Olivia Poulet – best known as Emma in The Thick of It, and as Benedict Cumberbatch's ex – talks about her harrowing and disturbing new stage role

Will a contest to find a Diamond Jubilee favourite delight Her Majesty?

Joey Barton's love of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Paul Scharner's recommendation of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas stand out in a list of Premier League footballers' favoured reads. The recommendations – which cover a children's book as well as a read for adults, leading Theo Walcott to recommend T.J. and the Hat-Trick, by... Theo Walcott – have been made as part of the Premier League Reading Stars programme.

The Duke of Edinburgh's grandchildren brought him some Christmas cheer as he prepared to spend a third night in hospital after treatment for a blocked coronary artery.

The Duchess of Cornwall has closed a £5bn deal in the City as part of a global charity event expected to raise millions. The Icap 19th annual global charity day saw Camilla and celebrities including Lewis Hamilton, Rod Stewart and Rupert Everett join hundreds of brokers sporting fancy dress to raise funds for more than 200 charities.

Icap, the inter-dealer broker, attracted a host of celebrities to its annual charity day yesterday, with all revenues donated to charity.

Who knew that if Sharon Stone's house were to catch fire, the first thing she would save would be her Aga? Who, indeed, knew that Sharon Stone had an Aga? Unlike a pair of knickers, which she sometimes doesn't have, depending on her most basic instinct on any given day, few people can surely know that she owns a vast, cast iron four-wheel drive of a cooking machine, which comes in all sorts of colours from heather through aubergine to duck-egg blue.

A final day of celebrations dedicated to the nation's servicemen and women is under way.

Five-time champion Venus Williams rallied from a set down to beat Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm in a match of breathtaking drama under the roof on Wimbledon's Centre Court.

Rain held up play at the start of day three at Wimbledon and was expected to affect matches for much of the afternoon.

The Queen will officially open the fourth session of the National Assembly for Wales today.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive at Westmister Abbey.

Hedge fund managers seem to instinctively know when to buy and sell assets – that's why they're good at the job. Take Steve Cohen, the fabled US fund manager. The Wall Street Journal reports that two weeks ago, he asked a high-end auctioneer to sell his Andy Warhol portrait of Elizabeth Taylor at a sale in May. The death of the fabled star of the silver screen last week has now seen its likely sale price soar.

Scotland Yard's new plans to control crowds during mass protests have not yet been trialled it emerged, as thousands of protesters prepare to descend on central London this weekend.