6-across – __ generation; 2020 neologism for those who have grown up in the smartphone age : GOLDFISH

7-across – Green __, 2020 neologism for a serious shock to the global financial system : SWAN

8-across – A citizen of Sanaa, perhaps : YEMENI

9-across – __ Model Management, agency that brought us 18 : TRUMP

10-across – Sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant : EXTRAS

11-across – Poison produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant : RICIN

13-across – 2003 novel by Monica Ali : BRICK

15-across – 2020 neologism for acne made worse by wearing a mask : MASKNE

18-across – __ Hilton, star of The Simple Life : PARIS

19-across – See 7 Down : ARABIA

21-across – See 13 : LANE

22-across – Mythical city of gold : ELDORADO

1-down – Wendy __, poet who compared men to bloody buses : COPE

2-down – Liturgical season leading up to Christmas : ADVENT

3-down – 2020 neologism for a way of meeting online, in a relatively small group : DIGITAL

4-down – The second of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours : WHITE

5-down – See 3 : CAMPFIRE

7-down – State effectively under the rule of Mohammed bin Salman : SAUDI

10-down – See 20 : EUROPEAN

12-down – 2020 neologism for a home decor aesthetic combining the best of, say, Ikea and Muji? : JAPANDI

14-down – Marie __, two-time Nobel laureate : CURIE

16-down – Maori-language greeting meaning hello or cheers : KIAORA

17-down – Ski resort town in Colorado : ASPEN

20-down – Group of languages including Spanish, Russian and Punjabi : INDO

7-across – Hampshire – and New Hampshire town : ANDOVER

9-across – Emily __, star of Sicario : BLUNT

10-across – __ & Sprüngli, Swiss chocolatiers : LINDT

11-across – City where Macaulay Culkin was left home, alone? : CHICAGO

12-across – City where a Baghdad servant had an appointment with Death? : SAMARRA

14-across – Elliott __, Marlowe in The Long Goodbye : GOULD

16-across – City where Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx battled vice in 2006? : MIAMI

18-across – City where Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney were briefly out of sight in 1998? : DETROIT

21-across – City where Tom Hanks couldn’t sleep in 1993? : SEATTLE

23-across – City where Scarlett Johansson was lost in translation in 2003? : TOKYO

25-across – Nigel __, Welsh rugby referee : OWENS

26-across – Scholar for whom the EU’s student mobility programme is named : ERASMUS

1-down – City where Matthew McConaughey bought antiretroviral drugs in 2013? : DALLAS

2-down – Yemen port city : ADEN

3-down – James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi film : AVATAR

4-down – Town where Frances McDormand put up three billboards in 2017? : EBBING

5-down – Town to which Russell Crowe and Christian Bale took the 3:10 in 2007? : YUMA

6-down – Market town in Gloucestershire : STROUD

8-down – Actor who defended Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in 11 in 2002 : RICHARDGERE

13-down – IATA code for international visitors to 16 across : MIA

15-down – __ Monye, rugby player and broadcaster : UGO

16-down – City that did not believe in tears in 1980? : MOSCOW

17-down – Ob tributary : IRTYSH

19-down – Renaissance artist whose self-portrait : TITIAN

20-down – 2005 South African gangster movie : TSOTSI

22-down – Where John Mills dreamed of ice cold beer in 1958? : ALEX

24-down – Low class wool – or high class musicians in Spandau Ballet : KEMP

7-across – See 10 : OCASIO

8-across – First of The Inheritance Cycle novels by Christopher Paolini : ERAGON

9-across – Founder, with Andreas Baader, of the German Red Army Faction : GUDRUNENSSLIN

10-across – The representative for New York’s 14th congressional district : ALEXANDRIA

13-across – Former Chelsea footballer who has played for both Brazil and Spain : DIEGOCOSTA

17-across – The prime minister of New Zealand : JACINDAARDERN

19-across – Project __, the US programme to put a man on the moon in the 1960s : APOLLO

