Imagine if your friend told you they’d met this great guy – an actual prince, no less! And he’s super handsome, extremely smart and really into poetry. Then she reveals a few minor flaws in his character, including news that he’s murdered her father and desecrated his corpse – and that he regularly likes to humiliate her in public. You’d probably warn her off, wouldn’t you? Yet, for centuries, we’ve been collectively excusing exactly such behaviour from one of our most studied literary characters. When Hamlet does it, oh, it’s fine! He’s complicated! He’s tormented! He’s very sensitive!

All this is what makes the Deadbeat Dane? Shakespeare’s greatest villain – he does terrible things, treats his nearest and dearest like garbage and manipulates us all into going along for the ride. Read a full rundown of his shameless antics here.

It’s tiers all round in England this weekend, as various regions head into different states of lockdown. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, meanwhile, have their own rules in place. At a confusing time, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to where we are at on a vaccine for Covid to keep you up to date.

If you need a little hope, have a look at the story of the northern white rhinoceros. There are only two of these animals left and they are both female. That’s obviously not a great scenario for the survival of the species. However, scientists are working hard, using sperm samples from deceased males, to save them from extinction.

This week we’ve also been looking to the moon to explain our existence and facing down invasive crayfish.

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