Connect with us

Politics

Workers to vote on strike action after ‘insulting’ pay offer

Published

on

Workers to vote on strike action after 'insulting' pay offer

Workers at a Cumbria packaging firm will vote on strike action after rejecting an ‘insulting’ pay offer.

Pay offer = pay cut

More than 100 workers at Futamura, in Wigton, turned down the company’s 1.2 per cent pay offer by a majority of 94 per cent. Trade union GMB is demanding a 3.8 per cent pay increase, in line with inflation. This is to ensure members do not suffer yet another real-terms pay cut.

The union has engaged with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to help bring the company back to the table.

Futamura makes cellulose film for packaging.

Advertisement

The dispute mirrors other situations where pay has failed to keep pace with inflation. And it comes against a backdrop of long-term “pay depression” going back 20 years.

Michael Hall, GMB Regional Organiser, said:

This 1.2 per cent offer is nothing short of an insult. GMB members have spoken loudly and clearly. Enough is enough. Futamura workers deserve a fair pay rise that simply keeps up with the cost of living.

The company should be listening, not digging in. GMB has been patient and our members have been patient. But Futamura has refused to make a fair and reasonable pay offer.

Featured image via the Canary

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Billy Crystal Remembers Rob Reiner

Published

on

Billy Crystal Remembers Rob Reiner

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement(‘iframe’);t.display=’none’,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement(‘script’);c.src=”//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js”,c.setAttribute(‘async’,’1′),c.setAttribute(‘type’,’text/javascript’),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src=”https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({“playerId”:”19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″,”mediaId”:”d717017a-efc2-4290-84d5-f6e12515ec41″}).render(“69b76696e4b0e8cdfdd2baaa”);});

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars 2026: Anna Wintour Makes The Devil Wears Prada Joke On Stage

Published

on

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada

While her sense of humour is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind when most of us think of Anna Wintour, she certainly managed to raise a smile while presenting at the 2026 Oscars.

Early on in Sunday night’s ceremony, the long-time Vogue editor came on stage to present two awards with Anne Hathaway.

Anne, of course, is the star of The Devil Wears Prada and its upcoming sequel, both of which feature the character Miranda Priestly, heavily rumoured to have been inspired by Anna.

Introducing the Best Costume Design prize, the Oscar winner told the audience: “A character’s costume is key to telling a story.

Advertisement

“One could argue that one’s wardrobe in real life is also key. Does it make one appear elegant and attractive on, say, the most important night in Hollywood, and say when the most important people in fashion will be judging how one looks?”

Turning to her co-host, she continued: “Anna, just curious, what do you think of my dress tonight?”

By way of response, Anna simply donned her sunglasses and declared: “And the nominees are…”

Following this, the duo then announced the winners for Best Makeup And Hairstyling, with Anna intentionally misnaming her co-presenter “Emily” in an even more explicit nod to The Devil Wears Prada.

Advertisement

LOL at this Devil Wears Prada joke between Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour while presenting at the Oscars

Anne: Anna, would you like to read the nominees?

Anna: Thank you, Emily pic.twitter.com/7IvNj7RmJw

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 15, 2026

In the original Devil Wears Prada film and the new follow-up, Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the editor of the fictitious Runway magazine, whose look and mannerisms have sparked comparisons with Anna Wintour for two decades now.

Advertisement

Last year, the award-winning journalist and Met Gala organised claimed: “I went to the [Devil Wears Prada] premiere wearing Prada, completely having no idea what the film was going to be about.

“I think that the fashion industry was very sweetly concerned for me about the film that it was gonna paint me in some kind of difficult light.”

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada

Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

Praising Meryl’s “fantastic” work in the movie, she then insisted: “I found [the film] highly enjoyable and very funny. It had a lot of humour to it, it had a lot of wit.

“I mean, [the actors are] all amazing. And in the end, I thought it was a fair shot.”

Advertisement

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars 2026: Barbra Streisand Sings During Robert Redford Tribute

Published

on

Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were

The Oscars may well have set a new bar when it came to “in memoriam” tributes during this year’s ceremony.

