A little-known streaming service full of free TV shows and movies has gotten a big boost in its offerings.

Rakuten TV has signed a new agreement with A+E Networks, the company behind channels such as Blaze, Crime & Investigation and Sky History.

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This means that a new channel called Deal Masters will be launched on the streaming app, with shows about making extra money.

Hardcore Pawn and Flipping Bangers are among the shows coming, with about 40 series new to free streaming.

Another new station is History Hunters with historians and celebrities including Sir Tony Robinson, Professor Alice Roberts, Dan Jones and Al Murray.

A third offering is the RTV Biography Channel.

The station hosts real-life stories about fascinating people and celebrities, with documentaries on Robin Williams, Elvis Presley, The Krays, Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Aniston, Megan Markle, Tina Turner, Seve Ballesteros, Dua Lipa and Tom Cruise.

Rakuten TV is already available to millions of Brits as a free smart TV app and via Amazon Fire TV Sticks.

Remember that if you watch live streamed TV channels you will still need a TV license or you could be fined up to £1000.

But there are hundreds of on-demand shows and movies that aren’t live and don’t require a TV license to watch.

Free movies on the service include:

• Kidnapping
• Meet Dave
• Stay
• London robbery
• Riddick
• Noah
• Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
• All dogs go to heaven
• Once upon a time in London
• Love and other drugs

The move comes amid an explosion of so-called “FAST” channels, which stands for free ad-supported streaming TV.

Samsung and LG have already built a lot of their own devices into their TVs, with UKTV and Sky channels on them.

“We are very pleased to see top providers globally and locally investing further in FAST and we welcome these partnerships as it supports Rakuten TV’s continued growth in delivering locally relevant content to our audiences,” said Marcos Milanez, Chief Content Officer from Rakuten TV.

“Rakuten TV also remains committed to investing in its portfolio of owned and operated channels.”

When your parent works for an airline, traveling around the world is easy, as a self-confessed ‘airline nepo baby’ has revealed.

Joshua Crawford, 23, from New Jersey, has built a growing social media following thanks to his globetrotting content – ​​which he admits is due to the fact that his father works as an Aircraft Tools, Calibration and Support Equipment Supervisor for United, which means that his son can board flights for free.

In a TikTok post, Joshua – whose father worked for the airline for 24 years – showed how he has amassed 260,212 miles over the past five years, after flying 123 flights to more than 30 cities around the world.

In another upload, he outlines the other benefits of being an airline ‘fake baby’ – besides being able to fly for virtually nothing.

The first plus he mentions is that international travel is ‘easy’. This is because it has Global Entry, which includes TSA pre-check.

Although he didn’t get Global Entry for free, he said Business insider Thanks to his father’s job, he got a discount.

Then Joshua says he can score free upgrades – including to first class – on all flights if there are seats available.

In one photo, he shows how he landed a $7,000 fully flat seat in United’s Polaris business class cabin at no extra cost.

And in dozens of other clips, he can be seen enjoying dinner in luxurious cabins, with glassware and silver cutlery in view.

The third benefit of being an airline nepo baby, Joshua says, is that he gets access to airport lounges so he never has to spend money on food in the terminals.

In 2023, the influencer visited four continents, traveling through the US, Europe, Australia and Japan.

At United Airlines, employees’ children have their flight privileges revoked when they turn 26.

However, since Joshua is listed as his father’s “main companion,” he has managed to maintain the VIP treatment.

While Joshua can fly across America for free by standing by, he has to pay taxes on international flights, but he says this is a fraction of what a full-price ticket would cost.

For example, he only had to pay $70 for a last-minute flight from Japan to the US

He told his TikTok followers that he feels “blessed.”

In addition to his posts, other airline nepo babies have weighed in.

One of Joshua’s fans wrote, “My mom works at Delta and my dad works at Southwest. I have had so many wonderful experiences because of it.’

Another revealed: ‘It really is a blessing to be able to hop on a flight when you need to. I used Delta like I used Uber in college.”

Like Joshua, a TikToker said her mother, who works for JetBlue, made her a “flying partner” so she wouldn’t lose the benefits when she turned 24.

“Truly the most amazing privilege,” she added.

