Your spirit is what’s important

It looked like a bleak Christmas for all – until Becky had a bright idea

In 1976, the revolutionary singer-songwriter LAURA NYRO returned from self-imposed exile. But her comeback confounded expectations, shifting away from the impassioned intimacies of her early albums to embrace more radical perspectives. Fifty years on, Nyro’s collaborators revisit her striking second act. “She was a hip American from the Bronx,” one friend and producer tells Rob Hughes. “But her soul was old.”

From singing sensation to popular presenter, bestselling author to agony aunt, Coleen Nolan has many strings to her bow. But, out of the limelight, she is a working mum whose first priority is her fam

From cards to carols, celebrating the festive season when you’ve two lots of family traditions to bolt together isn’t easy…

HAVE YOUR SAY

Dancing queen Shirley Ballas will be making a cameo at Christmases across the country, as families tune in to this year’s Strictly Come Dancing festive special. However, the head judge of the sparkly