Regrettably, because the film world has lost so many iconic performers and filmmakers in the last 12 months, this year’s Academy Awards tributes section was extended, with Billy Crystal leading a star-studded homage to Rob Reiner and Rachel McAdams honouring Diane Keaton.

At the end of the segment, Oscar winner Barbra Streisand came out to remember her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford.

While it had previously been rumoured that this would include a musical tribute, Barbra is notoriously reluctant to sing live in public these days, so we took the rumours with a pinch of salt.

Advertisement

However, the icon made a rare exception for her beloved co-star, concluding the tributes with a short blast of The Way We Were’s signature song, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song back in 1974.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Barbra’s performance, and that apparently includes those watching along at home…

Babs has me in pieces – best deadies section for years 💔💔💔 #oscars

— paDame Lady Jaz (@ladyjazmana) March 16, 2026

Another beautiful and sentimental tribute to the late Robert Redford by Barbra Streisand 🥹 #Oscars

— Cynthia Conte (@cynthia_conte) March 16, 2026

Advertisement

Okay was not expecting that ending but ms Barbara Streisand you got me tearing up and I got the chills.. amazing in memoriam tribute! #Oscars

— Sydney Collins (@SydneyNicolex_) March 16, 2026

Barbra Streisand singing during the In Memoriam and I’m sobbing on the couch

— Ben Kelly (@BenKelly66) March 16, 2026

Barbara Streisand singing The Way We Were as a tribute to Robert Redford wrecked every single person in the audience and at home watching

— Kliff Orrghoudy (@GumbysGrandson) March 16, 2026

Barbara Streisand singing The Way We Were for Robert Redford tribute was 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️ Especially because she does not like to sing live. That is love. ❤️

— Karin Ryan (@KarinDianeRyan) March 16, 2026

Advertisement

Ok – Barbara Streisand had me in tears with her “The Way We Were” rendition to the in memoriam of Robert Redford. #TheOscars @TheAcademy

— Jason Hughes, Esq. (@jhughes_esq) March 16, 2026

Fully sobbed when Barbara Streisand came out for Robert Redford
Then i pulled myself together
And cried when she started singing the way we were#oscars

— Tovah Blu 🐾❤️🔥 (@thelittletovs) March 16, 2026

Barbara Streisand still has it!

— Charisse Rogers (@Readywriter1) March 16, 2026

Barbara Streisand got my teary singing ‘The Way We Were’ for Redford😢

— Di (@DI82589) March 16, 2026

Advertisement

Barbra Streisand singing The Way We Were….mass healings.

— js (@latinakatebush) March 16, 2026

Knew the quick one-two of Diane Keaton + Catherine O Hara was gonna tip me over. 😭😭

Beautifully done this. ❤️👑#Oscars

— Darryl Griffiths 🏳️🌈📽 (@LegallyBOD) March 16, 2026

Well thanks Streisand. Im done.

💔💔#Oscars

Advertisement

— Darryl Griffiths 🏳️🌈📽 (@LegallyBOD) March 16, 2026

Before her performance, Barbra recalled: “After I read the first script of The Way We Were, I could only imagine one man in the role and that was Robert Redford. But he turned it down because he said the character had no backbone and didn’t stand for anything. And he was right.

“So, many drafts later, Bob finally agreed to do it. He was a brilliant, subtle actor, and we had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never quite knew what the other one was going to do in a scene. And I’m thrilled that The Way We Were is now considered a classic love story – but it’s also about a dark time in our history, the late 40s and early 50s, when people were informing on each other and subject to loyalty oaths.”

Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were

She continued: “Bob had real backbone – on and off the screen. He spoke up to defend freedom of the press, protect the environment and encouraged new voices at his Sundance Institute, some of whom are up for Oscars tonight, which is so great.

“He was thoughtful and bold. I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail, and won the Academy Award for Best Director. And I miss him now more than ever, even though he loved teasing me. He’d call me ‘Babs’, and I’d say, ‘Bob, do I look like a Babs? I’m not a Babs’. But the way he said it made me laugh.

Advertisement

“Many years later, we were chatting on the phone about the usual – politics, art, our favourites – and as we were hanging up, he said, ‘Babs, I love you dearly and I always will’. And in the last note I ever wrote to Bob, I ended it with, ‘I love you, too’. And I signed it ‘Babs’.”