Joshua currently lives in California.

After earning a degree in marketing, he is looking for work while working part-time at Trader Joes.

In his TikTok outlining the pros of being an airline nepo baby, United Airlines commented, exclaiming, “We love this for you!”

Joshua hinted that he might be interested in following in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in the aviation industry, replying, “I love you guys to my core. I’m also looking for a job.’

MARTIN Lewis has warned that major telephone networks will increase prices by up to 8 percent for millions of people.

BT, EE, O2, Sky, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone have all confirmed increases for this spring.

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These are in addition to increases to 17.3 percent last year.

Someone on a standard two-year contract paying £20 per month in early 2023 could soon be paying more than £25 per month.

The Money Saving Expert previously called for mid-contract increases above inflation to be banned.

Speaking on Martin Lewis Money Show Live, he said: “What’s strange here is that while the price you pay if you hold goes up, if you switch to a SIM only deal, prices plummet.

“Step 1 is to text INFO for free to 85075 to check if you are free to leave.

“Step 2 is to use a cheap SIM match and step 3, to keep your number, is text PAC to 65075 and give the code to your new company.”

It comes after Which? warned that broadband customers could pay £150 more than expected due to “unpredictable” mid-contract price increases in 2024.

The consumer group analyzed increases from top providers on their 18- and 24-month deals.

BT and EE customers who signed a contract in January 2023 could see some of the highest average price increases of £147.43 and £147.31.

Vodafone and Plusnet customers could see an increase of £122.38 and £117.87 respectively.

TalkTalk customers could see a smaller increase of £76.09 on average over the course of shorter 18-month contracts.

Virgin Media did not use inflation-related price increases in 2023, but some customers’ prices did rise by an average of 13.8 percent due to ad hoc price increases, according to Which?.

Which? argues that it is unfair for consumers to sign up for deals that give them no certainty about how much they can expect to pay over the course of their contract, and then have to pay exit fees if they want to leave early.

How can I reduce my mobile bill?

If you think your bills are too high and want to reduce them, the first thing you need to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.

You can use this rate as a negotiating tool to get a better offer from your provider or as inspiration to switch providers.

Sites like MoneySuperMarket and Uswitch all help you customize your search based on price, speed and provider.

Make a cheaper deal

If you have found a cheaper rate with another provider, contact your provider to see if they can match the price.

If negotiation fails, you can threaten to leave.

Your provider may then be more inclined to keep you by offering you a better deal.

Trying to negotiate always makes it easier to decide whether to renew your contract or move to another provider.

Switch providers

If you’re unhappy with the new costs and every attempt at negotiation hasn’t gone your way, switching to another provider could be the best way to save money on your telecom bills.

But if you want to switch, make sure you know whether your contract is still running or not.

If you are halfway through your contract and want to leave, please note that you may be charged an exit fee. So contact your provider for any costs.

Mobile phone users are stuck between “exorbitant” mid-contract price increases or high exit fees, according to Which?.

It showed that an EE customer would have to pay an exit fee of £424.67 if they left a year early, and that Three’s customer would have to pay £379.46 to end their contract.

Furthermore, using the example of an EE customer who signed a 36-month contract for an iPhone Pro Max with unlimited data: Which one? estimates that the customer would pay an extra £105 for the handset over the next year due to the price increases.

Three customers will face the lowest sign-up fee of £169.59 if they end their contract a year early.

It’s always worth asking your provider if they can offer you something cheaper, so feel free to call them even if you have a contract.

If not, make a note of the date your contract ends and note other deals you can switch to.

Check whether you can get a social rate

If your household has a low income, it is also worth investigating social rates.

These broadband packages and discounts have been created for people who receive certain benefits.

They are often available to people on income support, Universal Credit or disability benefits.

About 4.2 million households qualify for these cheaper rates, but only 55,000 take advantage of them.

Voxi and SMARTY both offer these cheaper mobile phone contracts and prices start at £10 per month.

Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

Moreover, you can join us Sun Money chats and tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of the murder of 17 politicians, journalists and activists in a chilling new documentary published by the team of late dissident Alexei Navalny.

