As parents criticise the four-year-old anthropomorphic piglet for being a malign influence on young viewers, Ellie Muir explores whether children’s TV characters have to be role models Is Peppa Pig a force for good or a force for evil? (iStock/Getty/Alamy) Reshmi Bennett, a bakery owner and children’s author, was not prepared to lose her battle with TV’s most divisive pig. Like so many youngsters, Bennett’s six-year-old son had been wooed by the porky charms of Peppa Pig, the anthropomorphic...

I’m not surprised that “rizz” is Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year. Why? Because my generation – Gen Z – is sick of online courtship. The term, which is short for “charisma”, relates to a person’s ability to attract a romantic partner. Essentially, “rizz” means that you can playfully yet seamlessly strike up a conversation with a new love interest and flirt with them in a light-hearted, resolutely non-intense way. “Rizz” found popularity in my generation via the Twitch streamer Kai Cenat,...

We’ve all been there. A friend’s wedding is three days away and you don’t have anything to wear. The last thing you want to do is drag yourself around high-street shops, so inevitably you turn to ASOS. After all, the company is known for its next day delivery and easy returns service. Though many of us are reliant on the online fast fashion retailer for last-minute holiday purchases or big seasonal shops, a new report shows that ASOS’s pre-tax losses ballooned to almost £300m in the year to 3...