The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals by will be broadcast later this year

Two staff members from a Belfast-based theatre school have received recognition as local theatre heroes at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals for their community contributions.

BBC Local Radio’s Make a Difference Show will broadcast a segment about the Local Theatre Heroes on Sunday, 22 March, showcasing how National Lottery funding has supported theatre initiatives across local communities.

Thanks to National Lottery players, more than 29,000 theatre-related projects have received support across the nation, with investment exceeding £1.4 billion dedicated to restoring venues, fostering creativity and maintaining theatre accessibility for everyone.

Kerry Rodgers, Creative Arts Manager, and Conor Anderson, Performing Arts Executive at Belfast’s Rainbow Factory Performing Arts School, were honoured as local theatre heroes at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals, filmed in Manchester in January, acknowledging the school’s community work. They appeared on stage alongside six other local theatre heroes from around the country to rapturous applause from the 12,000-strong audience.

They spoke with BBC Local Radio’s Make a Difference Show presenter Gaby Roslin, joined by six other local theatre heroes from different regions. They have significantly influenced their communities, made possible through National Lottery funding.

Rainbow Factory, which forms part of YouthAction Northern Ireland – a regional youth organisation with over 80 years of operation – runs weekly dance and drama sessions for young people between 9-25 years old. The organisation utilises performing arts across all disciplines to transform young people’s lives and perspectives.

They strive to keep their services affordable or free wherever feasible, ensuring everyone feels welcome regardless of their background. The organisation has secured over £4M in National Lottery funding spanning 1998-2025.

Kerry Rodgers Creative Arts Manager, and Conor Anderson Performing Arts Executive, Rainbow Factory Performing Arts School said “We’re proud to have Rainbow Factory recognised as a Local Theatre Hero at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals and to have been given the platform to share the transformative work that Rainbow Factory does for young people. All of this has been made possible because of you, The National Lottery players.”

The Local Theatre Heroes feature will air on BBC Local Radio’s Make a Difference Show on Sunday 22 March, whilst Big Night of Musicals by The National Lottery will broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer during Spring 2026.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah was stretchered off in the latter stages of Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has delivered an injury update on Trevoh Chalobah after the defender was stretchered off in agony against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. The Englishman was carried off the pitch in the 85th minute following a late challenge from PSG’s Achraf Hakimi.

And Rosenior has revealed the latest when questioned about his condition on TNT Sports after Chelsea‘s 8-2 on aggregate Champions League last 16 exit. He said: “I just asked the medical team, he’s got a high ankle sprain, so I’m praying it’s nothing too serious because of the way Trevoh’s been performing and we can’t afford to lose another defender at this moment.”

The news marks another setback on a difficult evening for Chelsea. Goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola and Senny Mayulu secured an emphatic victory for PSG.

READ MORE: Chelsea out of Europe after PSG humiliation with Blues booed off pitch – 5 talking pointsREAD MORE: Chelsea sold ‘one of the best in world football’ for £28m as owners face backlash

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Rosenior’s side were second-best across both legs, and former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole believes his old club now have some soul-searching to do.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, he said: “That is a real leveller of where this club is compared to Paris. PSG are the gold standard, they are the champions of Europe, but it showed that Chelsea are a million miles away over the course of two legs.

“This isn’t a Liam Rosenior problem. Liam’s doing what he’s doing; he’s just come through the door. This is a problem with strategy and the direction of where the club are going. This is a real eye-opener to where we are as a club at the moment.

“There’s a lot of money being spent, and we need to really think of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. That’s simply not good enough.

“There’s 20-year-olds and 19-year-olds on the pitch today. There’s time to grow, improve and get better.

“They’ll have better nights in their career. But as a football club, you’ve got to go football club first, not business first. Simple as that, or else you’ll get performances like that.”

The FA Cup now represents Chelsea’s sole opportunity for silverware this campaign. The Blues have been handed a favourable home tie against League One stragglers Port Vale, though Premier League giants Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all remain in contention.

Chelsea are also locked in a fight to secure next season’s Champions League qualification. Their current standing, sixth place, would see them fall short, although they trail fifth-placed Liverpool by just a single point, which ought to prove sufficient given the collective showing of English sides in Europe this term.

Rosenior’s squad are next in action at Everton on Saturday evening (5:30pm GMT).

