Handsome, charming, a "gentle giant" - Katie Yates believed Jason Smith was a real catch after meeting him on a dating app.

But within months he had subjected her to relentless physical and mental abuse before raping her and attempting to drown her in the bath just before Christmas.

Katie, 42 and from Cardiff, has waived her anonymity as a victim of sexual assault to warn women to be wary of strangers they meet on dating apps who may pose as nice guys in an attempt to lure them in.

"You scroll on all the profiles with smiling photos and slick words but there are some people who should be looking for a therapist, not a girlfriend," she said.

Warning: This story contains distressing content and discussion of domestic abuse

Katie had been single for five years when she signed up to a dating app in February 2018.

At the time she was 35, a single mum of two, and had endured a painful divorce.

Smith, then 29 and a railway maintenance worker, messaged her and things seemed to be going well at first.

"He seemed so warm and friendly - like a gentle giant," Katie said.

"He told me he had a child and loved being a dad. It was a bonus he was handsome, too.

"He complimented me and he asked me lots of questions, like he really wanted to know everything about me."

'He was a real catch'

Warning: Distressing image

Katie, who was a trainee hairdresser at the time, agreed to meet Smith when he asked her to meet him in a local Wetherspoons in his hometown of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

She said: "He greeted me with a big smile and he had the brightest blue eyes. He was incredibly charming with an infectious demeanour.

"We'd talk for hours about everything. I even introduced him to my children.

"I felt so lucky, I believed Jason was a real catch. I honestly wondered why he hadn't been snapped up already."

Katie said Jason turned up at her house weeks into their relationship asked to move in with her temporarily because he'd fallen out with his landlord.

She said she "wasn't ready for things to progress that quickly" but he was "very persuasive and sounded so desperate", so she let him stay.

His behaviour soon changed.

"Jason began accusing me of fancying everyone in sight," she said.

"One day he strangled me until I passed out after accusing me of fancying some random stranger. It was all pure fantasy in his head."

Katie said the abuse and jealousy continued but she struggled to end the relationship.

Smith sometimes called Katie "70 times and demanded" she video-called him so he could see where she was.

On one occasion he told her his ex-girlfriend was "much more beautiful" and another time, Katie found he'd stolen money out of her child's birthday cards.

"I got so used to wearing sunglasses, too, to hide my black eyes," she said.

"I remember one day looking in the mirror and I barely recognised myself. I'd become so thin and fragile with the stress. I even had to give up my hairdressing course because I couldn't concentrate on anything."

'Dad didn't recognise me'

In the week before Christmas in 2018, Smith lost his temper and ripped Katie's clothes and the children's toy elves.

When they returned home from a holiday, he raped her, then four days later he held Katie's head under the water in the bath because he thought she had been flirting with staff at a supermarket.

"He was so strong, my legs splashed frantically in the water. I thought he was going to drown me and I was going to die that moment," she said.

"Finally, he released me as I spluttered and coughed, frantic for breath before he dunked my head under again.

"After he'd finished, I just sat in the bath, shaking and trembling, too terrified to even move."

The following day, Jason beat Katie so badly she contacted her parents in fear of her life.

"My dad didn't recognise me when he saw me. I looked like something out a Halloween movie. When my mum saw me, she broke down and was white with shock," she said.

Katie reported Smith to the police, leading to the end of a 10-month campaign of abuse.

Despite him denying the charges during a trial at Newport Crown Court in 2019, a jury found Smith guilty of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating and he was jailed for 15 years. He was also given a restraining order for 10 years.

Katie said she still suffers "terrible flashbacks and nightmares", adding she is terrified Smith will try to find her when he leaves prison when he is eligible for parole in 2027.

"I believe he will come looking for me and that really frightens me but I don't regret speaking out - he was a danger to women.

"I thought I'd struck lucky when I met Jason, but I'd invited a monster into my life.

"For 10 months, my life was a living hell. It's made me think twice about ever going on a dating app ever again.

"I am lucky to be alive. It's taken a long time to rebuild my life."

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via the BBC Action Line.

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter have been been killed in Syria in an ambush by a lone Islamic State gunman, the US military has said.

The Pentagon said three other service members were injured in the attack, during which the gunman was "engaged and killed".

