High street redundancies: Which retailers have cut jobs in the pandemic so far?
Retailers have made redundancies due to the pressure of the pandemic on trading. (Getty Images)
Thousands of high street jobs have evaporated during the coronavirus pandemic, as retail chains have fallen under the pressure of lockdown restrictions on trading.
The UK high street, which was already struggling before the pandemic, is set to look very different when shoppers return after lockdown following high profile collapses that have cost many retail workers their jobs.
Household names such as Debenhams, Topshop and Dorothy Perkins have been major casualties during the pandemic and will disappear from the high street – although the brands will live on online – resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.
Myleene Klass Picture: Ian Burt
- Credit: Archant
Since Popstars launched 20 years ago, followed by a stream of other talent shows, they have helped many hopefuls to stardom.
Here in East Anglia, our homegrown stars include Myleene Klass, who featured in that very first Popstars series, and Olly Murs, who was a runner-up in The X Factor.
Nationally, other top names who came to fame via the talent show route include Liberty X from Popstars (ironically, made up of the singers who lost out in the contest), Girls Aloud from Popstars The Rivals and Will Young from Pop Idol, with Gareth Gates as runner up.
Suffolk schoolgirl Souparnika Nair won through to the semi-finals of Britain s Got Talent and appeared in the show s Christmas Spectacular
- Credit: Britain’s Got Talent: Christmas Spectacular
BGT judge Amanda Holden said on her Heart Breakfast show there are still discussions going on as to whether the show, hosted by Ant and Dec, will be filmed this year.
She said: I think there are still discussions going on because it s a big old show and there are a lot of people who are employed behind the scenes, so it s one that needs to be discussed a bit more in length.
Gina Long
Neil Sands with the two novels he has written during lockdown
- Credit: Andy Abbott
What do you do if you are a theatrical show producer, less than a week away from the start of a 40 date tour, when lockdown closes all the theatres and eventually the tour is cancelled? Well in the case of Neil Sands, former heavyweight professional wrestling champion, (who fought the giant American The Mighty Quinn for the world heavyweight championship, in Ipswich back in 1981), stand-up comedian, and publican, you write not just your first novel, but your first two. Time For Justice and Pursuit Of Justice are both crime adventure thrillers and part of the Hooper/Windsor Thriller series, with the third due out in the spring. He shares his East Anglian Heaven and Hell.
An episode of the Antiques Roadshow which was filmed in Ipswich is being broadcast tonight.
The programme, which was filmed at Christchurch Mansion in.