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Hero
Dominic Cummings, whose lockdown-busting “eye test” boosted tourism in Barnard Castle to record highs last year. The County Durham town’s 12th-century fortress, which belonged to Richard III, had 20% more visitors than it did in 2019.
Villains
Two Irishmen, who carried their dead pal to the post office and propped him up at the counter in an apparent attempt to collect his pension. The pair claim the man was alive when they set off. “We’re hardly going to drag a dead man down the road,” one said, adding: “He probably died in the post office – at the ice-cream freezer, I’d say that’s where he dropped off.”
Villain
YouTuber Trevor Jacob, who appears to have faked a plane crash to grab attention on social media. The former Olympic snowboarder filmed himself jumping out of a tiny aircraft when the propellor appears to stall, telling viewers “I’m just so happy to be alive” after landing in a prickly bush. Aviation experts were quick to cast doubt, particularly over why he was wearing a parachute in the first place. It’s “stupid”, one flying instructor told The New York Times. “You don’t fly a little airplane with a parachute.”
Heroes
Harry and Meghan, at least in Gawker’s view, for their “extraordinary and enviable ability to appear booked and busy” while refusing to do any actual work. Take the £18m deal they signed with Spotify to make a podcast. In 13 months, they’ve managed just one, 33-minute Christmas episode announcing the existence of the programme. Since then, zip. Perhaps they’re setting a good example and “taking their parental leave very seriously”.