20-across – See 10 : CORTEZ

1-down – Marshall __, Canadian philosopher credited with the phrase, the global village : MCLUHAN

2-down – Country known in Russian as the CCCP : USSR

3-down – __-Herzegovina, Balkan country, capital Sarajevo : BOSNIA

4-down – __ Brezhnev, former leader of 2 : LEONID

5-down – Chinese garments favoured by supporters of the Communist Party after the civil war : MAOSUITS

6-down – David __, aka Ziggy Stardust : BOWIE

11-down – Python who always looks on the bright side of life? : ERICIDLE

12-down – RAF jet capable of near-vertical take off : HARRIER

14-down – The first given name of George Osborne? : GIDEON

15-down – Tom __, author of Clear and Present Danger : CLANCY

16-down – City at one end of the Tamiami Trail : TAMPA

18-down – River in Devon giving its name to the moor where it starts and the mouth where it reaches the sea : DART

7-across – Mary O’Hara’s equine friend? : FLICKA

8-across – Angela __, pioneering BBC newsreader : RIPPON

9-across – 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker : BIRD

10-across – __ Ondimba, president of Gabon : ALIBONGO

11-across – US chocolate manufacturer based in Pennsylvania : HERSHEY

13-across – A small utility boat : SKIFF

15-across – Jessica __, actor who won an Oscar for her performance in Blue Sky : LANGE

17-across – Clint Eastwood’s production company : MALPASO

20-across – The first mate of the Pequod in Moby-Dick : STARBUCK

21-across – The capital of Togo : LOME

22-across – The capital of Rwanda : KIGALI

23-across – George Frideric __, composer : HANDEL

1-down – __ Meinhof, journalist and activist : ULRIKE

2-down – Missile used by Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf war : SCUD

3-down – Bob Fosse’s musical based on the experience of Christopher Isherwood : CABARET

4-down – Getafix’s occupation : DRUID

5-down – Boer war battle, for which a stand at Anfield is named : SPIONKOP

6-down – Ken Russell’s film about the last years of Delius : SONGOF

12-down – For whom Malik Bendjelloul searched in 2012? : SUGARMAN

14-down – James Mangold’s 2005 biopic of Johnny Cash : WALKTHE

16-down – __ 8800, one of the earliest microcomputers : ALTAIR

18-down – See 6 : SUMMER

19-down – The object of Winston Smith’s desire in 1984 – until he enters Room 101 : JULIA

21-down – See 14 : LINE

7-across – Malcolm __, Peter Capaldi’s character in The Thick of It : TUCKER

8-across – 2001 movie starring Audrey Tautou : AMELIE

9-across – See 19 Down : LANE

10-across – Australian outlaw and folk legend : NEDKELLY

11-across – Country bordered by Botswana and Angola : NAMIBIA

13-across – See 6 Down : PIPER

15-across – Citizen of Muscat : OMANI

17-across – Country bordered by Sudan and Djibouti : ERITREA

20-across – __ Cuts; 1960s reductions to Britain’s railway networks : BEECHING

21-across – 21 in 1978 : PAUL

22-across – Landmark near Staithes on the Yorkshire coast : OLDNAB

23-across – Fay __, actor who plays Jenny Gifford in Cold Feet : RIPLEY

1-down – The capital of Zambia : LUSAKA

2-down – Hebridean island : SKYE

3-down – The current 21 : FRANCIS

4-down – Character played by Olivia Newton-John in Grease : SANDY

5-down – 21 from 2005-2013 : BENEDICT

6-down – Actor known for her Olivier award winning performance in Yerma : BILLIE

12-down – 21 from 1721-1724 : INNOCENT

14-down – 21 from 1831-1846 : GREGORY

16-down – Breakfast food developed by Maximilian Bircher-Benner : MUESLI

18-down – Short musical studies for which Chopin, for example, is known : ETUDES

19-down – The first woman to be a bishop in the Church of England : LIBBY

21-down – Alexander _, poet who presumed not God to scan? : POPE