diff --git a/lib/iris/tests/test_coding_standards.py b/lib/iris/tests/test_coding_standards.py
index bef921b386..6cea9dc001 100644
--- a/lib/iris/tests/test_coding_standards.py
+++ b/lib/iris/tests/test_coding_standards.py
@@ -225,6 +225,11 @@ def test_license_headers(self):
             ):
                 with open(full_fname) as fh:
                     content = fh.read()
+                    if content.startswith("#!"):
+                        # account for files with leading shebang directives
+                        # i.e., first strip out the shebang line before
+                        # then performing license header compliance checking
+                        content = "\n".join(content.split("\n")[1:])
                     if not content.startswith(LICENSE_TEMPLATE):
                         print(
                             "The file {} does not start with the required "
diff --git a/tools/release_do_nothing.py b/tools/release_do_nothing.py
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index c039a5b16d..c530d0c459
--- a/tools/release_do_nothing.py
+++ b/tools/release_do_nothing.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
 # Copyright Iris contributors
 #
 # This file is part of Iris and is released under the LGPL license.
@@ -280,6 +281,18 @@ def finalise_whats_new(
         message = f"In {rsts.release.name}: set the page title to:\n{whatsnew_title}\n"
         _wait_for_done(message)
 
+        message = (
+            f"In {rsts.release.name}: ensure the page title underline is "
+            "the exact same length as the page title text."
+        )
+        _wait_for_done(message)
+
+        dropdown_title = f"\n{release_strings.series} Release Highlights\n"
+        message = (
+            f"In {rsts.release.name}: set the sphinx-design dropdown title to:{dropdown_title}"
+        )
+        _wait_for_done(message)
+
         message = (
             f"Review {rsts.release.name} to ensure it is a good reflection of "
             f"what is new in {release_strings.series}."
@@ -355,8 +368,9 @@ def cut_release(
     if is_release_candidate:
         message = (
             "This is a release candidate - include the following instructions "
-            "for Conda-installing:\n"
-            "conda install -c conda-forge/label/rc_iris iris;"
+            "for installing with conda or pip:\n"
+            f"conda install -c conda-forge/label/rc_iris iris={release_strings.release}\n"
+            f"pip install scitools-iris=={release_strings.release}"
         )
         _wait_for_done(message)
 
@@ -379,6 +393,13 @@ def cut_release(
     )
     _break_print(message)
 
+    url = "https://github.com/SciTools/iris/actions/workflows/ci-wheels.yml"
+    message = (
+        f"Visit {url} to monitor the building, testing and publishing of "
+        "the Iris sdist and binary wheel to PyPI."
+    )
+    _wait_for_done(message)
+
 
 def check_rtd(
     release_strings: ReleaseStrings, is_release_candidate: bool