A RADIO presenter has been assassinated by two gunmen while hosting his show on air.
Gleydson Carvalho was murdered when the pair burst into his studio during his midday programme.
They overpowered a receptionist and ordered a studio engineer to take cover under a table. They then shot Mr Carvalho, a staunch critic of local government corruption, once in the head and twice in the chest in Brazil.
The killers fled Radio Liberdade FM in Camocim on a motorbike. Mr Carvalho died while being rushed to hospital.
It is understood the attack happened while music was playing. A colleague told listeners there had been a shooting before the station continued with music.
Friend Autran Santos said outspoken Mr Carvalho would often receive death threats while on air.
He said: “He spoke to me constantly about the threats but said he wasn’t afraid.
“The most serious threats he received were to do with politics. He said he had enemies because of the accusations he made.” The DJ’s lawyer, Marcos Coelho, spoke of his shock. He said: “I never imagined something like this could happen in our city.
“This is a crime that deserves the most rigorous investigation possible by the authorities.”
HE would go on to win the hearts of the nation – but only Bobby Willis won hers.
It was while working as a waitress in a Liverpool café that 17-year-old Cilla first laid eyes on the man who would become the love of her life.
She recalled: “Like it or not, resist it or not, we both sensed that whatever else was going to happen in our lives we were meant for each other, and we’d only be truly happy when we were together.”
And happy they were for four decades until Bobby died in 1999.
From that 1961 meeting at the Zodiac coffee bar, the pair built a showbiz legend, travelled the world, raised three sons and survived the tragic loss of their baby daughter.
Destiny ... the pair sensed they were 'meant for each other' from the beginning AP
But their union did not have the smoothest start.
He was eager to impress and wasn’t entirely truthful about his roots.
He convinced Cilla, who died last week aged 72, he was 21, drove his own car and that his family owned a bakery chain. He was 19, worked in the bakery at Woolworths and had hired the car for that night.
But Cilla gave him another chance, revealing: “Despite the very rocky beginning . . . he couldn’t do any wrong in my eyes.”
Bobby became Cilla’s driver, roadie and later her manager, although they had to keep their relationship from original manager Brian Epstein, who feared his young star’s image would be damaged if her fans knew she had a steady boyfriend.
In order to ensure Cilla’s rise to the top, Bobby sacrificed his own budding singing career.
Also a talented songwriter, he dutifully turned down record deals to devote his time to his partner.
Devoted ... Bobby sacrificed his own career as a singer to support Cilla's
She said: “When it came to Bobby, yes, I gave him an ultimatum. I said, ‘There’s only room for one ego here and I’ve got it’. He sounded like Johnny Mathis. He was a better singer than I was, but he couldn’t do it on stage.”
In a candid interview, Cilla admitted if they had both tried to forge a singing career: “We’d have gone our separate ways. I’m convinced of that.”
But she never forgot Bobby’s sacrifice, describing it as “the most romantic thing he could have done”.
In an interview last year their eldest son, Robert, 44 — known as Bobby Jr — said: “My father always made sure she was happy and well looked after, never looking for the limelight himself.
“She could be broadcasting to millions but she’d look just off camera and there he’d be, making sure everything ran smoothly.”
Bobby was fiercely protective of his girl. He’d been a champion boxer at school and wasn’t afraid to throw a punch if he felt another man was taking advantage.
As she began to rack up No 1s she was offered residencies at London theatres, including the Palladium.
She left behind her beloved Liverpool and moved south with Bobby.
It wasn’t until 1969 that they made the partnership official.
For her wedding, Cilla wore a two-year-old red velvet dress she’d bought for £8 and took up the hem. She had a bouquet of anemones as they wed at a register office on January 25, Bobby’s 27th birthday.
e she’s done something dodgy! Here are our top five troublemaking Tracy moments...
5. A woman scorned
Do you remember when Tracy had a bit of a thing with super-smooth shop owner Dev Alahan in 2002? The two were so loved-up, Dev even let her use his credit card. Poor Tracy thought she’d found her Mr Right... until her step-brother Peter told her that Dev didn’t consider her marriage material. Oops! The revelation resulted in Tracy going absolutely loopy, cutting up his suits and stealing his credit cards to stay in a posh hotel. Well, we’ve all done that, haven’t we? Haven’t we?!
4. Baby for sale
In 2003, we saw one of Corrie's most heartbreakingly horrible storylines. As part of a bet with Bev Unwin that she could get Roy Cropper to sleep with her, Tracy spiked his drink. Of course, us viewers knew Roy was truly, madly and deeply in love with his soulmate, transgender Hayley, but when he woke up in Tracy’s bed, Roy assumed he’d done the dirty and confessed all.
But that wasn’t enough for Tracy. The schemer told Roy and Hayley she was pregnant and would abort the baby unless they bought it from her for £20,000. The couple agreed and Roy even married Tracy to make the baby legally his. True to her word (for once), Tracy – who by then had told Steve McDonald he was the real dad – handed over her baby daughter to the couple, who named her Patience. But then Tracy changed her mind and decided to get her baby back – at Steve’s wedding to Karen, no less – and ended up telling the bride what her hubby-to-be had been up to. Oh, Tracy!
3. Banged up for murder
In January 2007, Tracy truly lived up to her bad girl rep and actually killed someone. The victim? Her philandering builder boyfriend Charlie Stubbs, who she set up as an abusive partner by spreading lies about him before clocking him round the head with an ornament. However, her plea of self-defence fell on deaf ears and she was charged with his murder. Despite being found guilty and sentenced to 15 years behind bars, Ms Barlow wheedled her way out of jail in 2010 after forensic evidence used at her trial was discredited, and returned to the cobbles once more.
2. Manipulation Street
After (yet another) one-night stand with Steve, Tracy became pregnant again in 2011 and set about snaring him. After a scan revealed she was expecting twins, Tracy admitted she didn’t want to be a single mum to Steve’s kids, so he reluctantly gave their relationship another go. However, when Tracy miscarried she was scared her man would scuttle off back to his ex Becky, so she claimed that Becky had pushed her down the stairs, causing her to lose the babies. However, the truth finally came back to haunt Tracy on her wedding day to Steve, when Becky revealed through her medical records that Tracy had lied, and Steve sent her packing. Again.
1. The blazing row
And finally, that flat fire. In an ongoing feud with her banged-up ex-fiancé Rob’s sister Carla (keep up!), Tracy decided to murder Carla. As you do. She broke into her flat and lit a candle to find her target, but then did a runner when she realised Carla was asleep on the sofa, leaving the candle blazing – which then burned the whole place down. Little did Tracy know that stuck in the flat with Carla was her own daughter Amy. But while they both survived, poor old Kal died rescuing them, and runaway Maddie also came to a terrible end as the flat exploded. In her usual swerving style, Tracy was quick to point the finger of blame at Carla, and it worked. Until now...
