TV & Showbiz
Yorkshire actor Robert Aramayo scoops BAFTA alongside other ‘surprise’ northern winners
"This means the world to me, I can’t believe it.”
Hull-born Robert Aramayo was one of the well-deserved winners at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards last night.
Robert Aramayo, 33, took home the coveted Best Actor BAFTA last night (February 22) for his role in I Swear, a biographical drama based on the real life story of John Davidson, a Scottish man with Tourette syndrome.
It's a huge win for the Yorkshire actor, as he was up against major Hollywood heavyweights including Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo Dicaprio (One Battle After Another) and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon).
Not only did he scoop up the Best Actor award, but he also bagged the coveted Rising Star award which was the only one determined by public vote.
Originally from Hull, Robert graduated from the famous Juilliard School in New York and has since built up a number of film credits including Elrong in The Lord of The Rings.
Receiving his dazzling award, Aramayo said: "This is really scary, last time I was at Bafta I dropped the award, so hopefully this will go better.
“I can’t believe this, it really blows my mind. John Davidson is the most remarkable person I’ve ever met and he believes there is so much more we need to learn about Tourette’s."
He continued: “In the words of the film, they need support and understanding. This means the world to me, I can’t believe it.”
And it doesn't stop there for surprise northern winners, as Manchester-raised actress Wunmi Mosaku took home the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her incredible performance in Sinners.
Wunmi was already a BAFTA TV Award winner or her role as Gloria Taylor in the 2016 TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy, but this was her first win on the Film side, and it was a win that has turned the Best Supporting Actress ‘Oscar race’ into one of the more up-in-the-air categories this Awards Season.
Elsewhere in the ceremony, some of the other big winners of the night were One Battle After Another, which scooped Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, among others, while Hamnet took Best British Film, and the film’s lead Jessie Buckley won Best Actress in Leading Role – with the latter being, arguably, the only expected and predicted acting win of the night.
Read more: Jack Whitehall announces huge Leeds gig as part of brand-new stand-up tour
Featured Image – BAFTA (via YouTube)
TV & Showbiz
Reverend and the Makers drop ‘fantastic’ new track featuring Robbie Williams
Danny Jones
Sheffield legend and all-round Yorkshire favourite, Jon McClure, debuted a new Reverend and the Makers song with none other than the one and only Robbie Williams.
What a collaboration.
Reverend and the Makers' new album, Is This How Happiness Feels?, is just around the corner, and we've already heard a couple of great singles from the latest record, but we'd be lying if we weren't left very excited when we saw Robbie's name on the tracklist.
It also looks to have served as yet another reminder that, just like Jon himself, he just seems like a sound bloke who loves making music.
The early reviews coming in have proved unsurprisingly positive, too, with one user writing on socials before it was even dropped: "Hold on.... WHAT?? This is ICONIC!!! I need to listen to this song..."
Others went on to describe the partnership as "Two wonderful and inimitable voices", with others describing it as an "absolute earworm" and "a total vibe", just to name a couple of examples.
The general consensus among fans seems to be that it's a "quality tune".
For anyone wondering how the two teaming up came about, besides the pop icon himself having recently released his new BRITPOP project, the 52-year-old also sat down with McClure on an episode of the Game's Gone podcast with his brother Chris, a.k.a. 'Steve Bracknall', last year.
The two have clearly stayed pally ever since, with another going on to add: "Wonderful song. Fingers crossed Robbie joins you to sing it at Leigh! That would be ace. Then you can sing You Again with Katie. I'm so excited."
For context, the local band will be supporting The Lottery Winners at their first-ever stadium gig at Leigh Sports Village over Wigan way - a group who also opened up for Robbie not long ago. You can listen to the track in full below.
Safe to say that loyal followers of the Steel City veterans and casuals alike will be hoping to hear this one live; as for whether or not Mr Williams will be joining them, we'll have to wait and see.
As mentioned, the eighth Reverend and the Makers studio LP is landing very soon, due for release on Friday, May 8; it also features the likes of actor and Day Fever collaborator Vicky McClure (no relation), in case you haven't heard it already.
However, Jon himself has been pretty busy with another big venture close to home, as he's now a football club chairman, too.
We were lucky enough to chat with him about it earlier this year - here's what he had to say...
Read more:
Featured Images — Reverend and the Makers (via FB)
TV & Showbiz
Football Focus cancelled by the BBC after more than half a century
Danny Jones
In a fairly big bit of British broadcasting news, Football Focus is ending after more than half a century on our screens.
Announced on Thursday, 23 April, the once flagship show and weekly TV guide staple for countless domestic households is set to be cancelled after 52 seasons' worth of coverage.
With BBC Sport confirming the tough decision in a lengthy statement, the long-running show will be taken off the air at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Most programmes like these have seen declining audiences across the board in the era of streaming and digital packages across various platforms, but this is truly the end of an era.
An official social media post reads: "An incredible 52-year journey comes to an end. Following extensive consideration, BBC Sport has made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Football Focus at the end of this season.
"First broadcast in 1974, Football Focus is a testament to the brilliant team who have worked on it over the years and, of course, the audience. The programme has been a staple of the BBC’s football coverage for decades, providing fans with interviews, analysis and stories from across the game ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.
"But changing audience behaviours means fans are now increasingly consuming football content in different ways, and we need to respond appropriately as we face difficult decisions around how the licence fee is spent."
Second only really to Match of the Day (MotD), which first began a whole decade prior to its once equally popular spin-off, Gary Lineker, Manish Bhasin, Alex Scott and others have all enjoyed varying periods hosting the regular weekend watch.
While even MotD has seen steadily dipping viewing figures, not just following the Lineker departure/saga, but ever since YouTube highlights and the social media era.
They go on to add: "Fans are accessing discussion, highlights, analysis and news through digital platforms and on-demand viewing, and as viewing habits continue to evolve, it is right that BBC Sport adapts how it brings football coverage to the widest audiences across television, radio, online and to its extensive social platforms.
BBC Sport boasts a strong football rights portfolio and is set to significantly expand its digital output this year, growing content across BBC platforms, as well as a bold new slate of exclusive shows on YouTube.
"Featuring fresh formats, big personalities and more frequent, always-on content tailored for digital audiences, the expansion will bring fans closer to the game than ever before, delivering more high-quality, accessible and engaging football coverage at scale. We will release further details on these plans in the coming months."
Will you miss it? Perhaps more to the point, do you still watch Match of the Day, Soccer Saturday and the like on terrestrial telly here in the UK?
Read more:
Featured Images - BBC
Clementine Hall -
23rd February 2026 