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars 2026: Winners Included A Tie For Best Live-Action Short Award

Published

on

Oscars 2026: Winners Included A Tie For Best Live-Action Short Award

Before the weekend, there had only ever been six ties at the Oscars.

However, on Sunday night, movie history was made when a seventh occurred.

During this year’s ceremony, Marvel star Kumail Nanjiani was welcomed to the stage to announce the winner in the Best Live Action Short category.

After opening the envelope, he revealed that two of the nominees had received the same number of votes from Academy members, meaning they’d each be awarded an Oscar.

Advertisement

“It’s a tie!” he exclaimed, before assuring the audience: “I’m not joking! It’s actually a tie, so everyone calm down!”

Kumail Nanjiani reveals there’s been a tie at the #Oscars while announcing Best Live Action Short, with “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” sharing the award.

(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/sl2ugEnYfA

— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026

He then explained that he’d be announcing the winners one at a time, first welcoming the producers of The Singers to the stage before the crew behind Two People Exchanging Saliva collected theirs.

Advertisement

Uncomfortably, during the latter, the Oscars team attempted to cut the team’s acceptance speech short, before the night’s host Conan O’Brien then encouraged them to continue.

The Oscars’ most famous tie came in 1969, when screen icon Katharine Hepburn and then-newcomer Barbra Streisand split the win for Best Actress for their performances in The Lion In Winter and Funny Girl.

Back in 1932, the first tie at the Oscars came during the awards show’s fifth year, when Fredric March and Wallace Beery were both named Best Actor.

Technically, the former had received one more vote than the latter, but at this time, a rule was in place meaning that anyone within three votes of the winner would also receive an award.

Advertisement

So Much For So Little and A Chance To Live then split Best Documentary Short in 1950, while a similar draw occurred 37 years later when the features Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got and Down And Out In America got the same number of votes in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Trevor and Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life were the two winners in the Best Live-Action Short category in the mid-1990s, while the latest tie was just over a decade ago, in 2013, with Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall winning Best Sound Editing.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Fabulous Fashion From The 2026 Oscars

Published

on

Fabulous Fashion From The 2026 Oscars

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement(‘iframe’);t.display=’none’,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement(‘script’);c.src=”//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js”,c.setAttribute(‘async’,’1′),c.setAttribute(‘type’,’text/javascript’),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src=”https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({“playerId”:”19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4″,”mediaId”:”a345f088-3634-4066-afa4-053788b242a6″}).render(“69b74a71e4b0fa6e898004a6”);});

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars 2026: Full Winners List At This Year’s Academy Winners

Published

on

Oscars 2026: Full Winners List At This Year's Academy Winners

Oscars history was made earlier this year, when Sinners became the most-nominated film since the awards show first got going almost a century ago.

Ryan Coogler’s game-changing musical vampire drama scooped 18 nominations in total, ahead of One Battle After Another’s 14 nods.

Film fans will finally find out which movie will come out on top on Sunday night, as the Academy Awards are held in California, with Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, Bugonia and yes even KPop Demon Hunters among the other movies to score multiple nominations.

Advertisement

Who were the winners of the top awards at the 2026 Oscars?

The full list of winners from the 2026 Academy Awards is as follows – and make sure you keep checking back over the course of the night, as we’ll be updating our list as more are announced over the course of the night…

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars 2026: Amy Madigan In Weapons And 13 More Award-Worthy Horror Roles

Published

on

Oscars 2026: Amy Madigan In Weapons And 13 More Award-Worthy Horror Roles

Amy Madigan has gone and done the unthinkable – and actually won an Oscar for a horror movie performance.

The veteran actor well and truly stole the show in the 2025 horror film Weapons, creating an iconic and deeply sinister character in Aunt Gladys and inspiring no end of Halloween costumes in the process.

Following an awards season that’s seen Best Supporting Actress prizes going out in a variety of directions, Amy came out on top during Sunday night’s Oscars – joining a rare group of actors including Anthony Hopkins, Ruth Gordon and Kathy Bates who’ve picked up Academy Awards for their horror characters.

