Well, I have no idea how I solved the issue but it's now loading properly and the latest update is installed!
My internet connection is good at approx 72Mbps
My laptop is plenty powerful being an i9 processor with 32Gb RAM etc etc.
I had tried many of the suggestions - reboot from cold - using Task Manager to end FS - and other things. Then all of a sudden it decided to work!
Strange!
Thanks for all the advice.
Stay Safe