Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are set to perform at this year’s Oscars.

The duo, who starred as Glinda and Elphaba in the film adaptation of the musical last year, have been confirmed as performers at the biggest awards night of the year, having previously denied speculation when quizzed about it.

Also confirmed to be performing at the ceremony, which is taking place in Los Angeles on 2 March, are Doja Cat, Queen Latifah, British singer-songwriter Raye and Lisa of Blackpink – who is currently starring in season three of White Lotus.

There will also be a “special appearance” from the professional choir, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Academy announced on Tuesday.

In a slight break from tradition, this year’s ceremony will not include live performances of the best original song nominees, which include: El Mal from Emilia Perez, The Journey from The Six Triple Eight, Like a Bird from Sing Sing, Mi Camino from Emilia Perez and Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late.

What each performer will sing or when is unknown, but it is expected that Erivo and Grande will perform at least one song from Wicked.

Defying Gravity spent four weeks in the Top 10 of the UK’s official chart and became a viral sensation.

This year’s ceremony could prove to be even bigger for the two actresses, as they are both nominated for awards.

Erivo is nominated for best actress and Grande for best supporting actress, both for their roles in part one of Wicked, which landed the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation.

The second part of the film, Wicked: For Good, will be released in November this year.

Read more:
The full list of Oscar nominations
Kieran Culkin on A Real Pain: ‘I’d get defensive’
The prison drama based on a true story

Wicked is up against tough competition at this year’s Oscars, with a mixture of films and actors already having claimed prizes at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

It heads into the Oscars with 10 nominations, the same as period drama The Brutalist, while Emilia Perez, a Netflix film starring Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon, has broken the record for the most nominated non-English language film in Oscars history with 13 nods.

Watch and follow live coverage of the 97th Oscars on Sky News on Sunday 2 March.

A woman has admitted attempting to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale.

Lisa Jeanine Findley had initially denied charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in relation to the scheme but has now changed her plea in the two-count indictment.

Prosecutors had said Findley, of Kimberling City, Missouri, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie had borrowed $3.8m (£3m) from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death in January 2023.

Findley then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if Presley’s family did not pay a $2.85m (£2.25m) settlement, according to authorities.

She posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May 2024, prosecutors said.

A judge stopped the sale after Presley’s granddaughter and Lisa Marie’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, sued.

Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most famous pieces of property in the country using names, emails and documents that were quickly suspected to be fake.

Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Presley, known as the King of Rock and Roll, died in August 1977 at the age of 42

Keough, who inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, filed a lawsuit claiming fraud against Findley and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction.

Naussany Investments and Private Lending – the bogus lender authorities say Findley created – said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice.

The judge said Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.

Read more from Sky News:
Businessman’s body found in ‘sack of pineapples’
Large bruise on Trump’s hand prompts speculation over health
Couple ‘forced’ to sit next to dead woman on flight

Ms Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Ms Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.

After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said.

An email sent on 25 May 2024 to the Associated Press from the same email as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the US and uses the internet to steal money.

In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called the scheme “nonsense” and praised the work of federal authorities.

“Graceland matters so much to so many people around the world – just go to Memphis during Elvis Week and listen to all the different accents and languages of fans who make the pilgrimage,” Mr Skrmetti said.

“All of Tennessee is glad that Graceland remains safely in the possession of Elvis’s heir and that it will remain a celebrated Memphis landmark for generations to come.”

Findley will be sentenced on 18 June and would have faced up to 20 years if convicted, but she is expected to receive less than that under the plea deal.

The BBC has apologised after it “missed opportunities that might have led to action” following claims of “bullying and misogynistic behaviour” against former Radio One star Tim Westwood.

It comes after the publication of an independent external review into Westwood‘s conduct while he was working for the corporation.

The review did not find “significant BBC knowledge of allegations or concerns about sexual misconduct” by the DJ, but concluded “a range of factors… ought to have alerted” the broadcaster to the possibility he might “present a risk to young women and girls”.

Westwood did not take part in the review. In a statement for the report sent through his solicitors, he strongly denied his behaviour “ever amounted to bullying or harassment”, and said some people “behaved poorly” towards him.

Publication of the report, commissioned in 2022, has faced several delays – including in December, when the BBC postponed at the request of the Metropolitan Police.

The review, carried out by barrister Gemma White KC, cost approximately £3.3m.

It included contributions from more than 120 people and highlights several allegations which Ms White said showed there was a “considerable body of evidence either known to, or available to” the BBC which raised questions about Westwood’s conduct.

Responding to the report, the BBC board highlighted the review had found “no widespread or significant BBC knowledge of allegations or concerns about predatory sexual behaviour”.

Their statement continued: “It is clear, however, that there were instances where the organisation missed opportunities that might have led to action. Allegations were treated in isolation rather than being brought together. Had this happened, the BBC may have seen a pattern of behaviour that it could have acted on.

“There is evidence of bullying and misogynistic behaviour on the part of Mr Westwood and the plain fact is that his general conduct was entirely incompatible with BBC values – not just now, but then. The organisation fell short and failed people – including our own staff – who had a right to expect better from us.”

What did the review find?

People who reported allegations against Westwood said they were “concerned that they would not be believed or might be blamed” for his alleged behaviour, Ms White wrote in her report.

The DJ was “very popular so no one wanted to listen”, one person said.

“A common theme amongst those who reported allegations was that they did not know or understand at the time that the behaviour which they had described to me was wrong,” the report said.

One person described Westwood’s conduct as being “so public” and “brazen”, the report stated, and members of the BBC production team were left “upset and in tears” as a result of his alleged bullying and harassment.

The report read: “People referred to Tim Westwood refusing to talk to some of his BBC production team members, ‘freezing them out’ and giving them the ‘silent treatment’.

“Many told me that they, and others, found it very difficult to work with him.”

Ms White’s report said “many people” also raised concerns about the way Westwood treated people on air, including jokes about women’s breasts, and the review team listened to a selection of his 1Xtra drivetime shows during their investigations.

“There are repeated examples of Tim Westwood discussing, or referring to, the bodies of those who were in the studio with him and of jokes at their expense,” Ms White wrote.

However, she added: “I did not hear of any allegation of inappropriate sexual contact with BBC colleagues and no BBC employee who worked with Tim Westwood told me that they regarded inappropriate sexualised language that Tim Westwood is alleged to have used about them to be a sexual advance.”

 The BBC has taken a range of actions in recent years, including implementing a specialist case management process to consider the most serious allegations and concerns raised, as well as a new anti-bullying and harassment policy.

Westwood began his career on local radio before joining Capital Radio in London.

He then moved to the BBC and left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra after nearly 20 years in 2013. He hosted a regular Saturday show on Capital Xtra, where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”, before he left the company in 2022.

In their statement for the review, Westwood’s lawyers said he had complained about “negative behaviour” towards him when he worked for 1Xtra and was “essentially advised to rise above it”.

He also said after a move to a new slot in 2009, “the environment felt competitive and hostile” and was “toxic from the outset”.

On some occasions, Westwood “took issue with some of his colleagues’ poor attitude to work and low productivity, and expressed his opinion that they were lazy and out of touch with the audience”, his lawyers’ statement said. “He accepts that this contributed to a divisive atmosphere within some of the teams with which he worked.”

Allegations against Westwood were first made public in 2022, when several women accused him of sexual misconduct. He has strongly denied all allegations of inappropriate behaviour and wrongdoing.

The Met Police previously said detectives were investigating accusations of offences alleged to have happened between 1982 and 2016.