We hold power to account. Our journalists investigate, interrogate and report without fear or favour. | | Amid the many personal trainers teaching online, Caroline Idiens has become the go-to fitness coach for midlife women. A personal trainer for 25 years, she built a small but devoted group of clients in Battersea and Berkshire before going stratospheric, attracting 2.3 million followers to a social media account she set up five years ago.
The Telegraph’s new fitness columnist is passionate about helping women become stronger. To do that, she says, there are a few principles to follow. “I advise including a solid source of protein in every meal,” says Caroline. “It keeps you satisfied for longer, and avoids glucose dips, which make you hungry and tired. It’s also key for repairing muscle.” | Even in your 50s or 60s, it’s not too late to start rebuilding muscle, says Caroline | Making sure to include “explosive” movements in your workout routine is also important. “Whether it’s hops, skips, jumps or shuttle runs, if you leave the ground, you have to land – and that impact puts stress on our muscle which pulls on the bone, and that ‘good’ stress stimulates new bone cell growth.”
Caroline will be sharing her fitness tips and tricks with a new routine every Tuesday in January, but for now, here are her seven key rules to have a stronger, healthier 2026.
Continue reading ➤ | | David Frost Politicians are deluded if they believe they could do a better job leading without committing to a total reorganisation of government Continue reading ➤ Allegra Mendelson Taiwan’s £7.5tn secret weapon is disintegrating Continue reading ➤ Matt Law Man City talks and a new outfit... the unravelling of Maresca’s Chelsea reign Continue reading ➤ | From Westminster to Washington… Follow trusted coverage of the stories that are shaping our world. | | An image appears to show the moment sparklers set fire to the bar’s ceiling Credit: X | | The New Year’s Eve party was well under way when the fire started. As around 200 revellers celebrated in the packed basement of Le Constellation bar in the resort of Crans-Montana, a barmaid carrying a champagne bottle topped with a sparkler made her way through the crowd. Carried on the shoulders of a colleague, she held the bottle above her head near the basement’s ceiling, setting it alight, witnesses said. What followed was a desperate rush to escape and the loss of at least 40 lives.
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Full Story: At least 40 killed in fire at Swiss ski bar ➤
‘Serious questions’ over local safety regulations ➤ | |  | | Stagnancy and panic defined the housing market in 2025, from higher stamp duty and council tax bills to the announcement of a “mansion tax” and a tax hike for landlords. Now that the crippling uncertainty from months of uncurbed Budget speculation has subsided, will house prices bounce back this year, or has longer-lasting damage been done? Here’s what’s in store for the property market in 2026. Continue reading ➤ | | | Remember The Colbys? The spin-off from glossy Eighties soap Dynasty that culminated in a daft alien abduction storyline? On its 40th anniversary, stars Stephanie Beacham and Emma Samms talk with writer and fan Helen Brown about shoulder pads, sexism, and those catfights with Joan Collins. Continue reading ➤ | | | As motoring fans await the Car of the Year announcement, long-serving juror Andrew English has scrutinised the EV-dominated shortlist, from the “weird” wheels of the Kia EV4 to the Mercedes CLA’s controversial glass dashboard. But while others chase premium status, English explains why an £18,995 model is his personal pick, promising “sensational value”. Continue reading ➤ | | | With unflinching honesty, one woman describes the disintegration of her relationship with her husband of 23 years and how, on the cusp of divorce, they managed to overcome a string of hurtful revelations and piece their marriage back together. Continue reading ➤ | | | Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style will be on display at Buckingham Palace from April to October | | You don’t have to travel far to get away from it all, as Hazel Plush reveals in her selection of 2026’s domestic delights. From an exhibition of Queen Elizabeth II’s outfits at Buckingham Palace to Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games, via wine tours in Yorkshire and a seaside spectacle in Southport, here’s why you might not need a passport this year.
Continue reading ➤ | | | Mediterranean plants, including lavender, are useful for gardeners seeking low-effort and water-wise species | Last year’s summer was officially the warmest on record, and those soaring temperatures have repercussions for our planting plans. Gardening expert Matthew Appleby looks at what’s hot in horticulture this year, including drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants and late bloomers that benefit from balmy September sunshine. Continue reading ➤ | | By the end of episode one, Tom Hiddleston has dispensed with his reading glasses, put on a sharp suit and packed a gun | The Night Manager, Series 2, Episode 1 ★★★★☆ The first series of The Night Manager served both as sophisticated drama and Tom Hiddleston’s audition reel to be the next James Bond. A decade on, the actor may have aged out of the running for 007, but the appetite for smart and glossy thrillers remains high, so he is back for a sequel. While Hugh Laurie is much-missed, on early evidence, this classy series will make for some pretty glamorous January evenings in front of the TV.
Read the full review here ➤ The Traitors, Series 4, Episode 1 ★★★★☆ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it... unless you’re the producers of The Traitors. Returning with a civilian series after the celebrity version proved to be last year’s biggest TV hit, they’ve only gone and thrown in a twist. (Warning: this review contains spoilers.)
Read the full review here ➤ Wild London ★★★★★ I challenge you to find a single more wondrous scene on television this year than the one in Wild London in which Sir David Attenborough comes face to face with a young urban fox. As part of his survey of what a sprawling mega city has to offer the nature lover, he finds himself sitting in a Tottenham allotment at dusk. Our greatest living Briton looks in complete wonder as a fox cub inches towards him. It is magical.
Read the full review here ➤ | The book case Every weekday our letters team shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Today, Joe Burgis, our Deputy Letters Editor, explores the debate over books. Joe writes...
Having moved house last summer, and lugging a dozen boxes of books from London to Reading, I was interested to read Sean Thomas’s account of brutally culling his library.
It reminded me of a recent trip to the tip, where I was surprised to find several bookcases laden with second-hand volumes, which tippers were invited to take. I drove home with a copy of Christopher Hitchens’s essays on the front seat, enjoying the oddness of the lives of books. Unlike Sean, I find it almost impossible to get rid of them. I tend to agree with JA Froude, who commented: “Books are sanity in an insane world.” So why not hoard them?
Richard Reed elaborated: “There is something profoundly moving about physically turning page after page; about seeing a book on your bedside table and thinking about what you’ve read so far; a sense of completion, and sometimes sadness, too, when you turn the final page – an experience that doesn’t occur with an electronic device.”
That said, perhaps Sean is right that publishers are overdoing it: an estimated 200,000 books are published in the UK every year. On this point, Nick Aubin gave a blunt assessment: “There are far too many badly written, implausible novels. If you think you can write a novel, please resist the urge to do so.” Noted.
Moreover, as well as quality over quantity, we want manageability. As Frank Sanford wrote: “A new hardback book is an enormous pleasure. The big problem is that they are becoming huge, especially non-fiction.”
Ian Howlett described a better-organised world, though one in which books still resist rejection: “I own 1,700 books. I track them in a very good app called BookBuddy. When I moved house, I decided to have a clear out. I was able to get rid of four.”
If you really have no choice, though, then you can do what Christine Hinchcliffe does: “I’ve started taking mine to the local phone box exchange, Morrisons’s free bookshelf, or the charity shop.” But don’t be too thorough. As Cecily Sharp warned: “When the electricity cuts become more frequent and you can’t buy a paraffin lamp, you’ll miss your books.” Are you a book-disposal expert? Let us know here.
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Yesterday’s Panagram was CHALLENGE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor | |
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