Luke Littler, the 18-year-old darts star, is already one of the most famous people in British sport. This week he won yet another title, the World Grand Prix. Born in Warrington, he started throwing arrows while he was still wearing nappies. By the time he was 10, Littler was competing in under-21 competitions and would win his first senior title at 14. He shot to national fame in early 2024 when he reached the world championship final aged 16. Despite losing the match, he sparked ‘Littlermania’...
Oct 18, 2025•14 min
Marina Abramović is the self proclaimed ‘grandmother of performance art’. Her latest work, a reimagining of Slavic fertility rites, opened in Manchester earlier this week. Notorious for committing extreme acts to her body, the Serbian first achieved fame with her “Rhythm 0” performance, where she stood still in a room and invited guests to do anything they liked to her. They removed her clothes, cut her neck and held a loaded gun to her head. Many of her biggest works were made in collaboration ...
Oct 11, 2025•15 min
Kristi Noem is the controversial Secretary of Homeland Security. A staunch MAGA loyalist, she's in charge of ICE detention facilities, including one in Dallas, Texas, that was attacked this week. As the face of the Trump administration's intensified raids and arrests by US Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) agents, Kristi Noem has become a lightening rod in America, both loved and hated for her combative approach and her many viral media moments - some call her the 'ICE Barbie'. A former South Da...
Sep 27, 2025•15 min
Deborah Griffin is a pioneer of women's rugby. She played in the first known women's game in England in 1978 and helped create the first Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991. Having never picked up a rugby ball until she created a team at university in the late seventies, Griffin quickly became one of the sport’s most instrumental figures. The RFU originally had little interest in female teams, so Griffin and her rugby friends established a separate Women’s Rugby Football Union in 1983. The WRFU and ...
Sep 20, 2025•15 min
Peter Mandelson has been sacked from his role as British Ambassador to the US over his association with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It is the third time he has been forced to leave government. An instrumental part of Tony Blair’s landslide election victory in 1997, Mandelson was rewarded with a seat in the cabinet. But he was soon forced to resign as Business Secretary after failing to declare a six-figure loan from a fellow minister. His second resignation came in 2001 after ...
Sep 13, 2025•15 min
Zack Polanski scored a resounding victory in The Green Party leadership election on a platform promising bold communication and "eco-populism". Polanski has had an unorthodox path into politics, previously working as an actor, hypnotherapist and mental health counsellor. But he’s been dogged by a 2013 article in The Sun involving a reporter who claimed he helped her try to boost her bust size through the power of thought. Born in 1982, Polanski is gay and Jewish, and changed his name at 18 to em...
Sep 06, 2025•15 min
South African – born space physicist Michele Dougherty has been awarded the honorary title of Astronomer Royal. She becomes the first woman to hold the title in the 350 – year -old history of the role. Although her all-girls school in Durban did not offer science as an option, her father sparked her love for planetary science when he built a telescope in the back garden of the family home. After qualifying as a mathematician and moving to Germany for a fellowship, Dougherty changed focus and joi...
Aug 30, 2025•15 min
From Disney to Microsoft, via Vodafone and Virgin Media, Cindy Rose has been a top executive at some of the world’s best known companies. Born and raised in the US, one of her early passions was figure skating – a sport she confessed left her covered in bumps and bruises. After qualifying as a lawyer, she later switched to corporate roles, relocating to Europe then London. Her time at Disney included a shift dressed as Mickey Mouse’s loyal hound, Pluto, welcoming guests to the Californian theme ...
Jul 19, 2025•15 min
Piers Litherland has been called a modern-day Indiana Jones. He’s a former banker-turned-archaeologist who led the discovery of the lost tomb of Tutankhamun's relative, Thutmose II. As a child, Litherland was obsessed with Egypt. It was a passion that never left him, even as he pursued a career in finance. But it was only after a chance meeting with an eminent Egyptologist from Cambridge that he decided to ditch the office job and follow his heart. Since then, Litherland has headed a joint Anglo...
Jul 12, 2025•15 min
Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic candidate for New Yok City mayor after a stunning victory in the primary race. If he goes on to win the mayoral election in November he will become the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation's largest city. His nomination came as a shock to some in the mainstream Democratic party who worry his policies are too extreme and could alienate swing voters. Before turning to politics Mr Mamdani had a brief career in the music industry. Mark Coles interviews...