The identities of those killed are being withheld for 24 hours until their next of kin have been informed.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, said: "Let it be known, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter have been been killed in Syria in an ambush by a lone Islamic State gunman, the US military has said.

The Pentagon said three other service members were injured in the attack, during which the gunman was "engaged and killed".

The identities of those killed are being withheld for 24 hours until their next of kin have been informed.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, said: "Let it be known, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Everyone should "follow the rules" when guidance on single-sex spaces is released, the new head of the equality watchdog has told the BBC.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said "things could be sorted out if there is goodwill and recognition that everybody has rights", and that "nobody is expecting there to be a toilet police".

The guidance, for businesses and services, was drawn up after a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in April that legally a woman should be defined by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

The BBC interview, to be broadcast on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, is Dr Stephenson's first in her new role.

The EHRC's guidance was passed to the government three months ago, but it has yet to publish it formally, which would give the code of practice legal force.

It aims to provide advice to businesses and services - such as women's refuges, gyms, hospitals or shopping centres - about how the Supreme Court ruling should work.

Seen by the BBC after it was leaked, the 300-page document says single-sex spaces should only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise they cease to be single-sex areas.

That would mean, for instance, that a trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman - would not be able to use women's toilets and changing rooms.

The guidance says it may be legitimate for businesses or services to ask people to provide confirmation they are of the eligible sex "by proportionate means".

This has all caused controversy and anger among some transgender campaigners.

Dr Stephenson told the BBC: "Nobody is expecting there to be a toilet police.

"But equally if there are situations where there are complaints about regular problems, then people might need to... improve signage, improve explanations, or make sure they have got alternative provision."

She said she expected both service providers and people using these services to "follow the rules".

Dr Stephenson was challenged on what facilities trans people should use if there were no alternatives, or what businesses should do if they did not have the space or resources to make extra provision.

She said: "There's often unisex provision and where there isn't, as I say, we need to think more broadly about how we make sure those that those facilities are available…

"If you've got, you know, two self-contained cubicles, one of which is labelled men and one of which is labelled women, then the most sensible thing in those circumstances for a service provider to do is to make both of those unisex."

Dr Stephenson was appointed to the role in July and she started earlier this month.

It was greeted with hostility by some trans campaigners, in part because she had donated money to the case of lawyer Allison Bailey, who won part of a tribunal claim that she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical views.

In our interview, Dr Stephenson was adamant she could still be objective when considering trans issues.

She said she donated to the case because she was frustrated by situations where "women were being harassed and losing their jobs on the basis of lawfully held beliefs".

She said she had been concerned by the experiences of some women "when trying to have meetings to discuss proposed changes in the law".

"I thought it was important that actually in a democracy, if there is a proposed change to the law, people should be able to meet and discuss those changes without violence or intimidation," she said.

"If that's taking a side, it's taking a side on the side of kind of democratic norms and open discussion and dialogue."

The full interview will be on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter have been been killed in Syria in an ambush by a lone Islamic State gunman, the US military has said.

The Pentagon said three other service members were injured in the attack, during which the gunman was "engaged and killed".

The identities of those killed are being withheld for 24 hours until their next of kin have been informed.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, said: "Let it be known, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter have been been killed in Syria in an ambush by a lone Islamic State gunman, the US military has said.

The Pentagon said three other service members were injured in the attack, during which the gunman was "engaged and killed".

The identities of those killed are being withheld for 24 hours until their next of kin have been informed.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, said: "Let it be known, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

King Charles has been praised for his candour in talking about his cancer treatment where he highlighted the importance of early detection and screening.

In a recorded video message, broadcast on Channel 4 for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the King said his treatment was being reduced and he urged people to take up offers of cancer screening, saying "early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

The type of cancer he is being treated for has not been revealed and the King, 77, will continue to receive treatment and monitoring.

Clare Garnsey, associate medical director of Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said his message was "very powerful".

The King, who revealed his diagnosis in February last year, is not described as being in remission or "cured" but the regularity of his treatment will be significantly reduced in the new year.

In his video message, recorded in Clarence House two weeks ago, he said that he was "troubled" to learn that nine million people around the UK are not up to date with the cancer screening available to them.

"That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed," he said.

He added: "Too often, I am told, people avoid screening because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable.

"If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.

"A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don't need further tests or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Miss Garnsey said she, "like the majority of health professionals who work in the cancer field" was "really thankful" for what the King said.