In the past, the Academy has been notoriously reluctant to recognise horror performances, with many undeservedly losing out on the night – and others failing to secure a nomination at all.

Advertisement

As we celebrate Amy’s success, here are 13 more performances that deserved more love from the Oscars…

Demi Moore (The Substance)

From the moment we first heard about Demi Moore’s performance in the graphic body horror The Substance, we were already intrigued, and when it finally hit cinemas last year, we couldn’t shout loud enough about how good she was in it.

Over 2025′s awards season, Demi won a Golden Globe, Actor Award and Critics’ Choice Award for her work in The Substance, before finally securing her first Oscar nomination more than 40 years into her career.

In the end, Demi’s work wound up being added to the long list of incredible performances that deserved an Oscar only to miss out – but there’s no question that her nomination marked a huge win for horror recognition at the Oscars.

Advertisement

Toni Collette (Hereditary)

This is the Oscars snub that horror fans will be banging on about for eternity – and with good reason.

Ari Aster’s first ever feature film Hereditary takes you on a truly wild ride (we’re still recovering from it seven years later, to be honest with you), and at the centre of it all is Toni Collette’s unbelievable performance.

With her role as tortured matriarch Annie Graham, she brings the deeply unsettling story to life, and showcases her unparalleled versatility as an actor with a performance that takes her character through every emotion under the sun, from unsettled to heartbroken to terrified to furious. And let’s not even talk about that iconic dinner party scene.

Frankly, Toni has been snubbed at the Oscars too many times to count at this point – but it’s interesting that her only nomination to date was actually for her performance in a horror film, when she was recognised for her work in The Sixth Sense.

Advertisement

Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson (The Shining)

Warner Bros/Hawk Films/Kobal/Shutterstock

Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall’s work in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining might now be widely considered two of the finest and most unnerving performances in horror history, but they weren’t so well-received at the time.

Though the reception to the Stephen King adaptation grew warmer as the years went on, critics were pretty lukewarm on it at the time, with Shelley even earning a Worst Actress nomination at the Razzies following its release.

In 2022, this was finally rescinded by the Razzies, who apologised publicly to Shelley Duvall, after learning of director Kubrick’s alleged treatment towards her on set.

Advertisement

Anthony Perkins (Psycho)

There are a few things we think of when someone mentions Psycho. Those infamous high-pitched strings during the iconic shower sequence. The image of the Bates Motel looming in the distance. And, of course, Anthony Perkins’ unsettling portrayal of serial killer Norman Bates.

While Psycho itself was nominated for a string of Oscars the year after its release – including an acting nod for Janet Leigh and Best Director recognition for Alfred Hitchcock – curiously, Anthony Perkins did not make the shortlist for his work in Psycho, despite his portrayal of the slowly unravelling Norman Bates playing such a part in what makes the movie so gripping.

Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)

Daniel Kaluuya managed a rare feat for the lead in a horror film in 2017 and actually got nominated for an Oscar, which is a testament to the strength of both his performance and the strength of Get Out in general.

But despite getting awards love from the Golden Globes, Baftas, SAG Awards and Academy Awards, none of these translated to a win.

Advertisement

Absolutely no offence to Gary Oldman, or his performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, but as the years go on, it’s becoming clearer which performance is most likely to stand the test of time…

Daniel did eventually pick up an Oscar of his own just three years later, though, thanks to his work in Judas And The Black Messiah.

Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock

Like Daniel, both Sissy Spacek and her on-screen mum Piper Laurie were both nominated for Oscars for their work in the horror classic Carrie.

Advertisement

Neither of their nominations transferred into a win, but there’s no denying that with her performance, Sissy created an iconic movie character for the ages that we’re still talking about 50 years after the film’s original release.

Florence Pugh (Midsommar)

We’ve already touched on Toni Collette’s much-lauded performance in Hereditary, but there’s another female lead in an Ari Aster project that deserves to be shouted about, too.