The explosive feature aired by Navalny LIVE to some 3.3mn followers on Monday accuses Putin of being a ‘brutal killer’ and ‘mass murderer’, directly blaming him for the assassinations of various high-profile critics and investigators in recent decades.

It comes as pressure mounts on Putin to explain the sudden death of Russian opposition leader Navalny aged 47 in a brutal Arctic penal colony on February 16 ahead of the president’s bid for re-election this week.

In a stark warning to viewers they assert: ‘There’s no doubt they’ll kill again if only because they can’t do otherwise. And illegitimate President Putin will go up for re-election.’

Navalny’s team, who have vowed to continue their namesake’s work in challenging state corruption, maintain that Putin was personally responsible for his death following, they believe, a deliberate attempt to poison him in 2020.

The Kremlin denies any involvement and say Navalny died from sudden death syndrome after collapsing following a walk at the prison in Kharp last month.

A Telegram post on the Navalny team’s profile promoting the video said Putin was ‘a brutal killer’ and promised to explore the stories of people ‘killed… on his orders’ for opposing him or being ‘simply disliked by the president’.

‘On February 16, 2024, he killed his main enemy, Alexei Navalny,’ the post reads.

‘In 2015 he killed Boris Nemtsov, in 2009 – Sergei Magnitsky, in 2006 – Anna Politkovskaya and Alexander Litvinenko. 

‘And there are dozens of such murders, and it will hardly ever be possible to list all of his victims.’

In the documentary, the presenter claims ‘the most notorious murder Putin committed was on February 16, 2024, when he massacred Alexei Navalny in a special regime penal colony.

‘So far, the authorities are either not commenting on what happened, passing off the death as an accident. Or yes, they are again hinting at Western involvement.’

The clip shows an article from Russian business newspaper Vedomosti asserting ‘Moscow announced self-exposure of the West after Navalny’s death’.

The article dated February 16, the day Navalny was reported to have died, cites Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in claiming NATO’s ‘immediate reaction’ to the death exposed them.

It also quoted the editor of state-controlled outlet RT in saying there was no incentive for the state to kill Navalny, and that the death was ‘only beneficial to completely opposite forces’.

The documentary blaming Putin for Navalny’s death continues: ‘As you realise, this tactic is built up over years, over decades. 

‘[They mean] ‘We killed and yes, we are mocking you.’ There’s no doubt they’ll kill again and again if only because they can’t do otherwise.

‘And illegitimate President Putin will go up for re-election.’

The documentary goes on to accuse Putin of sanctioning the deaths of 17 opponents, critics, journalists and politicians, including: Artyom Borovik; Yuri Shchekochikhin; Paul Klebnikov; Alexander Litvinenko; Anna Politkovskaya; Natalya Estemirova; Anastasia Baburova; Stanislav Markelov; Sergei Magnitsky; Mikhail Beketov; Boris Nemtsov; Kirill Radchenko; Aleksandr Rastorguev; Orhcan Dzhemal; Timur Kuashev; and Nikita Isaev.

Artyom Borovik

Borovik was a Russian investigative journalist and media magnate who died aged 34 in an aircraft crash at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow on 9 March 2000. 

Borovik, who ran Top Secret TV, a programme focusing on high-profile corruption cases, died three days before the scheduled publication of materials about Putin’s childhood.

His last investigation also probed 1999 Moscow apartment bombings, believed to be linked to the FSB which Putin had headed.

In one of his last reports, Borovik quoted Putin – then lining up to become president – in saying: ‘There are three ways to influence people: blackmail, vodka, and the threat to kill.’ 

Yuri Shchekochikhin

A Soviet and later Russian investigative journalist, writer, and liberal lawmaker in the Russian parliament, Yuri Shchekochikhin wrote and campaigned against the influence of organised crime and corruption, and may have been Putin’s first radioactive poisoning victim.

Shchekochikhin died suddenly on 3 July 2003 from a mysterious illness a few days before his scheduled departure to the United States, where he planned to meet with FBI investigators.

Like Borovik, Shchekochikhin was investigating corrupt business deals and the possible role of Russian security services in the 1999 apartment house bombings blamed on Chechen insurgents.

