7-across – 22/20’s new memoir : KIDSWAIT

8-across – See 7 : TILL

9-across – System of weights for precious metals : TROY

10-across – Series of spy stories by Somerset Maugham : ASHENDEN

11-across – The Israeli parliament : KNESSET

13-across – Carl __,long-serving Daily Express cartoonist : GILES

15-across – Port on the Isle of Wight : COWES

17-across – See 7 : YOUHEAR

20-across – See 22 : MINNELLI

21-across – <span>The </span><i>nom de guerre</i><span> of Josip Broz</span> : TITO

22-across – Star of the movie version of 3 : LIZA

23-across – A place in Dorset – or in the imagination of Jonathan Swift : LILLIPUT

1-down – Beeban __,director of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,and member of the House of Lords : KIDRON

2-down – Children’s guessing game – or a 2002 movie starring Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson : ISPY

3-down – Film and musical based on the works of Christopher Isherwood : CABARET

4-down – __ skin,also known as pruritus : ITCHY

5-down – Catherine __,character played by Saskia Reeves in the Slow Horses series : STANDISH

6-down – Golden __,what Jason sought : FLEECE

12-down – __ &amp; Sons,New York-based piano manufacturer : STEINWAY

14-down – What Dian Fossey saw in the mist? : GORILLA

16-down – Ian Falconer’s fictional pig : OLIVIA

18-down – 1981 film starring 22/20 and Dudley Moore : ARTHUR

19-down – Saudi oasis city,known for its rock art and formations : ALULA

21-down – See 7 Across : THIS

1-across – What the Rolling Stones couldn’t get? : SATISFACTION

8-across – “Cry ‘__!’,and let slip the dogs of war” – Shakespeare : HAVOC

9-across – Jane __,director of The Power of the Dog : CAMPION

10-across – A chronic disease – or a unit of digital information : TB

11-across – See 24 : BRITANNICA

13-across – What Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt tried to catch in the Yemen? : SALMON

14-across – Alkaloid substance derived from poppies : OPIATE

18-across – See 1 Down : MISCELLANY

20-across – The __,TV series set in southern California : OC

22-across – __,unreliable narrator of Lolita : HUMBERT

23-across – Pam __,star of Jackie Brown : GRIER

24-across – General knowledge reference work first published in 1768 : ENCYCLOPEDIA

1-down – The first of a series of general knowledge compendia published in 2003 : SCHOTTS

2-down – Russian republic in southern Siberia,capital Kyzyl : TUVA

3-down – Thriller starring Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro about US conflict with a Mexican drug cartel : SICARIO

4-down – Louis May __,author of Little Women : ALCOTT

5-down – Fast-talking meerkat in The Lion King : TIMON

6-down – See 1 : ORIGINAL

7-down – Mister God,This is __ : ANNA

12-down – Sir Harry __,character from Tom Brown’s School Days : FLASHMAN

15-down – Australian signals intelligence centre – and a TV series based on it : PINEGAP

16-down – Microsoft 24,first published in 1993 : ENCARTA

17-down – A boat used for temporary accommodation : FLOTEL

18-down – The boundary between the crust and the mantle of planet Earth : MOHO

19-down – What Gray composed in a country churchyard? : ELEGY

21-down – Nickname given to Charlie Parker : BIRD

1-across – Whiskey __! 1949 Ealing comedy : GALORE

4-across – My Friend __,1941 novel by Mary O’Hara : FLICKA

9-across – __ Guevara,aka “Che” : ERNESTO

10-across – Baroness __,Conservative politician who said her party was known as racist : WARSI

11-across – Supporting pieces at the apex of an arch or vault : KEYSTONES

12-across – Poem that Keats wrote to a nightingale? : ODE

13-across – Australian state which includes Sydney : NEWSOUTHWALES

17-across – Analogue video encoding system used in the UK : PAL

18-across – Latin phrase meaning “in the year of the reign” : ANNOREGNI

20-across – The late queen’s preferred breed of dog : CORGI

21-across – Red __ Russian novel and spy movie : SPARROW

22-across – The study of the relationship between integers : NUMBER

23-across – See 22 : THEORY

1-down – The __,nickname given to 30 St Mary Axe,London : GHERKIN

2-down – Sir __ Henry,comedian : LENNY

3-down – Italian dish based on rice : RISOTTO

5-down – Oxford mathematician and author of 18’s Adventures in Wonderland : LEWIS