"I think the message was very powerful about the importance of early diagnosis and how important it is that we all attend for our screening," she added.

She said it is "really helpful" to healthcare professionals when people in "positions of influence" - such as the King - speak publicly about their experiences with cancer.

These messages highlight that it "can happen to anybody", she said, and raise awareness of the potential symptoms someone may experience.

Royal biographer and friend of King Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby, said the King's message demonstrated the "unique role of the sovereign".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the King's decision to speak openly about his treatment in such "warm, gentle, thoughtful, kind terms" was "quite extraordinary and it has great impact".

Mr Dimbleby said that when it was announced that the King was having treatment for an enlarged prostate in 2024, there was a considerable surge in searches to the NHS website.

"No one else could have done this," he added.

What can be general symptoms of cancer?

Different types of cancer all have their own symptoms - but the NHS says general symptoms can include:

• A new lump or swelling
• Sweating a lot or a high temperature
• Feeling more tired than usual
• Unusual bruising or bleeding
• Unusual pain anywhere in the body
• Unexpected weight loss or loss of appetite
• Needing to pee more often or more urgently, or pain when you pee

Read more on the NHS website.

Until now the King has said little publicly about his illness.

In his video message, King Charles said he knew how "overwhelming" a diagnosis can feel, but stressed that early detection is "key" to give patients the "precious gift of hope".

The NHS has three cancer screening programmes - for bowel, breast and cervical cancer - available to certain age groups.

These tests can detect a problem even before someone experiences symptoms.

In his message, the King also urged people to use the screening checker online tool.

Cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Support said it was "incredibly grateful" to the King for sharing his experience "with such openness and honesty".

"The King's reminder of the importance of screening and early detection is an important message for us all," it added in a statement.

The prime minister said the King's message was "powerful" and that he was "glad" that the King's treatment will be reduced in the new year.

According to Buckingham Palace, the King's recovery has reached a very positive stage and he has "responded exceptionally well to treatment", so much so that doctors will now move his treatment "into a precautionary phase".

The regularity of treatment is going to be significantly reduced - but the King, 77, is not described as being in remission or "cured".

Meanwhile, Dr Harrison Carter, director of screening at NHS England, said the health service "fully supported" the King's call for people to attend screening tests.

"So, when your NHS screening invite arrives, whether it's for cervical or breast screening, or a bowel cancer testing kit through the post, please do make time to take it up."

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Crack open a tub of Celebrations or pull a Terry's Chocolate Orange from a stocking these days, and have you noticed, there seems to be a little less to go around?

Not only that, you might find – no, it is not your imagination – that some popular treats taste a little different, a little less "chocolatey".

To top it all the prices have risen too.

So will your festive favourites still hit the sweet spot this Christmas?

Chocs away

Many of the companies making popular bars and chocolates admit they have been looking for ways to save money. A tried-and-tested one is to replace some of the more expensive ingredients, like cocoa, with cheaper ones, a strategy that's been dubbed "skimpflation".

Some recipes have changed so much that bars like Toffee Crisp, Penguin and others can no longer be called chocolate.

There is even a debate among some chocolate fans over whether the year-round classic Cadbury's Dairy Milk has changed its recipe.

Becca Amy Stock, a TikTok influencer who goes by the name Becca Eats Everything, set herself the task of reviewing every milk chocolate bar at Britain's major supermarkets. The 29-year-old spent six hours and £100 on her rigorous research.

She concluded Dairy Milk was "more oily" since Cadbury's takeover by the American company Mondelez in 2010. And the brand, famous for its "glass and a half" of milk, was less milky, she said.

"You do notice the difference," Becca says, "Cadbury's does not taste how it used to taste."

Milk chocolate in the UK must have at least 20% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids to earn the name chocolate. Without that it has to be labelled "chocolate flavour" not chocolate. Cadbury's Dairy Milk still meets that standard.

Mondelez says it has not been fiddling with the recipe, at least not recently.

"Our Cadbury Dairy Milk products continue to be made with the same delicious recipes that consumers know and love," its spokesperson said. "The cocoa content has not changed for many years."

Crunching the numbers

But it is still one which you'll be paying more for.

Plenty of food manufacturers have been reducing the size of their products, without dropping prices, known as shrinkflation.

And some are also putting prices up, too.

