The Weekly News celebrates its 165-year history in final edition

After 165 years and 8,600 issues, Wednesday sees publication of the final edition of our sister paper The Weekly News.

When W & DC Thomson was formed in 1886, The Weekly News was one of two papers – along with The Courier – which passed into the company’s ownership.

It is one of only seven titles in DC Thomson history to sell over a million copies weekly at its peak – fourth in the league table behind Dandy, Beano and The Sunday Post.

The final issue is a celebratory, specially-extended edition.

Writers past and present reflect upon their life in The Weekly News – from meeting US President Bill Clinton to meeting Hercules the bear; from feeling a knife getting a bit too close to an ear during a circus assignment to driving a 55-ton tank; from being involved in a Sea King helicopter rescue operation to being banned by Sir Alex Ferguson!

I like The Weekly News, it is a family paper and as someone in the public eye I am always happy to be in it. It never stabs people in the back and that’s very rare these days. That’s the really good thing about The Weekly News – you can trust it.

                                                                           – Sir Ken Dodd

 

We recall interviews with some of the biggest names in showbiz – Barbra Streisand to George Clooney; Norman Wisdom to Cilla Black; Ken Dodd to Sean Connery.

We pay tribute to the 10 greatest icons in Weekly News front-page history.

Our eight-page Weekly News archive pullout includes interviews with Joan Collins from 1961, Pat Phoenix from 1966 and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Princess Diana bringing up baby Prince William from 1983.

There are a record-breaking number of cartoons – 36.

Six pages of puzzles, plus The Great Weekly News Not In The Pub Quiz, 165 Years, 165 Questions.

Three short stories.

An extended sports section featuring the 10 top sports stars of all time.

THE FINAL-EVER WEEKLY NEWS. ON SALE WEDNESDAY MAY 27. £1.40.