Jul 05, 2025•15 min
Charlie xcx is known to fans for her avant-garde, innovative approach to pop music. For many, the singer-songwriter, who’s won 5 BRIT awards and 3 Grammys, is one of the most influential figures in 21st century pop. Born Charlotte Aitchison in Cambridge in 1992 and raised in Essex, she was still at school when she began posting songs on MySpace and performing at warehouse raves, eventually landing a record deal in 2010. Her stage name, Charli xcx is a nod to her MSN screen name from when she was...
Jun 28, 2025•15 min
Current Director-General of Technology and Innovation, Blaise Metreweli, was recently appointed as the new chief of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. She’s the first woman to assume the role. She attended Westminster School, where she got a glimpse of leadership in her role as head girl. In 1995, she went on to study Anthropology at Cambridge University. Beyond the lecture halls, Blaise Metreweli was a keen sportswoman. In 1997, the Cambridge women's team she was in beat their rivals Ox...
Jun 21, 2025•14 min
Actress and disability campaigner, Liz Carr, is probably best known for her role as forensic examiner, Clarissa Mullery, in the TV crime drama, Silent Witness. She’s also done comedy, theatre and even written a musical, about what she calls ‘assisted suicide’. Last year she fronted the award-winning BBC TV documentary, Better Off Dead, making the case against assisted dying. Born and raised in Merseyside, Liz Carr became seriously ill when she was seven and has used a wheelchair since she was el...
Jun 14, 2025•14 min
Donald Trump calls Susie Wiles the “ice maiden” for her ability to stay cool under pressure. It’s an invaluable skill in her role as White House Chief of Staff - responsible for who has access to the President. Aged 68, Susie Wiles has spent more than 40 years in Republican politics – steering powerful men to elected office. She’s worked for US presidents, governors, mayors and Congress members. But she likes to stay out of the limelight. Most of her experience has been in Florida, where she’s h...
Jun 07, 2025•15 min
Tom Fletcher heads the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and has been at the forefront of recent efforts to deliver aid into Gaza. Last week, he was criticised for making inaccurate claims about the impact of the Israeli blockade. No stranger to tough jobs, he was previously a foreign policy advisor to three British Prime Ministers and the UK Ambassador to Lebanon as the country dealt with the civil war in neighbouring Syria. He once fought the mayor of Nairobi in a...
May 31, 2025•14 min
In April 2024 Rosemary Coogan became only the third person from the UK to qualify as an astronaut after completing basic training with the European Space Agency (ESA). Originally from Northern Ireland, she excelled academically and holds two master's degrees from Durham University and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Sussex. She became an ESA astronaut after a challenging selection process which whittled down 22,000 applicants. The agency hopes to send Rosemary to the International Spac...
May 24, 2025•15 min
Earlier this month the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also made President Trump's National Security Advisor. The last person to undertake both roles simultaneously was Henry Kissinger in the 1970s. The son of Cuban immigrants, Mr Rubio has had a turbo-charged career; rising from junior positions in his home city of Miami, to the US Senate which he reached before he turned 40 and now a Cabinet position where he dominate US foreign policy. As a boy he dreamed of being President and he made ...
May 17, 2025•14 min
Reform UK triumphed in May’s local elections, winning many more council seats up for grabs than the other major parties. Behind the scenes, the party has gone through major changes. Millionaire businessman and donor Zia Yusuf was appointed chairman last summer, and has been credited with professionalising the party. The son of Sri Lankan immigrants, he made his money co-founding a luxury concierge business, before moving into politics; and all before the age of 40. But where do his ambitions lie...
May 10, 2025•14 min
President Trump shocked the world earlier this year when he announced plans to impose tariffs affecting nearly all goods entering America. But rather than coming as a surprise, the US President had made the policy one of the key cornerstones of his re-election campaign. He'd also implemented some tariffs during his first term in office too. Despite strong opposition to the move, President Trump enjoys the unflinching support of economist Peter Navarro, who is seen by many as the architect of the...
May 03, 2025•15 min
Canadians are gearing up to vote in a snap General Election. It's been called by Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, who in recent months replaced Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party. Carney is hoping to receive a fresh mandate from the public, and face down US President Donald Trump, whose rhetoric towards America's neighbour in the north has become increasingly belligerent since returning to the White House. It's been a long journey for 60-year-old Ca...