In fact, Florence Pugh’s Midsommar performance could well be considered the “yin” to Toni in Hereditary’s “yang”. Both films centre around women who suffer traumatic life events, and struggle to cope as the world around them becomes increasingly more unsettling, although while the latter is shrouded in darkness and shadow, the former takes place in broad sunshine, making the unfolding horror all the more jarring.

The year after Midsommar, Florence did score an Oscar nomination for her performance in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, which probably scuppered her chances of a Best Actress nod for the horror film, which is a bit of a shame, as her emotionally-charged work in Ari Aster’s film was every bit as deserving, if not more.

Advertisement

Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby)

HAHA/Cinema Publishers/The Hollywood/Shutterstock

Often cited as one of the best horror films of all time, Rosemary’s Baby landed two Oscar nominations following its release, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Ruth Gordon.

But given everything she had to do in the title role, it feels a little surprising in the present day that the Academy would go as far as celebrating Rosemary’s Baby back in 1969, without actually giving its leading star Mia Farrow a nomination.

Lupita Nyong’o (Us)

Advertisement
Lupita Nyong'o in Us
Lupita Nyong’o in Us

C Barius/Universal/ILM/Kobal/Shutterstock

By the time Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out came along, the world was ready for more from the Oscar-winning screenwriter, particularly as Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o was on double duty playing two halves of the same whole.

Now, we appreciate that audiences and critics didn’t quite take to Us in the same way they did to Get Out, but we stand by it being an excellent film, and for everything Lupita was able to do with two completely opposing characters, we still think it’s a shame she never secured her second Oscar nomination for it.

Interestingly, her peers in the Screen Actors’ Guild did nominate for her performance that year, though the Best Actress title would ultimately end up going to Renée Zellweger for Judy, as did the Oscar.

Hugh Grant (Heretic)

Advertisement

Say what you want about Heretic (to be honest, we still think of it as one of our biggest cinema disappointments of 2024, after a trailer that promised so much), but there’s no arguing with Hugh Grant’s transformative performance as the chilling Mr Reed, putting his charm to work in ways we never saw in his many rom-coms of yore.

While Hugh did secure recognition at the Baftas and Golden Globes earlier this year, that Best Actor category was especially stacked in 2025, meaning plenty of deserving actors missed out on a place, including the former Love Actually star.

Jeff Goldblum (The Fly)

20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Fly may have won an Oscar in the Best Makeup category back in 1987 (which, interestingly enough, was fellow sci-fi body horror The Substance’s only win in 2025), but its Saturn Award-winning lead performance from Jeff Goldblum did not transfer to an Oscar nomination.

We get it, a film about a half-man, half-fly was always going to be a hard sell to the Academy, but Jeff’s performance is still being talked about almost 40 years later.

Advertisement

Despite his expansive career, the Wicked star has, in fact, never been nominated for an Oscar for acting, although he was nominated as the director of the short film Little Surprises in the mid-1990s.

Tilda Swinton (Suspiria)

Tilda Swinton in Suspiria
Tilda Swinton in Suspiria

It’s been seven years, and we’re still not sure we understand exactly what went on in Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria. But what we do remember is that Tilda Swinton played about 20 different characters, disappearing into each role as flawlessly as you’d expect, and received absolutely zip the following awards season.

Despite four Golden Globe nods and three from the Baftas, Tilda has just one Oscar nomination to her name, which was the same year she won for Michael Clayton.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Starmer Promises Aid To Working People During Iran Crisis

Published

on

Starmer Promises Aid To Working People During Iran Crisis

Keir Starmer will promise to support working people “whatever challenges lie ahead” amid rising economic pressure from the Iran war.

The government is facing pressure to step up and offer financial support to the general public while Donald Trump’s conflict with the Middle East continues to strain global oil supplies and rock international markets.

There are widespread fears that energy bills could skyrocket later in the year, affecting Britons’ cost of living.

“It’s moments like this that tell you what a government is about,” the prime minister is expected to say in a press conference on Monday.

Advertisement

“My answer is clear. Whatever challenges lie ahead, this government will always support working people.

“That is my first instinct – my first priority – to help you with the cost of living through this crisis.”

He will outline plans to help the public using heating oil to warm their homes.

The PM is expected to address concerns that suppliers are cancelling orders and increasing prices, too.

