The comedian dominated Saturday night TV in the 1980s, with his sketch shows attracting 18 million viewers. Next came the West End musicals and sitcoms. But in 2016 he quietly disappeared from the limelight. What happened?

The electronic gates slide open to reveal a gorgeous Portuguese villa, a swimming pool and a beansprout of a man. “You’ve made me feel very important,” says Russ Abbot with a smile. “Come in!”

It’s more than 30 years since Abbot, aged 78, dominated Saturday night TV with his sketches, songs and impersonations. He appealed to all sorts. Kids, parents and grandparents united around the TV – first for Russ Abbot’s Madhouse, which ran from 1980 to 1985, then The Russ Abbot Show, from 1986 to 1991. He was joined by the inimitable Bella Emberg and a cast of young comics, including Les Dennis, Dustin Gee and Michael Barrymore. But make no mistake, it was Abbot’s show and the 80s was his decade. At his peak, he attracted 18 million viewers an episode.

North Shields’ Gabriele Keenaghan was 12 when she was evacuated from Nazi Austria in 1939. She remembers the shock of leaving her family at Westbahnhof station

Gabriele Keenaghan still remembers the day in April 1939 when she said goodbye to her grandmother at a Vienna railway station for a Kindertransport to Britain – tears were strictly forbidden.

“I was apprehensive and I was worried because Nazis in black uniforms were on the platform,” she said. “I was only 12 years old so I think they were frightening … terrifying.

Ignore the party poopers who say toddlers spoil the fun. I’ve braved the raves with my twins – and I’ve seen how families add to the magic of events

The woman I used to be died the day I gave birth to twins. That life – full of spontaneous travel, impulsive decisions and a decorated social calendar – evaporated, giving way to a blank canvas of motherhood and two glorious little human beings. While I was inside that summer, many of my friends continued on their child-free paths. They posted pictures of themselves enjoying festivals, sleeping in tents with pop-up communities that I used to be a part of.

So when the twins turned one last summer and we’d found our rhythm, I decided to take on the challenge of sharing the magic of live music with them. It went better than I expected. Before their second birthday, we had danced at day festivals such as Situation Dance, put on by Femi Koleoso from Ezra Collective, camped out overnight in the Brecon Beacons for Green Man and been to the child-focused TOTFest.

Iman Amrani is a freelance writer and producer

Rightwing voices seize on plans to offer Black children an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool in the German capital

It was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre.

But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats.

Manchester United’s under-powered attack, Brentford’s £39m bargain and Dewsbury-Hall delivers for Everton

Arsenal’s treatment of Gabriel Martinelli has been questioned by Ian Wright after the Brazil forward was left out of their squad for Friday’s opening game against Coventry. Martinelli turned down a move to Galatasaray last week after Arsenal had agreed a fee with the Turkish club and the former striker Wright revealed on Sky Sports after the Coventry game that no one at the club has spoken to the 25-year-old to discuss his future. “I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say: ‘Yeah, it’s time for him to move him on.’ But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave,” said Wright. “He’s done enough with this squad to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated with at the moment.” Ed Aarons

Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Coventry

Match report: Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa

Bloody noses, ear cleanings, the first sproutings of armpit hair … the photographer reveals how he captured his two babies growing into boys and then men

Not many family photo albums open with images of the twin towers on fire. But for Nick Haymes, it made perfect sense. “When 9/11 happened,” he says, “I realised life was very short.” At the time, he was living in New York, trying to forge a career, while his friend, colleague and future wife Lina was dealing with the fallout of her previous marriage. “It made us realise we should probably get together and have a family. It was this huge historical event, but on a very micro level, it also shaped my relationship with my wife and children.”

Chronograph is a photography book that runs from those terrorist attacks to the present day, tracing the journey of Haymes’s two sons, Philipp and Lawrence, as they grow from drooling babies into young men. We are given a ringside seat as arms get broken, beloved pets die and hairs start sprouting from armpits. The mundane side of life – verrucas, messy kitchens, Lina cleaning out an ear with a cotton bud – is captured in the same way as birthday parties and rites of passage.

UK PM to announce support for France in setting up missile assembly lines during his Kyiv visit, as coalition of willing meets later today

• Burnham visits Ukraine with promise of boost for Kyiv’s long-range missiles

Later today, Burnham will co-chair his first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing – alongside France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz – which will be held in a hybrid format, with some leaders dialling in from their capitals.

I will keep an eye on this for you.

‘Shocking’ breaches such as sweets and crisps at breakfast uncovered just before expansion of free school meals

Three-quarters of secondary schools in England are breaking the rules on food offered to pupils by serving chips, burgers and hash browns too often – and sweets and crisps at breakfast time, according to a report.

“Shocking” breaches of school food standards have been exposed on Monday, in a new analysis of the food provided at almost 400 state secondaries undertaken by Bite Back, a food charity set up by the chef Jamie Oliver.

Defence minister says police ‘need time’ but ‘in the meantime’ the government has told platforms to take down content glorifying dangerous driving

The government has promised that business rate valuations will be “made fairer” for pubs and hotels in England and Wales, as Andy Burnham faces growing calls to help the UK’s struggling hospitality sector.

An independent review for England and Wales will look at improving the system for hospitality venues, which were hit by higher business rate bills this year after the end of pandemic-era relief and when new revaluations took effect.

Just 8,383 jobs for people leaving university were advertised in July, says recruitment website Adzuna

• Business live – latest updates

Graduate job vacancies in the UK have sunk to their lowest level since they started being tracked a decade ago, according to a recruiting website.

Just 8,383 jobs for people leaving university were advertised in July, Adzuna reported on Monday, down 45% compared with the same point last year and the lowest since the company started gathering the data in 2016.