Apr 26, 2025•15 min
Beloved Britpop band Pulp have released their first new music in almost a quarter of a century, the single 'Spike Island'. Their talismanic frontman Jarvis Cocker has always been the band's star turn, with his second-hand 70s style, mesmeric stage presence and biting lyrics. Following some difficult early years in his hometown of Sheffield, Cocker formed the band in 1978, but had to wait over a decade before breaking through on the crest of the Britpop wave in the mid-90s. The band released some...
Apr 19, 2025•15 min
Stephen Smith profiles the actor Lesley Manville, winner of a second Olivier theatre award. From growing up in Hove to her long-time collaboration with film-maker Mike Leigh, Manville has a reputation as the complete professional. With contributions from Mike Leigh, Director Rob Icke, Actor Tim McCullan, former teacher Julia Clarey, Observer critic Susannah Clapp and friend Rebecca Blond. Presenter: Stephen Smith Production Team: Bob Howard, Chloe Scannapieco, Devian Maside Editor: Max Deveson S...
Apr 12, 2025•15 min
Steve Witkoff started out as a New York lawyer, until a late night encounter with Donald Trump in a sandwich shop inspired him to move into real estate. Known as "Smoking Steve", he has amassed a property empire worth millions, become friends and golf buddies with Trump, and has now been appointed as his Middle East Envoy and go-to international negotiator and trouble shooter. To his critics he's dangerously unqualified and out of his depth. To his supporters, he's the straight-talking fresh pai...
Apr 05, 2025•15 min
Jack Thorne is co-author of Netflix drama Adolescence. But this is far from his first rodeo, over a 20 year career, his writing has appeared in many iconic British dramas, from Shameless and This is England '86 to His Dark Materials. He started out as a playwright and hasn't lost his love for theatre, having written West End box office hit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Jack is known in the industry for his compulsive work ethic, political edge and capacity for empathy. Stephen Smith speaks...
Mar 29, 2025•15 min
Jonathan Powell, the UK’s National Security Adviser, is used to operating behind the scenes: he’s spent decades working as a diplomat, negotiator and mediator. Recent events in the US and Ukraine have thrust him into the spotlight. After the fiery Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, Powell has been credited with advising Ukraine and ensuring that lines of communication were kept open. He travelled to Kyiv to meet Zelensky and played a key role in fashioning a plan...
Mar 22, 2025•15 min
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has one the toughest tasks in Labour’s domestic programme: tackling the burgeoning welfare bill. Next week, the government is expected to announce reforms to the welfare system. There is unease over the plans within the party, with some Labour MPs saying they fear drastic cuts could push vulnerable people into poverty. The move could split the party and put Liz Kendall in a difficult position. A grammar school girl, Kendall went on to study history at Camb...
Mar 15, 2025•14 min
As the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas is the bloc's top diplomat. So when EU leaders gathered in Brussels this week to thrash out a new defence plan for Ukraine, Kallas was in the thick of things. Before taking up the EU role she was Prime Minister of Estonia, the nation's first female leader. She was born in 1977 in the Estonian capital Tallinn, then part of the Soviet Union, into a family bound up with her country’s centuries-old struggle for independence. A Russia hawk and...
Mar 08, 2025•14 min
He’s the former corporate lawyer, who has a pilot's licence and loves music, but has never before been a government minister. Friedrich Merz was born in the west German town of Brilon in 1955 into a prominent conservative, Catholic family. He joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) while still at school, before going on to study law. Merz then worked as a lawyer and judge for a few years, but he always had his eye on politics. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989, and his journe...
Mar 01, 2025•15 min
His 14 year-stint at the top of European politics has earned him a distinguished record of domestic and international achievements. Mark Rutte, born in The Hague in 1967, embarked on a career in business after leaving university and held several positions at Unilever. His career in Dutch politics started in 2002, and four years later – as leader of the VVD party – he became prime minister. During his tenure, he steered the Netherlands through times of significant national and global upheaval. Fr...
Feb 22, 2025•14 min
Having helped mastermind Labour's renewal in the 1980s and 1990s, one of British politics best-known figures has just embarked on his latest role. And, it's a long way from Hartlepool, in the post-industrial North-East of England, where he first became an MP. Born in 1953, Peter Mandelson started on the road to party politics as a researcher at the Trades Union Congress. After a stint as a TV producer, he left to take up the role of Labour's director of communications, but his real ambition was ...
Feb 15, 2025•15 min