Paul Klebnikov

Paul Klebnikov, the U.S.-born editor of Forbes magazine’s Russian edition, was gunned down outside his Moscow office in July 2004.

Colleagues and Russian media at the time that the motive may have been his work investigating Russia’s criminal underworld and business elite.

The murder was seen as a decisive blow against investigative journalism in Russia.

Ukraine’s security agency said in 2017 it has detained a Russian man wanted for Klebnikov’s slaying.

The Russian Interior Ministry identified the suspect Monday as Magomed Dukuzov, according to the Interfax news agency. 

Alexander Litvinenko

In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a former agent for the KGB and the FSB, became violently ill in London after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210.

Litvinenko, who had become a journalist and consultant for the British intelligence services in London, was a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin and coined the term ‘mafia state’ in relation to Russia.

Among his allegations about the Russian state, he said the KGB and FSB for whom he had worked were supporters of international terrorism.

He also accused Russia’s special services of involvement in the 2005 London bombings. 

Litvinenko died three weeks after meeting two former agents in the Millennium Hotel’s Pine Bar, where high polonium contamination was found.

Both Dimitry Kovtun and Andrey Lugovoy denied wrongdoing, but polonium was found in the house and car Kovtun had used in Hamburg. 

Litvinenko had been investigating the shooting death of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya as well as the Russian intelligence service´s alleged links to organised crime.

Anna Politkovskaya

Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian-US journalist and human rights activist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War.

She had won international acclaim for her reporting on human rights abuses in Chechnya. 

The 48-year-old was shot and killed in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006 – Putin’s birthday. 

A gunman, from Chechnya, was convicted of the killing and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

Four other Chechens were given shorter prison terms for their involvement in the murder.

Natalya Estemirova

A Russian human rights activist and board member of the Russian human rights organisation Memorial.

Estemirova, 51, was abducted by unknown persons on 15 July 2009 from her home in Grozny, Chechnya, where she was working on ‘extremely sensitive’ cases of human rights abuses in Chechnya. 

Her body was found with bullet wounds in the head and chest area near the village of Gazi-Yurt, in neighbouring Ingushetia.

On her person, investigators found a passport and an ID of the Chechnya expert for the Human Rights Commissioner of Russia.

Estemirova was a contributor to Novaya Gazeta and recipient of the first Anna Politkovskaya Award, honouring brave female human rights defenders from war and conflict.

Then-Russian president Dimitri Medvedev said it was ‘obvious’ she had been murdered for her work and ordered a top-level investigation.

But Memorial claimed ‘state terror’ was culpable, claiming Estemirova was killed by government-backed death squads. 

Anastasia Baburova

A journalist for the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Baburova investigated the activities of neo-Nazi groups.

Baburova was also involved in the anarchist environmentalist movement. Like Mikhail Beketov, also later found dead, she campaigned against the felling of the Khimki Forest for the construction of a motorway between Moscow and St Petersburg.

Aged 25, she was shot and killed along with human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, in a murder seen as having the fingerprints of the Russian state security services.

Military analyst Pavel Eugenievich Felgenhauer at the time said the details of the murder implicated Russia’s elusive security services. 

Stanislav Markelov

He was a Russian human rights lawyer, 34, who took up high profile cases, including representing left-wing activists persecuted since the fall of the USSR – and victims of police violence.

Like Baburova he was killed by members of the neo-Nazi organisation BORN on 19 January 2009 in Moscow, yet the killing was seen as linked to the state.

Markelov was shot to death while leaving a news conference alongside Baburova, who came to his aid.

Russian authorities pinned the murder on Nikita Tikhonov and his girlfriend, Yevgenia Khasis, a radical nationalist couple. 

Sergei Magnitsky

Magnitsky, a Russian tax advisor representing client Hermitage Capital Management, was arrested in 2008 after alleging officials had carried out a large-scale heist of funds from the Russian state.

He died in Moscow’s Butyrka prison seven days before the end of the one-year term by which he could legally be detained without trial.

A human rights council set up by the Kremlin found he had been physically assaulted before his death.

Posthumously he gave his name to laws in the West aimed at sanctioning human rights abusers.

