The Office producer regrets jokes made about his disability

The Office producer Ash Atalla has admitted that in recent years, he’s questioned whether it was right for him to have had Ricky Gervais make jokes about his disability.

At the insistence of Atalla, 53, who uses a wheelchair, comedian Gervais, 64, poked fun at the producer’s disability while picking up an award at the 2001 British Comedy Awards.

Joined by Atalla and the rest of the team behind the UK version of The Office, Gervais, 64, who co-wrote and led the sitcom, took the podium to accept the honor for Best New TV Comedy.

“We still need more money. It’s a very low budget,” the comedian quipped, pointing to Atalla. “He was the runner — no, that’s the producer, he wanted me to tell you that so you didn’t think he’d won a competition.”

As laughter echoed through the audience, Gervais once again emphasized that the joke came from Atalla, not him.

In another award acceptance speech, Gervais compared Atalla with theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, saying: “You’re just the same… but without all the clever stuff.”

Asked how he felt about the jokes now, Atalla told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs: “I felt good about it at the time. The joke that people remember, the first one, was a line that I gave to him, because I said to him, ‘Make sure they know I haven’t won a competition to be here.’

“Because I was suddenly concerned at the optics of… people in wheelchairs weren’t on stages back then,” he explained. “And he did that joke at the British Comedy Awards. There was this huge roar, and that kind of started the double act of that material on stage.

The Egyptian-born producer continued: “I tried to make the point a couple of times that it’s about nuance, and because I think I play fast and loose with the rules around my wheelchair, I’m really happy to use it when I want to, like, I haven’t queued at an airport in years, and then other times I get annoyed that other people might even bring it up.

“I’m a producer, and people don’t normally notice the producer, but there I was on stage, and I got a profile, a lot because of the stuff that Ricky and I used to do on stage.”

Looking back, Atalla admitted that “maybe I realize, or I feel I sold a bit of myself in that moment, I put the wheelchair front and center because I knew it was something that would set me apart in that instance. Set me apart in a good way.”

“And, just in recent years, as I’ve thought about it, it’s made me consider whether I was right to do that,” he said.

Atalla contracted polio as a child, and the disease left him unable to walk.

Elsewhere in the episode, the producer considered whether it is right to have able-bodied actors playing disabled people, acknowledging that it is “a complex issue.”

“I think it’s a very simple rule now to have… just make it a 100 percent rule, and nobody will get hurt,” he said.

“Disabled people should only play disabled people on television. It’s a complex issue,” he added. “You can make an argument to justify why an able-bodied actor should do a disabled role, like you can construct that argument.

“It’s just that, for me, it’s an argument that falls apart really quickly,” Atalla concluded. “And so I could make the case to you, I won’t, but I could make the case for you, but it’s just not one that I believe in.”

Atalla’s gone on to work as a series producer on The IT Crowd and an executive producer on Cuckoo, Stath Lets Flats, and Big Boys.

Desert Island Discs broadcasts at 10 a.m. Sunday on BBC Radio 4 and is also available on BBC Sounds.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Dog rescued after getting stuck down a well for 11 days

A dog who was stuck down a four-metre deep well for 11 days has been rescued.

Jimmy, a 10-year-old corgi cross, and his owner Dorota Gruszczynska had an emotional reunion when he was found by firefighters last week, who she credited for “saving his life”.

Ms Gruszczynska had been desperately searching for her beloved pet after he went missing while on a walk in Corby, Northamptonshire, on 21 June. She said Jimmy chased after something that day and did not return.

The concerned owner issued appeals online and rallied the local community to help in the search.

Then, 11 days after Jimmy vanished, Corby fire service was called to reports a dog was stuck four metres down a well on Stephenson Way in Corby, according to a statement posted on social media. The firefighters had to use a reach pole and lines to lift cylinders that he was wedged beneath, or order to lift him to safety.

After scouring online for clues as to who the dog’s owner could be, they found Ms Gruszczynska’s appeal on a local missing dog page.

It turned out the rescued animal was Jimmy, who was reunited with his elated owner on 2 July. She told the BBC she was incredibly grateful to the firefighters and credited them with “saving his life”.

Ms Gruszczynska told the broadcaster: “We searched the area so many times and nothing, we created posters, put them online and sent them around the local area.”

The more time that passed, she said she “started to lose hope”, adding: “We thought he had been hit by a car and we would never see him again.”

But she received the message she had been hoping for on 2 July, when a firefighter told her they believed they had found Jimmy.

