He’s played English titans from William Shakespeare to Gareth Southgate, but what does the actor really think about the country today?

We are at a corner table in a breakfast place in Chelsea, Joseph Fiennes opposite me on the banquette with his jack russell, Noa. “Dog duty,” he says, apologetic. Noa looks at me, brown eyes also apologetic. They’ve been in Hyde Park, he says, he lost track, didn’t have time to take her home. Nature is where he’s at his best, where he feels cleansed, connected, observant – his sentences are decorative like this. “It’s when I’m at my happiest, on hours-long, rain-drenched walks. Hot cheeks, freezing hands.” In an ideal world he’d be trekking or wild swimming in the rugged landscape of the Tramuntana in Spain. But if it must be London, “nothing beats Hyde Park”. Fiennes is tidy in a cashmere cardie and thick twill chinos. Noa has a snazzy yellow collar. Anyway, she’s well-behaved, he says: “Aren’t you, Noa?” She curls up to prove it. The scene is a masterclass in unhurried wholesomeness. Until he says Noa will savage me if I’m mean.

Fiennes was launched into the national consciousness as the doe-eyed, luscious-lashed 28-year-old star of Shakespeare in Love opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. He’s self-deprecating about his career since, saying to one interviewer that it condemned him to a decade of “flouncy shirts and horses” and to me that he’s been “pretty much a supporting actor for an actress throughout”. While he’s worked alongside impressive women – Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss, Rachel Weisz, Eva Green – his own standout roles include the chilling Commander Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale (whom he describes as “insidious”). Now 55, he jokes, he’s mostly “playing dads”. Not least Young Sherlock’s dad in the Amazon series – young Sherlock being his real-life nephew Hero Fiennes Tiffin – but also a gripping portrayal of Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held hostage in Iran for six years, in Prisoner 951.

The much-loved football sticker album is to be discontinued after 2030. Guardian writers recall their thrills and frustrations

With this summer’s World Cup already mired in controversy over politicisation, potential travel bans and rows over ticket prices, fans were dealt another piece of sad news this week: the tournament’s much-loved Panini sticker album will be discontinued after 2030.

Guardian writers recall their Panini memories from years gone by.

The actor on her Dua Lipa faux pas, restless legs syndrome, and a shock realisation at a housewarming party

Born in Bristol, Tuppence Middleton, 39, trained at ArtsEd in London before appearing in films The Imitation Game and Mank. Her stage roles include The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre, and her TV work spans Sense8, War and Peace, The Forsytes and the next series of Slow Horses. Since the age of 11, she has had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which she writes about in Scorpions, out in paperback on 21 May. She lives in London with Swedish film director Måns Mårlind and their child.

What is your greatest fear?
Endless vomiting. That comes from my emetophobia, which is a huge part of my OCD.

We spill the tea on the supermarket bags worth your cuppa – and which should be left to stew

• The best (and worst) supermarket coffee

My grandma would turn in her grave if she knew I tested these teabags by brewing them in a cup, but that’s how I drink tea mostly. Or at least I did until I met tea specialist Matt Writson, who helped me test today’s teas with the industry-standard cupping process and, afterwards, introduced me to some mind-blowing whole-leaf teas. We studied the appearance and aroma of the wet leaves in an observation bowl, then the colour and clarity of the tea itself, before supping it from small bowls and aerating the tea to maximise its surface area.

The bags I tested ranged from 2p to 34p a pop, but when you think about the quality and sourcing of the higher-priced teas, even they are incredible value. We scored them on flavour, structure and balance, plus certification, trading standards and sourcing. I also awarded points to plastic-free bags – it seems the industry is finally responding to the uproar against microplastics, though some producers need to catch up and work without the polypropylene glue that’s still often used to seal teabags.

Israeli PM says he has ‘full coordination’ with US president amid reports that Washington no longer consults him

Benjamin Netanyahu interrupted an uncharacteristically long silence over the Iran conflict this week with a video commentary insisting he had “full coordination” with Donald Trump, with whom he spoke “almost daily”.

The insistence that all was rosy in the US-Israeli relationship followed weeks of reports in the domestic press that Israel was no longer being consulted over the Iran conflict, and even less over Pakistani-brokered peace talks. Such is the scepticism over Netanyahu’s trustworthiness among the general public and independent press that the immediate reaction among observers to his video statement was speculation that the reality could be even worse than they had imagined.

Keir Starmer’s party lost out to Reform and the Greens, with no respite in Scotland, Wales or England. These maps show the scale of the historic results

• Full results from England, Scotland and Wales

Labour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on the left and the right in a fragmented political system.

The graphics below show where Labour’s losses were most severe, and how the electoral landscape has changed as a result.

Several frontbenchers told the Guardian the PM’s time in office should not go beyond the end of the year

• Mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions

Gordon Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance.

Number 10 said:

The PM has committed to boosting the country’s security and resilience’

In this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this.

Exclusive: Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is preferred choice of new leader for 42% of those surveyed

• Full results from England, Scotland and Wales

The majority of Labour members say they do not believe Keir Starmer can turn around the party’s fortunes, while 45% say the prime minister should step down.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was the first preference for 42% of members, who were asked to rank their preferred successor.

Public frustration gave the SNP a muted victory, while Labour tied with Reform for second and the Greens claimed a ‘seismic’ result

Long before the final votes were counted in Scotland, veteran Labour politicians said it was a defeat made in Downing Street.

When the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, strode into the Glasgow count arena on Friday afternoon flanked by sombre-faced activists, the scene was a mirror image to the same venue in 2024, when his resurgent party won 36 seats from the Scottish National party, playing a significant part in Keir Starmer’s landslide victory.

Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski have reason to celebrate – but what next for Labour and the Tories now that the two-party system has been demolished?

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