Mikhail Beketov

Beketov was a Russian journalist, 55, beaten by unknown assailants in 2008 after covering environmental stories.

The journalist covered the construction of the Moscow-Saint Petersburg motorway, which included the planned destruction of the Khimki Forest and related activism.

He claimed local officials told him to stop before his car was set on fire and his dog was killed.

Beketov was assaulted on November 13, 2008 by unknown assailants and sustained brain damage. 

He died five years later, in 2013, from a heart attack. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said his death was directly related to injuries he sustained during the 2008 attack.

Boris Nemtsov

The assassination of Boris Nemtsov, a liberal politician and outspoken critic of Putin, was the most high-profile killing alleged to have been orchestrated by the Russian state.

On a cold night in February 2015, around 23:30, Nemtsov was struck four times with bullets from a Makarov pistol as he walked with his girlfriend over the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. 

His Ukrainian partner was the sole witness.

Five men from the Russian region of Chechnya were convicted for his killing, with the gunman receiving up to 20 years. But Nemtsov’s allies said that was an attempt to shift blame from the government. 

Putin was never personally implicated in the murder.

Kirill Radchenko

A Russian war correspondent and cameramen, Radchenko was among a group of filmmakers working on a documentary about the pro-Kremlin Wagner group in Africa when he was murdered in 2018.

With colleagues Alexander Rastorguev and Orkhan Jemal, he was shot in the Central African Republic on the night of 31 July 2018. 

Radchenko died on the spot from injuries sustained in the brutal take-down.

Aleksandr Rastorguev

Rastorguev was a prominent Russian documentary film director, 41, and Putin critic, gunned down in a car ambush in the Central African Republic on 31 July 2018.

He was reportedly making a film with Organ Dzhemal and Kirill Radchenko about Russian mercenaries operating in the country.

Orhcan Dzhemal

A veteran war correspondent, 51, and founder of the Muslim Union of Russian Journalists, Orhcan Dzhemal was killed on 31 July 2018 in the Central African Republic.

Dzhemal was probing the activities of Wagner almost four years before the paramilitary group became notorious in Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Timur Kuashev

A human rights activist and government critic, 26, Timur Kuashev died after going on a jog in Nalchik, the capital of the autonomous Kabardino-Balkar republic in the Russian Caucasus.

Kuashev worked for Dosh magazine as its correspondent in the region, but was known for 

His body was found on August 1 2014 in the woods near Khasania after going missing the night before.

An article in his magazine said: ‘We believe that Timur was kidnapped from his home.’

His mobile phone was found in his apartment, the magazine reported.

Kuashev was a notable critic of Russia’s policy in Ukraine. 

Nikita Isaev

Nikita Isaev was a Russian politician, journalist, and anti-corruption and environmental activist, aged 41.

In 2019, he died on a train from Tambov to Moscow, after being appointed as an advisor for regional development by Sergei Mironov.

A joint investigation by Der Spiegel, Bellingcat and The Insider linked an FSB poisoning unit to Isaev’s death.

The official cause of death was given as a heart attack.

Investigators believed Isaev was possibly planning to defect as he had purchased tickets for him and his family to fly to Miami, scheduled just weeks after his death. 

Alexei Navalny

Alexei Navalny was an unofficial Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and political prisoner. 

He organised anti-government demonstrations and ran for office to advocate reforms against corruption in Russia and against President Vladimir Putin and his government.

On 16 February 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Navalny had died. 

His family, loyal team, and multiple Western leaders say he was murdered by Putin – allegations Russia denies.

Toby Carvery bills itself as the ‘home of the roast’ – where Sunday roasts are done ‘properly’.

But just how ‘properly’ is that? And how does the chain’s low-cost offering compare to a fine-dining version of the classic Brit favourite?

I endeavoured to find out, heading to a Toby Carvery in Worthing, West Sussex, for a three-meat roast costing the princely sum of £13.99, then trying the Sunday roast at London’s only Michelin-starred pub, Fulham’s renowned Harwood Arms, where a set three courses sets you back £70 plus tip.

