New: Lee Anderson's Real World

The broadcast opened with GB News headlines read by Cameron Walker. King Charles was not expected to offer an official apology or financial reparations to Commonwealth nations for Britain's role in the historic transatlantic slave trade, ahead of Caribbean visits including a realm visit to the Bahamas, where campaigners warned him not to come empty-handed; a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the visit would not shy away from the darkest days of the past and that the King acts solely on government advice. French President Emmanuel Macron said G7 leaders had agreed to release up to 100 million barrels from strategic reserves within four months and take no measures restricting energy and petrol product exchange between partner countries. The average UK price of a litre of diesel passed £2 for the first time at £2.01, according to the RAC, while Transport Minister Keir Mather said Britain's diesel supply was robust and resilient. Andy Burnham faced division in his own cabinet after leaving open the possibility of Britain eventually rejoining the European Union; the Prime Minister said Brexit had done more harm than good and promised to examine options for a closer relationship with Brussels, while Nigel Farage called it a very big political mistake and Reform UK spokesperson Robert Jenrick said the party was in permanent election mode. Manchester City lost its appeal against a commission decision finding it guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules; the club said the opinion contained clear material errors and was unsafe, the UAE had warned that sanctions could affect future investment, and the FA said the verdict had significant implications for the integrity of the game. Violent protests erupted across France over school conditions, teacher shortages and funding, with around 2,000 arrests and 305 police officers injured.

In the studio, Charlie Peters was joined by Anna Firth and Stephen Pound to discuss Andy Burnham's plan to scrap the pensions triple lock in its current form to introduce a new social care package. Firth called it a betrayal of pensioners, businesses and working people, said savings should be sought from welfare, the foreign aid budget, health and disability benefits and the asylum bill, and argued the change would take from pensioners while saving only about £600 million a year. Pound said the triple lock was unsustainable, noted the change would not come in until 2030 and pensions would still rise in line with inflation, and argued for an integrated social care package so people would not have to sell their homes. They also discussed the winter fuel allowance and means-testing, with Firth saying Labour was anti-pensioner and Pound rejecting that claim and pointing to the minimum income guarantee.

Later, John Parry, a Welsh grandfather, described walking from Lowestoft to St David's Head, a charity trek of 526 miles over seven weeks and two days after being diagnosed with bladder and kidney cancer and having markers in his blood. He said he raised money for Macmillan, Cancer Research UK and hospices, credited his family and son-in-law for support, and challenged two major Reform UK donors to give £100,000 per charity per person, reaching £800,000 toward a £1 million target so he would undertake a longer walk. In a later EU discussion, Stephen Pound and Anna Firth debated whether Andy Burnham should take Britain back into the European Union, with Pound saying the democratic decision had been taken but arguing for closer economic ties and European cooperation on military threats, and Firth saying reopening Brexit was divisive and that the EU was a declining bloc. The programme ended with influencer and DJ Jodie Weston discussing her career, balancing motherhood with DJing, the post-COVID decline of British nightlife, changing Gen Z habits, immersive events abroad, and whether performers should make political statements.