The ''Daily Star Sunday'' is a weekly

tabloid newspaper A tabloid is a newspaper format characterized by its compact size, smaller than a broadsheet. The term originates from the 19th century, when the London-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Burroughs Wellcome & Co. used the term to de ...

published in the United Kingdom. It was launched as a sister title to the '' Daily Star'' on 15 September 2002. The ''Daily Star Sunday'' is published by

Express Newspapers Northern & Shell (holding company name Northern and Shell Network Ltd) is a British publishing group, founded in December 1974 and owned since then by Richard Desmond. Formerly a publisher of pornographic magazines including '' Penthouse'' and '' ...

, which along with the ''Daily Star'' also publishes the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' and ''Sunday Express''. The group was formerly owned by

Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman, and former Pornography, pornographer. According to the 2021 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the fo ...

Northern and Shell Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

company but is now part of

Reach plc Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. It is one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national ''Daily Mirror'', '' ...

(formerly Trinity Mirror). The paper predominantly features stories about celebrities, sport, and news and

gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...

about popular television programmes, such as soap operas and

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

shows. The current editor is Denis Mann, who replaced Stuart James after Reach plc took control of the title in 2018.

Regular features

The newspaper features a picture of a glamorous woman on Page 3. It is always nudity-free. Other regular features in the ''Daily Star Sunday'' include Bushell On The Box, a TV column by

Garry Bushell Garry Bushell (born 13 May 1955) is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author, musician and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Cockney Oi! bands GBX and the Gonads. He managed the New York C ...

, a film column by Andy Lea and Ed Gleave's Hot TV column. Football, racing and rugby league make up the bulk of the sports pages, with the weekend's football action covered in depth in the Result pullout. In addition, the Irish edition covers Gaelic Games and the domestic soccer scene. The newspaper features a large amount of showbiz coverage, including many reality TV and soap stories. There is also weekly coverage of troops, crime and consumer stories. It celebrated its tenth anniversary in late 2012.

Controversy

Madeleine McCann

Both the ''Daily Star Sunday'' and its daily equivalent, as well as its stablemates the ''

'' and ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'', featured heavy coverage of the

disappearance of Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person, who at the age of 3 disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ...

in May 2007. In 2008 the McCann family sued the ''Star'' and ''Express'' for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. The action concerned more than 100 stories across the ''Daily Express'', ''Daily Star'' and their Sunday sisters, which accused the McCanns of involvement in their daughter's disappearance. The newspapers' coverage was regarded by the McCanns as grossly defamatory. In a settlement at the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

, the newspapers agreed to run a front-page apology to the McCanns on 19 March 2008, publish another apology on the front pages of the Sunday editions on 23 March and make a statement of apology at the High Court. They also agreed to pay costs and substantial damages, which the McCanns plan to use to aid their search for their daughter. In its apology, the ''Daily Star'' apologised for printing "stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and for covering it up" and stated that "We now recognise that such a suggestion is absolutely untrue and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance."

Editors

Hugh Whittow Hugh Whittow is a British former newspaper editor. Whittow worked for the ''Western Telegraph'' and the '' South Wales Echo'', before moving to London to work on the '' London Evening News'', and then the '' Daily Star''. In the mid-1980s, he j ...

(2002–03) * Gareth Morgan (2003–2013) *Peter Carbery (2013–15) *Stuart James (2015–18) *Denis Mann (2018–present)

Political allegiance

Like its sister paper the ''Daily Star'', the ''Daily Star Sunday'' carries fewer political stories than its rivals, and it has never openly supported one political party. However its political stance has been seen to be more centre-ground than the right-of-centre ''Daily Star'', and when the daily paper was accused of supporting the far-right

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) was a Far-right politics, far-right, Islamophobia, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and Advocacy group, pressure group that employed street demo ...

, the Sunday version pointedly spoke out against the group.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom National newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 2002 Newspapers published by Reach plc Newspapers published in London Northern & Shell Sunday newspapers published in the United Kingdom