What happens when the humble Sunday roast gets the Michelin-star treatment? Can it possibly be worth paying high-end prices for when you can get essentially the same dish with change back from £20? Read on to find out…

TOBY CARVERY – THE ‘HOME OF THE ROAST’ – WORTHING

It was a filthy February day when I headed to the Home of the Roast in Worthing. The very bones of me were cold – ideal circumstances for a bolstering feast.

It was my first-ever Toby Carvery visit, but many friends I respect were, if not evangelical, certainly warmly affectionate about Toby’s Sunday roasts. 

It was time to put this British institution through its paces.

In the interest of journalistic rigour, I had intended to order a ‘starter’ of pigs in blankets. But as soon as I mentioned I planned on the carvery, my waiter informed me that the ‘carvery deck’ was around the corner and to queue there for my serving. As a carvery naïf, I did as I was told.

My dining companion ordered mac ‘n’ cheese, which was delivered and demolished by the time I returned with my laden plate. (They had schlepped out in a tempest to the restaurant with me, so I didn’t admonish them. Also, they were 10 years old.)

When I made it through the winding queue to the ‘deck’ I was told to choose three meats. Wanting to make it to pudding, I limited myself to slow-cooked beef and pork loin. I associate canteen-style buffets with the slop they served in the mess tent on M*A*S*H, so I fretted a little.

I needn’t have: The beef was tender. I slathered it in English mustard and wondered how they’d managed to keep a soft, yielding texture for meat sunbathing under a heat lamp. A form of wizardry.

The pork loin, alas, erred towards what the Scots evocatively call ‘chugh’ – leathery meat. I had forgotten the apple sauce in the tumult of the ‘carvery deck’ – a fatal error. An undignified end for the poor pig.

The roasties had the damp kiss of the microwave, but their interior had the critical ‘smoosh’ factor one needs from a Sabbath spud. Yorkies were the size of a sombrero. Though greasier than ideal, I was impressed – crispy exterior, pancake-y interior, substantive but not stodgy. Admirable.

Dessert was apple and blackberry crumble. I wanted warm stewed fruit crowned with hot golden rubble, to warm my insides as ballast against the squall outside. And so it proved – a school dinner favourite, done perfectly well.

Now, a moan. There’s a Monty Python sketch in which a waiter, distraught his customer has been given a dirty fork, goes into increasing paroxysms of horror at letting the diner down. Reader, that waiter would spontaneously combust if he saw the glassware at Toby Carvery. I’m not Lady Muck, but I do prefer a clean tumbler.

Verdict: Crucially, Toby’s Carvery is not attempting a swizz – £13.99 for a mountain of well-prepared meat, endless veg, and as many roasties as you can pile on your plate. The ambience may be lacking – it’s dining without flair – but if you’re after a good feed, you’re quids in. 

PROS: Flavoursome meat, comforting food, mountainous puddings, value for money.

CONS: All the atmosphere of an airport lounge, queueing for food, dirty glassware.

Rating out of five: ***

Cost: £13.99 for three-meat carvery, with all the trimmings, £6.49 for a kid’s meal / £9.98 for two desserts / £5 gratuity.

Total cost for food: £35.46.

Visit: www.tobycarvery.co.uk.

THE HARWOOD ARMS, FULHAM

If you’ve swerved Michelin-star establishments in your time for fear of tedious poncery, The Harwood Arms will not frighten you. 

Definitely ‘gastropub’ in feel, thoughtful touches suggest a studied casualness – scuffed, leather-bound chairs, antique pine tables. There is a hint of a hunting lodge theme that stops short of going full, fusty Balmoral.

That’s reflected in the menu, which is heavily game-orientated, and offers gently remixed versions of time-honoured British standbys. We’re not talking arty ‘deconstructions’ or weird-for-the-sake-of-weird innovation, just slightly more creative takes on dishes that – well, you can order at Toby Carvery.

Ok, not my first course, in fairness. A starter of grilled red deer tongue, strafed with drops of quince paste and beetroot doesn’t scream ‘British comfort food.’

But oh, let me tell you what a time I had eating it. Meat perfectly seared on the outside, with a superlatively yielding texture inside. Smokey, whisper-soft meat was cut through with the sweetness of the quince and beetroot. At the risk of sounding salacious, of all the tongue I’ve had in my time, I didn’t expect a deer’s to enter the top ten.