She said: “Firefighters had been called to the area, and had heard him barking, they asked if he had a green harness on and told me he was alive. It was near where we had lost him, we had called him so much in the area, but never heard him barking. We couldn’t believe it was him.”

She added: “We’re so grateful for everyone who helped, including the drone company. They did a huge amount of work, purely out of their heart. So many people shared the cause, and it helped as the firefighters knew to contact me.”

Ms Gruszczynska said Jimmy was examined at the vets and found to be extremely hungry but not dehydrated.

“He’s back on his feet, he’s recovered surprisingly well, we don’t know how he survived, there must have been water in the well,” she added.

Corby Fire Station confirmed that Jimmy was safe and well when he and Ms Gruszczynska visited the station this week.

Mental health care ‘being rationed’ over failure to cut waiting list

Mental health care is being rationed because the government is failing to tackle the spiralling waiting list, the UK’s top psychiatrist has warned, with 48,000 people waiting more than two years for treatment to start.

Nearly 1.7 million people were waiting for community care, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist appointment, for treatments including everything from severe depression to serious personality disorders at the end of December 2024.

That is up from 1.3 million in March 2024 and is in addition to the 7.4 million people on the national NHS waiting list, which only counts patients with physical health problems.

Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the figures proved mental health care was being downgraded in favour of other services.

She said: “It’s very clear that there has been a prioritisation of services; mental healthcare is not one of those services. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been rationed for years. It’s not been prioritised, full stop. I say that because you know, we’ve got we have 1.7 million people who were waiting for mental health services.

“They are not being prioritised and so there is rationing of mental healthcare, full stop.”

Last week, the government launched its 10-year plan for the future of the NHS, which recommits to previous promises to expand mental health teams in schools and create specialist mental health A&Es across the country. However, it does not make commitments to reduce the number of people already waiting to be seen.

It comes as the latest figures reveal:

The Labour government was recently criticised for dropping the previous Tory government’s commitment to grow mental health funding at the same rate or more than the overall NHS budget to tackle the inequality in investment.

Dr Smith said it was “simply illogical” not to invest in good mental healthcare, as it drives productivity and economic growth.

Meanwhile, the NHS’s director for mental health, Claire Murdoch, said the lack of sufficient care in the community was driving more people to A&E, by which time, patients have often been in crisis for weeks or months without help.

She added: “[That] I think is a bigger scandal than a slightly long A&E wait – if people are losing weeks or months of their lives because we don’t have housing or community packages.”

Addressing the lack of equality in mental health waiting lists compared to physical health, Ms Murdoch said: “Our waiting lists are as important as any waiting list…When waiting lists are at the same level as any other parity will have been achieved.”

Sarah, 52, a single mother of three, told The Independent of the “horrific” experience of seeing her autistic teenage daughter, Bay, who was forced to live on a mental health ward for almost two months because there was no community care for her. WHEN

Bay, who has autism, was first admitted to a children’s mental health unit in London when she was 16 years old. Her mental health declined, and her behaviour became “increasingly unpredictable” during the pandemic after the family moved to London from South Africa, Sarah said.

Despite numerous appointments with child and adolescent mental health services in the community, Bay’s care was “fragmented and inadequate”, her mother said.

In 2023, as her mental health began to seriously deteriorate, Bay was taken to A&E after she threatened to harm herself. She spent 24 hours there before being admitted to an inpatient unit where she remained for 46 days.

Her mother said she was held in the hospital as they could not find an appropriate residential placement for her, and it was not safe for her to return home. Two months later, a place was eventually found for her in supported accommodation.

She said, “It was horrific. I felt helpless. I’m not a psychiatrist or therapist, and autistic children with mental health issues are often just contained, not supported, and this needs to change.”

“Autistic children are special. We need a different approach — using creativity, understanding sensory needs, offering proper support, not just containment. One positive was that when Bay was in the hospital, it was the first time in a long, long time that I felt that she was safe and that I could breathe. Before that, I had needed to watch her and keep us safe 24 hours a day.”

Sarah Wakeling, CEO at Positive Support Group, which supported Bay at home, said: “Our new analysis underlines the growing pressure on NHS mental health services and the urgent need to rethink how we provide support for these people. The NHS has recently committed to opening new mental health A&Es. But just as important is addressing gaps in early intervention, specialist education, and community-based mental health care – so that we can help people before they need urgent care.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our commitment to improving this through our Plan for Change is clear. We have announced £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres, are recruiting an extra 8,500 mental health staff, and expanding mental health support teams in schools across England to cover all pupils by 2029-30.“

“We are also funding the expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, and modernising the Mental Health Act to ensure people with the most severe conditions receive better, more personalised treatment.”