6-down – See 5 : CARROLL

7-down – __ With Me,anthem associated with the FA Cup Final : ABIDE

8-down – Insect’s home best left undisturbed? : HORNETSNEST

14-down – Another name for tungsten : WOLFRAM

15-down – Vain character in The Transformers – or a road to conflict? : WARPATH

16-down – Ramp from which a ship is launched : SLIPWAY

17-down – Hickory cultivated for its edible nut : PECAN

18-down – A Town Like __,novel by Nevil Shute : ALICE

19-down – Greta __,golden era movie star : GARBO

1-across – US civil rights leader who died in February : JESSE

4-across – See 1 : JACKSON

8-across – Cataract on the Nile,between lakes Kyoga and Albert : KABALEGAFALLS

9-across – Justin __,English golfer : ROSE

10-across – Lightly processed cane sugar : DEMERARA

12-across – Host cities of the 2026 Winter Olympics : MILANO

13-across – Cry for a repeat performance? : ENCORE

16-across – The Syrian capital : DAMASCUS

18-across – Unsolicited electronic mail : SPAM

21-across – Moses’s biblical cry in Exodus? : LETMYPEOPLEGO

22-across – See 12 : CORTINA

23-across – Japanese dish made from vinegared rice : SUSHI

1-down – The __,DC Comics supervillain and agent of chaos : JOKER

2-down – Religious figure after whom the cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square is named : STBASIL

3-down – Jennifer __,star of the BBC’s 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice : EHLE

4-down – Mick __,Rolling Stone : JAGGER

5-down – Stimulant found in coffee : CAFFEINE

6-down – Condiment made from tomato,chillies,onions and lime : SALSA

7-down – Ilie __,1970s tennis maverick – and novelist : NASTASE

11-down – The Welsh name for Holy Island : YNYSGYBI

12-down – The first note taught on the piano? : MIDDLEC

14-down – Legendary bard who travelled with Jason and the Argonauts? : ORPHEUS

15-down – A Greek cry of discovery : EUREKA

17-down – The Latin for mother : MATER

19-down – A native of Aotearoa? : MAORI

20-down – Term used to catalogue works of composers : OPUS

1-across – __ Cymru,Welsh political party : PLAID

4-across – Motown? : DETROIT

8-across – Lee __,one of the voices of Bob the Builder? : INGLEBY

9-across – Supergiant star in Cygnus forming the ‘head’ of the Northern Cross : DENEB

10-across – Blackadder’s assistant known for his cunning plans : BALDRICK

11-across – Francisco de __,Spanish artist whose works include The Third of May 1808 : GOYA

13-across – Kathleen __,philosopher and gender-critical feminist : STOCK

15-across – Eric Clapton song? : LAYLA

19-across – Indian city,site of the Taj Mahal : AGRA

20-across – Chicago gangster,died 1947 : ALCAPONE

23-across – Swahili word meaning freedom : UHURU

24-across – Liquid used to preserve and enhance wooden furniture : TEAKOIL

25-across – A novel by Joyce or a poem by Tennyson? : ULYSSES

26-across – Literary technique used by Austen and others : IRONY

1-down – Kim __,intelligence officer and Soviet spy : PHILBY

2-down – __ of the North,Gateshead landmark : ANGEL

3-down – Marlene __,actor and reputed spy? : DIETRICH

4-down – Solid form of carbon dioxide : DRYICE

5-down – Ron __,long-serving general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union : TODD

6-down – Score that the defending team regrets? : OWNGOAL

7-down – Harriet __,abolitionist and Union spy? : TUBMAN

12-down – Stage name of Margaretha MacLeod,dancer and spy : MATAHARI

14-down – Location of Fawlty Towers : TORQUAY

16-down – Mordechai __,Israeli whistleblower : VANUNU

17-down – Units of Polish currency : ZLOTYS

18-down – Sidney __,British spy in Moscow during the Russian civil war : REILLY

21-down – Convex decorative moulding : OVOLO

22-down – There were five of them named Moe? : GUYS