Then, to the main event – Iberian Pork with Jowl, with apple sauce, Yorkie, roasties, broccoli and carrot. Toby Carvery doesn’t tell you what farm its meat comes from, but The Harwood Arms does – and I have every reason to suspect my pig had a gorgeous life back at Whitley Manor, judging by how succulent yet lean it tasted. Ribbons of whisper-pink pork dissolved in my mouth.

As to the Yorkie? It was pretty good. Nothing rapturous. Yorkies are never the most flavoursome part of the roast, but it was just what you needed from a side dish that is essentially a carrier for other flavours, designed to complement one another.

This is where the dish triumphed. Every component existed in symphonic accord with the other – the apple sauce made the pork sing, and the roasties acted as a carbohydrate conductor that brought the whole mouthful together.

This was the platonic ideal of roasts. Can a roast dinner be elevated? You betcha.

I did not particularly need nor want dessert, but, one-woman Woodward and Bernstein that I am, I ate it to bring you the culinary scoop. Apple parfait with hazelnut and shortbread. 

Cherub-fat orbs of fresh apple cream, cut through with delicate hazelnut ice cream and biscuit that snapped so crisply it could moonlight as a twig. ‘This is what angels eat for breakfast,’ I moaned. I had found a pudding so delectable it would be worth suffering the fate the kids in Willy Wonka endure for stealing sweets.

Reader – the meal was plentiful. I am truthful when I say I had to let my belt out two notches.

Which is my only major complaint about Harwood. You have to have three courses on a Sunday, and you have to share the roast between two. Both caveats seem unreasonable – a roast is a hefty meal, and I loathe being overfull. Also, why should you have to have a companion with you to enjoy a handsome meal just because it’s the Lord’s Day?

It’s a silly prejudice, in my eyes. I’m sure there’s a justification related to covers and overheads, but it sits poorly with me.

Verdict: When you pay over the odds for a meal, the hope is, as much as anything, you’re paying for an experience. Toby Carvery is food as background noise – an old sitcom episode you put on for comfort but also to talk over.

At The Harwood Arms, food is the main event. The pub satiates hunger, yes, but more than that, they create gorgeous memories. I couldn’t afford to eat like this with any regularity, but if your pound stretches to it, it’s worth the splurge.

PROS: Spectacularly delicious food, laidback atmosphere, pudding of celestial quality

CONS: Seems churlish to insist on three courses, and having to dine with a guest, at these prices

Rating out of five: ****

Cost: £140 for three-course set menu for two / £20 gratuity.

Total cost for food: £160. 

Visit: harwoodarms.com.

She was relegated to the sidelines for years after her high-profile divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996, but now Sarah Ferguson appears to be firmly back in the royal circle.

The 64-year-old Duchess of York, still affectionately known to most as Fergie, was invited to the King’s Coronation Concert in May and spent Christmas at Sandringham, where she walked to church with members of the royal family.

As if that wasn’t enough to prove that the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie has been brought in from the cold, she took center stage at the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle yesterday.

In an extraordinary turnaround after being barred from royal duties by his mother, the late Queen, and stripped of his HRH and military titles just two years ago, 64-year-old Andrew led the Firm to St. George’s Chapel – and his ex-wife was right. his side.

“Prince Andrew and the Yorks are firmly back in the fold,” a royal watcher told MailOnline after the Duke and Duchess’ joint appearance at the service.

The extraordinary reversal of fortune for Sarah – which would have been unthinkable if Prince Philip were still alive – is attributed to the King rewarding her loyalty and the Duchess finding a powerful advocate in Queen Camilla.

A source told The Mail On Sunday earlier this month: ‘There is a feeling that whatever Sarah’s personal faults – and she can be like Marmite in that respect – she has been a good mother to the girls and loyal to Andrew. ‘

A friend of Charles echoed this sentiment, telling The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay in December: “[The King] has always valued loyalty and he appreciates everything Fergie has done for his brother.

“It may be an exaggeration to say she kept him alive, but she certainly kept him healthy. Imagine what Andrew would be like without Sarah, who despite everything is one of life’s optimists?’