No cruise ships, no rikshaws and a visitor tax: How holiday hotspots are tackling overtourism

In Florence’s historic Piazza della Signoria, with the replica of Michelangelo’s famous statue of David peering over them, dozens of golf carts gathered this week in protest.

Their drivers are furious at new laws which will ban not only them, but all other novelty transport including rickshaws, from the city’s historic centre.

The move, which could be in place by September, is part of the city council’s bid to reduce congestion in the city, according to newspaper Corriere Firenze.

“This is one of the most important measures in our ten-point plan for sustainable tourism,” councillor for economic development and tourism Jacopo Vicini told the newspaper.

Florence is not alone in resorting to drastic measures to try and cut the number of visitors to their overcrowded streets.

Venice – which has outlawed cruise ships for several years – has doubled its daily tourist tax to try and disuade the spontaneous day-tripper.

Cannes, on the French riviera, has recently issued a decree banning ships of more than 1,000 people from mooring in the city.

Deputy mayor of Venice Simone Venturini said that after decades of debate, the city – and other iconic city breaks – had had to take serious action to manage tourist flows.

“Venice is a city as beautiful as it is fragile,” he said. “No one has a magic wand. Neither Venice nor other European cities grappling with the consequences of overtourism have one. Each place is considering its own approach.”

In many cities, residents have taken matters into their own hands. Last month, thousands gathered in major tourist destinations across southern Europe to protests against overtourism.

During the 15 June demonstrations, protesters in Barcelona fired water pistols at shop windows and at tourists and chanted “your holidays, my misery”.

Concurrent protests were held in Portugal and Italy, organised by the SET alliance of Sud d’Europa contra la Turistització, or Southern Europe against Overtourism.

In the run up to the protests, one of the organisations in the alliance Menys Turisme Mes Vida claimed that tourism impoverished people, making it hard for locals to access housing and diverting focus from public sector spending.

Angry Venetians protested again when the wedding of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez drew celebrities and the world’s media to the city for the multi-day spectacle, viewed by some as a symbol of the city’s exploitation by wealthy visitors.

And the city on water has been forced to take increasingly drastic action to try and stem the tide of overtourism.

Cruise ships have been banned from entering the Venice lagoon and main Giudecca canal since August 2021, a move welcomed by Unesco after repeated warnings that the large vessels were damaging the iconic city.

Are the solutions perfect? Currently, cruise ships that would have previously docked in Venice now moor further up the coast in places such as Trieste, and daytrippers are instead bussed down the autostrada to see the city.

But after a brief trial last year, Venice also recently reintroduced its day tripper tax, charging tourists not staying on the islands €5 for the privilege of visiting. From April this year, tourists are now charged €10 for that privilege unless they book at least four days in advance.

“Operationally, the system we have developed has had no hitches, and most importantly, tourists have demonstrated that they understand the underlying message: Venice is a fragile city that requires protection and respect,” Mr Venturini said.

He added that the point of the tax was to discourage day-trippers, and while data from the initial trial was still being analysed, it has already helped the city identify about 10,000 people who were living in the city without being officially registered as residents, helping to highlight undeclared tourist accommodation.

He also acknowledged it was just one piece of the puzzle, and Venice is also working on other measures including restricting the number of low-quality souvenir and takeaway shops in key areas to help make tourism more sustainable.

At the end of June, Cannes announced its “drastic regulation” on cruise ships, banning any vessels carrying more than 1,000 people from mooring in the city from the beginning of next year.

Thomas De Pariente, deputy to the mayor of Cannes, said tourism is a significant part of the city’s economy, worth 50 per cent of local economic output and bringing in 14,000 related jobs.

The industry is continuing to grow, Mr De Pariente said. There were more than 3.9 million overnight stays in Cannes in 2024, an increase of 100,000 stays compared to 2023.

“Cannes has historically been a welcoming town,” he said but added that the city “rejects the principle of overtourism”.

“The quality of life of Cannes residents and visitors alike is the prime concern of the town council, which is scrupulous about maintaining the balance between economic dynamism and wellbeing.”

While hopeful that these measures can help return tourism to sustainable levels, officials are clear-eyed about the challenges.

As Mr Venturini said: “We do not delude ourselves that a global phenomenon like overtourism can change in just a few weeks.”

