role in our local community and meets like Boxing Day are the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors to the area to come together.” The League Against Cruel Sports said polling earlier this year showed more than three quarters (76%) of the British public supported strengthening the Hunting Act, but the Countryside Alliance pointed to a survey over the weekend of more than 2,000 people in which just 5% put it in their top three issues for voting in the next election. Published: 26/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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Steph McGovern announces debut novel

TV presenter Steph McGovern has announced her debut novel and said it is about “power, corruption and lies”.

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Governments pledge to ban trail hunting in spotlight as Boxing Day hunts meet

Train reliability hits the buffers as annual cancellations exceed 360000

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