Advertisement

He is expected to say: “I will not tolerate companies trying to exploit this crisis to make money from working people.

“…if the companies have broken the law, there will be legal action.”

The government has also promised to work with international allies to try and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran continues to block the major oil shipping lane.

The prime minister will say: “We will continue to work towards a swift resolution of the situation in the Middle East.

Advertisement

“Because there is no question that ending the war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living.”

US president Donald Trump asked Britain and other allies to send warships to keep Hormuz open on Saturday.

The request was an unexpected U-turn from the president, who just last week claimed Starmer was “trying to join wars after we’re already won”.

He also claimed “we don’t need” British aircraft carriers in the region.

Advertisement

In response to Trump’s latest request, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “As we’ve said previously, we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”

On Sunday, energy secretary Ed Miliband was unable to say what the government thinks Trump’s war aims in the Middle East are.

He also distanced the UK from Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russia in a bid to help the global oil trade.

“We’ve not lifted our sanctions against Russia because it is very, very important that we continue to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” Miliband said.

Advertisement

“This was an illegal invasion launched more than four years ago. Our solidarity with the Ukrainian people has been incredibly important throughout these four years.”

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Oscars Red Carpet 2026: All The Celebrity Photos You Need To See

Published

on

Oscars Red Carpet 2026: All The Celebrity Photos You Need To See

After an especially jam-packed awards season that began way back in January, the biggest night in the Hollywood calendar has now arrived.

Yes, folks, it’s Oscars time.

Each year the Academy Awards affords the film industry the opportunity to recognise the biggest achievements of the last 12 months – but let’s face it, for many of us, the annual event is more about the red carpet than anything else.

Advertisement

And if that’s the category you fall into, you’ll be pleased to hear that between the nominees, presenters, performers and other famous guests who managed to sneak their way onto the guestlist, this year’s Oscars has proved to be as star-studded as ever.

Here are all the A-list photos you need to see from the 2026 Oscars red carpet – and make sure you keep checking back because we’ll be updating our round-up as more famous guests make their grand entrances…

Jessie Buckley

Nominated – Best Actress

Advertisement

Chase Infiniti

Rose Byrne

Nominated – Best Actress

Hudson Williams

Renate Reinsve

Nominated – Best Actress

Wagner Moura

Wagner Moura arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Wagner Moura arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Kieran Culkin

Felicity Jones

Jacobi Jupe

Alicia Silverstone

Heidi Klum

Charithra Chandran

Bella Thorne

Amelia Dimoldenberg

Shaboozey

Isabela Merced

Catherine and Brandi Carlile

Yvette Nicole Brown

Barbie Ferreira

Vicky Krieps

Ruth E Carter

Nominated – Best Costume Design

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

An Evening with Lord Ashcroft (And Elton John. Oh, and

Published

on

 

Dear all,

So there I was, catching snippets of the West Ham v Manchester City match on my phone, while also watching Kemi Badenoch and Theresa May strutting their funky stuff to a live performance by Nicole Scherzinger, followed by Rory Bremner playing Bruce Forsyth in PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT, ably assisted by Holly Willoughby. Could my life get any weirder?

The occasion was Lord Ashcroft’s eightieth birthday bash at the Grosvenor House hotel on London’s Park Lane. What an evening it turned out to be. I had been to three of these events before and the one thing I knew was to expect the unexpected. In previous years the cabaret live entertainment had included Kylie Minogue, the Jersey Boys, Lionel Ritchie., Michael Buble, Lulu, Cliff Richard, Denise Van Outen, Jasper Carrott, the Band of the Scots Guards, Tom Jones. I have a particular memory of being on the dance floor, boogying away to Kylie, when…. on second thoughts, you’ll have to wait for my autobiography for that particular juicy anecdote! Only a few months to wait!

Advertisement

I got up yesterday feeling terrible, and full of cold. But there was no way I was going to miss an Ashcroft party. So mid-afternoon on went the dinner suit, which for the first time was quite loose fitting. My friend Dan and his wife Laura were going to see COME ALIVE in Earls Court, so they drove me to the Grosvenor House and collected me afterwards. Here are Laura and I dressed up to the nines!