Chocolate prices in supermarkets have risen by more than 18% on average from this time last year, according to market researchers Kantar.

We got these figures by analysing price data collected by market researchers Assosia across four of the UK's biggest grocers, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons, between December 2021 and December 2025.

They show:

• Cadbury's Dairy Milk weighs 10% less, while the cost jumped from £1.86 to £2.75 - a 48% price increase
• Mars Celebrations has shrunk by 23%. The price has risen from £4.25 to £6.11 - a 44% jump
• Terry's Chocolate Orange is 8% smaller, while the cost has risen from £1.49 to £2.25 - a 51% price rise

Mondelez's spokesperson said putting up prices was a "last resort" but ingredients are costing more - in particular cocoa and dairy.

"This means our products continue to be much more expensive to make.

"As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight and increase the list price of some of our Cadbury products," they said.

Mars Wrigley told the BBC higher cocoa prices and manufacturing costs meant they had to "adjust some… product sizes... without compromising on quality or taste."

Sticky costs

So what has caused the price of cocoa and milk to shoot up?

Extreme weather caused by climate change has hit cocoa farmers' crop yields in Africa, says Ghadafi Razak, an academic at Warwick Business School.

Extreme rainfall in India, Brazil and Thailand in 2023, followed by droughts the following year have meant poor harvests in those countries too, pushing up prices.

The extra costs take time to feed through to customers, says Christian Jaccarini, a senior food analyst at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit think tank, which means those extra costs are hitting shop shelves now.

"It takes about 18 months for the impact of a shock to be felt by consumers, so we still have quite a long time with higher prices for chocolate," he said.

Milk prices have shot up too. Diarmaid Mac Colgáin, founder of the Concept Dairy consultancy blames the rising cost of feed, fuel and fertilisers as well as farmers facing higher wage bills and production costs.

He says some brands have substituted palm oil and shea oil for some of the milk to make up the fat content of their chocolate.

Bad taste

Shoppers are becoming increasingly aware of these cost-saving tactics, but that does not mean they are happy about it.

It is the element of unwanted surprise that can leave a bad taste, according to Reena Sewraz, retail editor at consumer champion, Which?

It can feel "especially sneaky" when companies shrink products or downgrade their ingredients she said.

"With Christmas not far away, shoppers will be looking to get the best value from what they buy," she said. "Supermarkets and manufacturers should be more upfront about making these changes. Customers may not love the news - but [then] at least they don't feel misled."

But there is not much you can do about it. For Becca, who insists she's not "chocolated out" despite her chocolate-tasting marathon, quality not quantity is the way to go.

She suggests fellow chocoholics treat themselves to smaller premium bars such as Tony's Chocolonely. They'll cost more but she finds them more satisfying.

She also plans to treat herself to a selection-box on Christmas day.

Otherwise she generally advises against "food snobbery".

"I think supermarket own-brands are actually a much better way to get better quality chocolate."

Zoe Ball is stepping down from presenting her BBC Radio 2 Saturday show.

Announcing her departure on air, she said she would be replaced by broadcaster Emma Willis who she described as a "superwoman".

"I love you all to bits, but I'm not disappearing completely," she told listeners.

Ball's final show is set for 20 December, although she will continue to host specials on the station. She left her Radio 2 breakfast show last December after almost six years in the role, before returning to present the 13:00 to 15:00 GMT Saturday programme.

Speaking on the show on Saturday, Ball, 55, said: "I have loved being betwixt my dear friends Romesh (Ranganathan) and Rylan (Clark), and you know, I love you all to bits, but I'm not disappearing completely.

"Obviously, it'll be Christmas Crooners and I'm doing an eras show in the new year, more on that later."

Ball said she was "thrilled" to announce that Willis would take over the Saturday afternoon slot, "a superwoman who is no stranger to you all".

She added that the new host - known for shows including The Voice, Big Brother and Love Is Blind - "will officially become a member of the Radio 2 family".

In a statement, Willis, 49, said "I'm absolutely chuffed to be joining the family - and it's a real honour to follow in the huge footsteps Zoe leaves behind, who's someone I admire and adore."

She said that she would miss listening to Ball but will "happily be the filling to a Romesh and Rylan sandwich".

Willis hosted a show on Heart Radio from 2012 to 2018 and has presented on Radio 2 as a cover presenter since 2019.