Police hunt four people who ran from Mercedes involved in fatal motorway crash

Four people fled the scene of a motorway crash that killed a 27-year-old man, police said.

Officers are hunting for the people, who were in a Mercedes, and ran from the M40 crash site at about 1.15am on Saturday.

The collision, which happened on the northbound carriageway in Buckinghamshire, led to a closure between junction 1a for the M25 (Denham Interchange) and junction two for Beaconsfield.

The driver of the Golf, a 27-year-old man from High Wycombe, died of his injuries.

His passenger, also a man in his twenties, sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries and has been taken to hospital.

There were four people in the Mercedes, two men and two women, who fled the scene on foot.

Thames Valley Police said a 26-year-old man from Beaconsfield has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and possession of a knife in a public place – he remains in police custody.

Witnesses reported seeing the Mercedes being driven “erratically” just before the crash, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Edward Crofts said in a statement.

He added that the family of the 27-year-old who died in the collision are being supported by specially trained officers.

“I am appealing to anybody who was driving on that stretch of the M40 in the early hours of this morning and witnessed the collision to please get in touch with Thames Valley Police,” Detective Sergeant Crofts said.

He added: “I’m particularly keen to hear from anybody who saw either the Golf or the Mercedes travelling northbound just prior to the collision, as some witnesses have reported the Mercedes being driven erratically.

“I would also ask drivers to please check their dash-cams and contact us if it has captured anything that may be able to assist this investigation.”

Ambulances and fire crews attended the scene of the crash, and a diversion was put in place.

The Denham interchange is used by drivers travelling to London Heathrow Airport and travellers were warned of the possible delays.

The stretch of road was opened almost 12 hours after the crash at 12.30pm.

Child in Liverpool dies after contracting measles, reports claim

A child in Liverpool is said to have died after contracting measles just days after health officials issued a warning over an outbreak in the area.

The child was severely ill with measles as well as other serious health problems and was being treated in the intensive care unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, The Sunday Times reports.

It comes after the top NHS hospital, which has treated 17 measles cases since June, this week issued an alert over the outbreak and urged parents to get their children vaccinated.

In a statement on Sunday, the hospital said: “To respect patient confidentiality, we can’t comment on individual cases.

“We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death.

“The number of children being treated at Alder Hey for effects and complications of measles is increasing (we have treated 17 since June).”

They warned they treat children with compromised immunity due to other health issues in the hospital, which makes them more susceptible to infections such as measles.

“We can prevent people, including children, from contracting measles through vaccination,” the hospital added. “Please protect yourself and vulnerable children and young people by ensuring you are fully vaccinated.”

The child is believed to be the second to succumb to an acute measles infection in Britain this decade.

The news comes amid falling coverage of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine across England, with the most recent data showing an 88 per cent coverage compared to a high of 95 per cent in 2016-17.

The annual report for 2023-24 showed London had the lowest coverage rates at 81.8 per cent, while the North West had 88.8 per cent. The target set by the World Health Organisation for MMR vaccine coverage is 95 per cent.

None of the routine childhood vaccinations have met the target for coverage since 2021, meaning youngsters are at risk of catching illnesses such as measles, meningitis and whooping cough, according to a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report released earlier this month.

While some families are hesitant to vaccinate due to fears about the jabs, many face issues that could be resolved with more support, including addressing difficulties booking appointments and better continuity of NHS care, the report said.

Measles is highly contagious and, in rare cases, can be fatal. Symptoms usually begin with a runny nose, sneezing, coughing and a high temperature.

A measles rash follows a few days after, starting on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body. The virus can also cause red, sore eyes.

From 26 May to 29 June, there were 133 cases of measles reported to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Last month UKHSA published a warning over continued outbreaks and the risk of infection on holiday after data showed 420 measles cases were reported in England between January and May 2025.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA: “Measles is one of the most highly infectious diseases and spreads rapidly among those who are unvaccinated. It is a particularly nasty disease for any child and sadly for some children can be serious, leading to complications especially in young infants and those with a weakened immune system, and on rare occasions can tragically cause death.”

She urged all parents to ensure their child is immunised, adding: “Measles is preventable with two doses of the MMR vaccine, but many thousands of children around the country are still not vaccinated and may be at risk.

“MMR offers the best protection against measles and importantly vaccination is also about not spreading the disease to others who may be more vulnerable, such as those who are immunosuppressed and young infants aged under one who have not yet had the vaccine.”