 

 

At the pre-dinner drinks reception I had some nice chats with various Tory luminaries including Sajid and Laura Javid, James and Susie Cleverly, Mark Francois and Mark Wallace who now runs Total Politics and Biteback. And then Liz Truss and her husband Hugh appeared, and we had a very entertaining exchange for quite some time. She was very relaxed and funny and declared I wasn’t right wing enough to appear on her Youtube show, and then tested me on my ‘soundness’. And with that we all trooped into the ballroom to sit down for dinner.

Advertisement

I was sitting far nearer the stage than on previous occasions, with Mark Wallace’s wife Isabella and Caroline Craig (wife of Sky News chief political correspondent, Jon) sitting either side of me. I first met Caroline back in 1985 when I was working in Parliament and she was working for Norfolk MP Richard Ryder. People tried to match us off. How different our lives might have been! She now runs Nigel Farage’s Westminster office and remains an absolute hoot.

Rory Bremner compered the whole evening and did a superb job, littered with impressions old and new. He does a brilliant takeoff of Donald Trump and was a master at judging how far he could push the audience’s boundaries. The highlight was a Peter O’Sullivan commentary of the first eighteen months of Labour in government. Political satire at its best.

Before the meal, Rory introduced the first, which we all assumed was a Queen tribute act, until an AI version of Michael Ashcroft appeared on screen singing ‘Don’t Stop Me Know’. It was a bit like the Abba Voyage holograms.

After the starter, we were entertained by a brilliant Ukrainian choir, who Michael has got to know, and help fund, on his various trips to Ukraine. They were then joined on stage by Katherine Jenkins. When the choir performed their first song, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Advertisement

Next up was an audience participation game of ‘Play Your Cards Right’, with Rory Bremner becoming Bruce Forsyth with Holly Willoughby playing the role of glamorous assistant. You had to be there… She has some great comic timing.

After the main course, Nicole Scherzinger performed four songs including ‘Diamonds are Forever, a song from ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and the Pussycat Dolls classic ‘Don’t Cha’. Three tables over from me, I spied Kemi Badenoch on her feet dancing away, and two tables being me, Theresa May was also really giving it some! Kemi later told me the song was one of her favourites when she was at university, so she immediately leapt to her feet. Nigel Farage, who was on the same table, stayed resolutely in his seat!

A highlight of these events has always been a speech by William Hague, and again he lived up to expectations. He was followed by Michael himself, who was clearly quite moved by the occasion. He was also very funny, but had three important things to tell the audience. Firstly, that he had just been awarded the Ukraine Order of Merit for all his work supporting the cause of Ukrainian freedom. He worse the medal around his neck the whole evening. His support for various Ukrainian charities, both military and civilian, has helped thousands of Ukrainians survive the hell of the last four years. Indeed, the audience were urged to donate to Olena Zelenska’s Cayo Foundation, which distributes monies to charities all over Ukraine.

Michael went on to announced that General Keith Kellog would be publishing his book with Biteback, but left the best to last. Last year the Imperial War Museum announced that after 15 years, it would be closing the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, which has been displaying his unique collection of Victoria and George Crosses. Frankly, it was an outrageous decision by the IWM and made for the most woke of reasons – the collection wasn’t ‘diverse’ enough, and they wanted to use the space for things other than honouring bravery. Idiots. Anyway. last night Michael announced that the collection had found a new home – at the National Army Museum in Chelsea. The audience roared their approval.

Advertisement

After his speech there was a series of happy birthday video messages including from Olena Zelenska, General Kellogg, Scott Morrison, Stephen Harper and Tony Abbott, as well as a number of Ukrainian MPs including my friend Oleksei Gonchorenko.

And then it was time for us all to speculate on who the final act of the evening might be. When the curtain went back the shock throughout the ballroom was palpable. It was Sir Elton John! There. Live, a few feet from us. Yet another audience roar ensued, as the opening bars of SATURDAY NIGHT rang out. He is a master entertainer and we were all spellbound, as he sang Tiny Dancer, Benny and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, Candle in the Wind, and several more.

What a night. It was a truly unique experience, and I was honoured to have been invited.

 

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025