In the four years since Andrew fell from grace due to his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, no one has been more supportive of him than his ex-wife, who has not shied away from publicly defending him.

The king – who softened his approach to Sarah last year – also admires the way the duchess has restored her own reputation while keeping her family together.

The royal family is unlikely to have forgotten the ‘toe-sucking’ photos of Fergie, taken while she was on holiday with her Texan tycoon lover, nor the way she offered Andrew access in return for cash and got caught in a newspaper sting.

But in recent times the Duchess – who still lives with Andrew at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire – has found a powerful advocate in the King’s wife, who “likes Sarah,” a source said.

The insider told Mail On Sunday earlier this month: ‘They are both royalty. They share a love of horses and Fergie will be smart enough to play the game with Camilla and realize that she is the power behind the king. That she should be nice to them and support them.’

In December, the Duke and Duchess of York walked behind seniors as crowds lined the road outside St Mary Magdalene Church for the traditional Christmas Day service at the Norfolk estate.

It was the first time in 32 years that Fergie had joined the royals for the walk, after Prince Philip banned him from attending.

According to his biographer Gyles Brandreth, she was ‘out of bounds’ as far as Philip was concerned, and ‘vulgar, vulgar, vulgar’ as one courtier memorably said.

For years, her ex-husband took their daughters to royal family celebrations without Sarah. She wasn’t even on the guest list for Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, with the rest of her immediate family attending the glittering occasion.

In a 2021 interview with Town & Country, the Duchess revealed that she herself felt she was not “worthy” of attending the event and left the country.

‘I didn’t think I was worth going to their wedding. I actually took myself to Thailand to get away from it so I could try to heal,” she said.

But the attitude towards Fergie softened somewhat in 2018, when she was invited to Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.

Sarah was then invited to the coronation concert as a ‘VIP visitor’ in May 2023, according to reports from The Sun. Although she was not allowed to attend the coronation itself; her daughters and Prince Andrew attended the historic Westminster Abbey event.

Meanwhile, Camilla was the highest-ranking royal at the event for the late King Constantine of Greece yesterday, while her husband King Charles was absent as his cancer treatment continued.

But after Prince William pulled out of the service at St George’s Chapel at the last minute for unspecified ‘personal reasons’, Prince Andrew was left as the second-highest royal gift, leaving others including Princess Anne, Zara and Mike Tindall, led on foot. .

Phil Dampier told MailOnline: ‘It’s very special that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were front and center as they walked into the chapel, almost like old times.

‘Yes, it was a private family event, but it was a big turnout of royals that was seen by the public.’

It is understood that the Duke of York attended the service as a member of the British Royal Family and was invited by the Greek Royal Family, and as such yesterday’s appearance was not an official royal engagement.

The service marked the first public event the Duke has attended since the Christmas Day service at Sandringham – and came almost two years after he settled the sexual assault case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, a sex slave victim of Andrew’s friend. Jeffrey Epstein.

The settlement was never disclosed but was estimated to be worth approximately £12 million ($16.3 million).

It spared him the need to testify under oath at any trial in the US, and it was claimed the Queen helped him pay for that. Andrew has vehemently and repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

The Duchess has consistently defended her ex-husband, branding him a “thoroughly good, very gentle man” who “shines” as a grandfather during an appearance on Lorraine in August 2021.

“Prince Andrew is such a good man, he really is a very good man,” she said during the TV interview.

“He is a very gentle man, he is a very good father and we have done very well with co-parenting, hence our girls are very solid and down to earth.

‘But now he is really good as a grandfather, he can talk for hours about football and the like. It’s a pleasure to see him really shine as a grandfather.’

In 2018, Sarah told the Daily Mail: ‘We are the happiest divorced couple in the world. We are separated from each other, not from each other […] It is my duty to him. I am so proud of him. I support him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale.’

Recently, speculation has arisen that the Duke and Duchess of York are thinking about getting married again.

The rumors came after Sarah revealed she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma just months after undergoing a second round of reconstructive surgery following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Despite a double health blow, the Duchess has maintained a business-as-usual approach, including posting to Instagram and attending events like yesterday’s.