Rock band The Last Dinner Party, comedian Fern Brady and hit TV show Mr Bates Vs The Post Office are among the winners at this year’s Sky Arts Awards.
The inaugural event, building on the legacy of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, was hosted by Joe Lycettat the Roundhouse, in London, on Tuesday.
The night showcased the very best of British and Irish arts and culture, celebrating incredible achievements across the arts.
Indie rock band The Last Dinner Party took home the popular music award, while Mr Bates Vs The Post Office won in the television category.
Fern Brady won for comedy, and How to Have Sex, the coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Molly Manning Walker, took home the film gong.
Image: Fern Brady won best comedian. Pic: Sky Arts
Image: Mia McKenna-Bruce stars in How To Have Sex, which took best film. Pic: MUBI
Boy Blue’s body of work was awarded the accolade for dance, and opera singer Aigul Akhmetshina took The Times breakthrough award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to broadcaster, author and parliamentarian Melvyn Bragg, whose career spans six decades.
Each winner received a statuette designed by artist and comedian Jim Moir, better known as Vic Reeves.
Speaking about creating the trophies, Moir said: “The finished pieces are Bronze sculptures standing roughly one foot tall, they’re heavy too at four kilograms so will fit perfectly on a mantlepiece…or used as a doorstop!”
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Image: (R-L) Jim Moir, aka Vic Reeves, and his wife Nancy Sorrell at the Sky Arts Awards. Pic: Sky Arts
Image: The Last Dinner Party performing at Leeds Festival 2024. Pic: PA
There were live performances during the evening from acts including The Darkness, TikTok sensation Ren, and poet Lemn Sissay.
And there was a never-before-seen ultimate rock collaboration between AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and guitarist Slash.
Guests on the night included Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sheila Hancock and Lenny Henry.
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Phil Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts, said: “We passionately believe everyone should have access to the arts to enrich our lives and bring us all the joy of a better experience.
“Arts, culture, entertainment, music, storytelling, the visual arts – whatever you’re into we believe it’s something we do better than anywhere else in the world and at Sky Arts we will never stop banging on about how important arts and culture is.”
Full list of Sky Arts Awards winners:
• Theatre: Ryan Calais Cameron
• Dance: Boy Blue
• Television: Mr Bates Vs The Post Office
• Opera: Death In Venice
• Classical music: James MacMillan for The Cumnock Tryst 2023
Oasis have said they are “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley Stadium concert on Saturday.
Together with their bandmates, Liam and Noel Gallagher have offered their “sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved”.
Metropolitan Police said officers on duty at the stadium responded, alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service, to reports a person had been injured at around 10.20pm.
The statement continued: “A man – aged in his 40s – was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”
According to media reports, the man fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
A concertgoer on social media said they saw the incident and described it as “horrific”.
Image: Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage at their first reunion gig. Pic: AP
Metropolitan Police said: “The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage.
“If you have any information that could help us to confirm what happened, please call 101.”
Oasis performed at the venue as planned on Sunday night, delivering the final concert of a five-night run at Wembley.
Addressing fans at the stadium, singer Liam said: “This one’s for all the people who can’t be here tonight, but who are here if you know what I mean, and aren’t they looking lovely. Live Forever.”
Oasis support act Richard Ashcroft paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “I was shocked to hear of the death of one of the audience last night sending my love to the family and friends.”
A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium said: “Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers.”
They will then head to Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the United States, before returning to Wembley for two more dates in September.
The reunion tour began at the start of July and marks the Gallagher brothers’ first performances together since Oasis split acrimoniously in 2009.
Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.
The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.
“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.
Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.
The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.
Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.
Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.
The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.
In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.
The BBC has responded after it was reported that two Strictly Come Dancing stars have been accused of taking cocaine.
The broadcaster is said to have hired an external law firm to probe the drug-taking allegations, which a source said were “well-known” on the show, The Sun on Sunday reports.
The claims were reportedly made on behalf of celebrity contestant Wynne Evans in a legal submission to the BBC in March.
In response, a BBC spokesperson told Sky News: “We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us. We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns.
“It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
Sky News understands that it is not unusual for the BBC to engage an external individual to provide additional expert resource to help deliver a BBC-led investigation. In these cases, they would report to an established BBC team.
Image: PA file pic
The allegations published in The Sun on Sunday include a source saying that one Strictly star had told another about a third celebrity on the show: “Have you seen their pupils… they’re off their face.”
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“The BBC have known about these allegations for some time, and acknowledged receiving them. Now they are taking firm action,” the source reportedly said.
The two individuals accused of drug taking have not been named.
It is the latest crisis to hit the BBC and Strictly.
In July last year, Amanda Abbington accused Strictly dancer Giovanni Pernice of “abusive or threatening behaviour”. The actress, who was paired with Pernice, withdrew from the show in 2023.
In January this year, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans made “inappropriate and unacceptable” comments at the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch, for which he later apologised.