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Liam Rosenior said Trevoh Chalobah suffered a ‘high ankle sprain’ after he was stretchered off in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Chalobah went down in pain after twisting his ankle in a challenge with Achraf Hakimi in the closing stages of the last-16 second leg at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues centre-back was eventually stretchered off the pitch, with Chelsea forced to play the final minutes with ten men.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game about Chalobah’s withdrawal, Liam Rosenior said: ‘I just asked the medical team, and he’s got a high ankle sprain.

‘So I’m praying it’s nothing too serious because the way Trevor has been performing. We can’t afford to lose another defender in this moment.’

Chelsea are set to be without Reece James for an extended period after he picked up a hamstring injury, while Malo Gusto missed Wednesday’s defeat due to illness.

Chalobah’s injury blow adds salt to the wounds after what was a damaging night for Chelsea against the tournament’s defending champions.

Trailing 5-2 after the first leg, Rosenior’s side needed a miraculous comeback, but instead went further behind when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored after just six minutes.

Bradley Barcola doubled the lead on the night just eight minutes later with a superb finish before Senny Mayulu rounded out an 8-2 aggregate win for the Parisiens with a second-half strike off the bench.

Reflecting on his side’s defeat, Rosenior added: ‘A tough night. We knew it was a tough ask and to start the game in the manner that we did.

‘We had the ball in the final third but you can’t make mistakes at this level. We had the ball in their box and Barcola hit one from 25 yards into the top corner. Their belief grows..

‘They were clinical. The third goal, ball breaks and he hits in the top corner. I haven’t looked at the stats yet, but we had a lot of shots. They didn’t make mistakes. I want to thank the fans because they saw how hard the lads worked.’

PSG now advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of Galatasaray and Liverpool, with the English side trailing 1-0 after the first leg in Turkey.

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Gemma Germeney, 31, and her two children Lilly Peden, eight, and Oliver Peden, four, died after a house fire in 2023

A modified e-bike battery is believed to have caused a fire that killed a mum and two children, a pre-inquest review hearing heard. Gemma Germeney, 31, and her two children Lilly Peden, eight, and Oliver Peden, four, died after a fire at their maisonette in Sackville Close, Cambridge.

Firefighters were first called to their home at around 1am on June 30, 2023. Gemma died at the scene, while Oliver and Lily later died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Scott Peden, Gemma’s partner and Oliver and Lily’s dad, suffered serious injuries in the fire.

At the time, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue said the likely cause of the fire was an e-bike. A pre-inquest review was held by Coroner Elizabeth Gray at Vantage House in Huntingdon on Tuesday (March 17).

Mr Peden, who was in a coma for a month after the fire, appeared remotely. Ms Germeney’s parents and other family members attended the hearing in person.

Miles Bennett, counsel for Mr Peden, asked if a man named Mr Severinov would be called as a witness and declared as an interested person. Mr Bennett told the court that Mr Severinov may have been involved in modifying the e-bike battery that caused the fire.

Mr Bennett said: “Someone carried out a quick fix to that lithium battery.” He added that “after that quick fix was carried out, there was a tumultuous fire at that residence” which led to the deaths.

Mr Bennett said the inquest should consider “the changes to the battery and the problem with the battery and the problem with the battery”. He said someone who may have modified a battery that led to the fire should “at very least be a witness”.

Ms Gray said that at the future full inquest, the “purchase of the bike, the battery being stolen and the modification” would be included in background information.

Mr Bennett also raised concerns about investigation into smoke alarms at the family home. He said there were “mixed messages” about whether the alarms worked or “did not go off” at the time.

Steve Fleming from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, who appeared remotely, told the court that there were smoke alarms at the property. Due to the “intensity of the fire”, Mr Fleming said it was “nearly impossible” to look at the alarms and only part of the alarms could be recovered.

Mr Fleming added that he didn’t think the smoke alarms were a relevant factor “due to the escape route being blocked due to the fire itself”.

A representative from the Office for Product Safety and Standards was also present in court. Ms Gray adjourned the hearing for a two-day inquest to be held from August onwards into the deaths.

At the full inquest, several witnesses will be called including representatives from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, and Cambridgeshire Police. There will also be two witnesses from OPSS, one who investigated and another on policies. Mr Peden and Mr Severinov may also be called as witnesses.

Eberechi Eze has played down his injury concerns after Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The 27-year-old scored a brilliant goal in the first half to open the scoring for Arsenal before Declan Rice struck in the second half to secure the victory for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Arsenal will now play Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final after they overturned a 3-0 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the first leg with a 5-0 win in the return fixture in Portugal.

Eze, meanwhile, went down injured in the second half and was replaced in the 69th minute by Kai Havertz.