Latest news with #BBC5Live
The Irish Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
TV and radio star slams the BBC for treating staff ‘like pets' saying ‘I'm leaving in September'
TV AND radio star Nihal Arthanayake has slammed the BBC for its lack of diversity - saying they treat staff "like pets". The journalist 54, claims very few changes have been made over the last 12 months after having previously called the broadcaster out. Advertisement 4 Nihal Arthanayake has slammed the BBC for its lack of diversity Credit: instagram 4 He agreed with an anonymous BBC employee who said they've been treated like 'pets' Credit: Alamy Taking to his Instagram, Nihal said: "So today I walked into the BBC building in Salford and I was struck yet again, not for the first time, just how few black and Asian people work in that building and one thing that people have to understand is that when you walk into an environment where you just don't see anybody that looks like you, that has an effect. "Since I called them out on it, well over a year ago, it seems like ain't a damn thing changed." He captioned it: "I remember calling out BBC North on the lack of diversity in the building I worked in. Advertisement "I remember speaking to some of the black and Asian people who worked there and I kept hearing how isolating it was for them (not all obviously). "It just struck me again today. "It also reminded why I I'll be leaving in September. Have pondered whether to press 'share' on this, but as I am leaving anyway." Yesterday, Nihal also shared a screengrab of a message from a BBC employer, who he has kept anonymous. Advertisement Most read in Showbiz Breaking Breaking It read: "I'm not sure the BBC is a place for people of colour. I feel we get treated like 'pets' that we should be grateful, despite grafting for our positions and dare we speak out." BBC presenter suffers shocking racist abuse outside pub while waiting for his wife on night out Alongside the claim, Nihal wrote: "Not sure I can disagree with these sentiments from someone who DM'd me about their experience of working at the BBC." He added: "Had so many dms from people of colour who have worked or are still working at the BBC. BBC North is not an inclusive environment for people of colour. I am not the only one who thinks that." A BBC spokesperson said: 'We're sorry if anyone feels this way, as creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong is a big priority for us and we know we have further to go. Advertisement "Whilst we're proud of the diversity of the BBC, we remain committed to continuing to build a workforce that fully reflects and represents the whole of the UK.' Last May, the Essex born journalist and former rap music promoter revealed he had left BBC 5 Live after eight years, with Times Radio presenter Matt Chorley replacing him. Nihal currently hosts two interviews on Sunday evenings in a slot called Headliners with Nihal Arthanayake, which is also available as a podcast. He also occasionally presents Loose Ends on BBC Radio 4. Just after he announced his BBC 5 Live exit, Advertisement He said: "Hello everyone, some professional news from me. "I am leaving daytimes on @bbc5live to concentrate on the aspect of broadcasting I love most, which is in depth long form interviews, which I will continue to do on @bbc5live on Sunday evenings and the Headliners Podcast. "I also need more time to finish my second book! And have more time to do the things that I never seem to have time to. "Thank you for being such an incredible audience for the last 8 years! My last daytime show will be 27th June. let's have a party." Advertisement He also worked on BBC Radio 1 from 2002 to 2014. In April 2023 Nihal revealed his ordeal a 'drunk man' in Altrincham where he had been drinking with his wife and said he was racially abused. In a shocking video posted on Twitter he said the man asked him if he was a doctor before calling him a p*** and using the n-word, a racist slur. Read more on the Irish Sun In November he admitted that working within an "overwhelmingly white" environment at the BBC depressed him, and said it had affected his mental health due to the lack of diversity. Advertisement He said: "It's really affecting me that I walk in and all I see is white people." 4 Nihal said he'll be quitting his current role in September Credit: PA 4 Matt Chorley replaced Nihal in June 2024 on BBC 5 Live Credit: BBC
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
I sent one Whatsapp message of thanks to a group of Black dads and everything changed
Yahoo News – Insights speaks directly to the people with an inside track on the big issues. Here, Marvyn Harrison explains how a Whatsapp message started a movement for Black dads. Marvyn Harrison is the founder of Dope Black Dads and Dope Black Men. He is a regular contributor to Good Morning Britain, Steph's Packed Lunch, The Kick Off, and BBC 5Live. He has published two children's books with Pan Macmillan Kids, "I Love Me" and "The Best Me", and is soon to announce another book focused on helping men with personal transformation. On Father's Day 2018, I sent a message to a few friends, thanking them for being examples of fatherhood I could admire. At the time, it came from a place of unease. I wasn't sure if I was doing enough — for my children, for their mother, or for myself. I felt disconnected — present in action but not fully in energy. I remember that day clearly. I was exhausted when someone shared an image on Instagram: a father pushing his child on a swing. He looked tired too, but he was there — fully present. That image stayed with me. It captured something I couldn't yet name: the quiet persistence it takes to keep showing up with love, even when no one is watching. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement I grew up in East London, Hackney, as one of four children raised by my Jamaican mother and grandmother. My father wasn't present. It was the women in my life who built my foundations: shaping my values, showing me how to move through the world, and instilling care — especially for those pushed to the margins. So that day, when I messaged a few close friends to say, 'Thank you for being visions of fathers I can follow,' it wasn't just appreciation — it was reaching out. "Dads get overlooked — and Black dads rarely get credit,' wrote one friend. The response was immediate: messages of gratitude, honesty, vulnerability. It became clear that this wasn't just my experience. There was a hunger among Black fathers for a space to be seen, heard, and understood — without judgment. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement A WhatsApp group wasn't enough. Within months, I went to a studio, gathered a few friends, and recorded our first conversation. That's how Dope Black Dads began. I worked as an advertising strategist at a major agency until 2020, and I loved solving problems. But I made a career shift to find more joy and freedom — freedom to interpret data through my lens as a working-class, Black father from London. We launched in October 2018, during Black History Month. Today, over 60 contributors from around the world join in — from co-parenting and blended families to race, sex, and identity. What started as a WhatsApp group of 23 Black fathers in London has grown into a global digital community of 40,000 men discussing Black fatherhood. (Image supplied) The First Time I Saw Myself on Stage The first stage production I ever saw that made me think about Fatherhood was Barbershop Chronicles. Watching Black men of all ages simply being themselves — playful, vulnerable, angry, joyful — was transformative. It was more than entertainment; it was a mirror. That experience affirmed what we were creating through Dope Black Dads: a space where Black men could be fully themselves without apology. Where honesty was valued over perfection, not just through one-dimensional narratives. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement When I heard about the Black girl who was strip-searched in school, it brought me to reflective silence. Moments of pride — like seeing Lewis Hamilton acknowledge his mother's maiden name — remind me why it's so necessary to hold space, speak up, and stay present. The community changed me. It also sparked something wider: the birth of Dope Black Mums, Dope Black Women, Dope Black Men, and Dope Black Queers — each creating spaces on their own for connection, growth, and support. We started talking about therapy, money, intimacy, mental health — topics that would've been taboo among men just a decade ago. This work also forced us to confront what we'd absorbed about identity: ideas about manhood, success, and emotion. We had to unlearn the myth that strength meant silence, or that value came from financial stability alone. Therapy became necessary, not optional. We started showing up differently, for each other and ourselves. If someone was stuck — in a job, relationship, or emotionally — we sat with him. Fatherhood and the Future Raising my son, now nine, and my daughter, seven, I want them to know they don't have to choose between strength and softness. They can be both. Marvyn Harrison says he and his partner are building a home where care is the foundation, not the afterthought. (Image supplied) The release of Adolescence and the BBC documentary The Angry Black Man? reminded me why this work matters. The anger was never just about rage — it was about boys expected to be tough before they're ready. About being misunderstood, unseen. These projects made it impossible to ignore how often young male emotion is misread — especially when it's Black. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement We can't wait for institutions to catch up. At 41, I'm raising children in a society that still struggles to fully see us. I feel both the weight and the gift of this work. My partner and I are building a home where care is the foundation, not the afterthought. Where being strong doesn't mean being silent. What started as a WhatsApp group of 23 Black fathers in London has grown into a global digital community of 40,000 men discussing Black fatherhood. It started with a message of gratitude. It became a movement. And it's still growing — because we refuse to leave each other behind. *As told to Rabina Khan
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Lando Norris has to quit talking about his fragility and doubts, Damon Hill warns, writes JONATHAN MCEVOY... as McLaren title hopeful is told he is providing fuel for his rivals
Damon Hill speaks and the lessons should reverberate across the decades straight to the heart - or more accurately, the head - of Lando Norris. The 1996 world champion sits in the McLaren hospitality area just a few feet away from the chair on which Norris provided his latest essay in psychological vulnerability a day before. You could sense the 25-year-old's nagging doubts amid his rich talent. Hill draws on his own experiences of being in the spotlight and going up against some of the finest drivers in history. He raced against Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher, just as Norris faces the best of his era led by the indefatigable Max Verstappen, as well as having to contend with the emergence as a title threat of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. 'I had some good advice,' remembers Hill, now 64 and working at the Miami Grand Prix as a pundit for BBC 5 Live. 'After a difficult year in 1995, I was helped to change the way I went about things. 'The advisor was a woman called Mary Spillane. I became aware of her because the BBC asked her as a sports psychologist to do a piece on body language, comparing how Michael and I carried ourselves. I remember watching it in utter horror. 'I had always thought I would be judged on how I drove, not on how I walked. But that wasn't the case. I walked with my head down, thinking, as I came into the paddock. I was told I had to stare people in the eye, not look like a haunted figure. 'I asked Mary to come to see me in Ireland. She gave me various tips, basic stuff. One thing I remember, and this is relevant to Lando now, she advised me not to share all my concerns with the world. She told me: "Save it for the book." 'Having worked on Sky for a number of years, I understand better now that everything is interpreted and analysed. For example, Martin Brundle will be able to spot a champion from a mile off on the basis of a driver's manner and body language because he has years of experience of observing this. 'Competitors, too, eye each other up and down. It is a real thing. Sport is so much a mind game. The power of the impression drivers give off now is exponentially greater with social media.' Hill is one of the most thoughtful of world champions and his mind works at lateral angles - a singular contribution Sky have denied their viewers since their unwise decision to dispense with his services this season. That is radio listeners' gain, and he will be in the commentary box again in Monaco and at Silverstone. Apropos media, social or traditional, I ask Hill whether Norris - who headed into Sunday night's race in Miami trailing Piastri by nine points, having not won a grand prix since the opening round in Melbourne - is well served by reading reviews of his performances. Do the interpretations of others play funny tricks on the mind? 'I remember reading that I made strange jerky movements on the podium,' he says, recalling the observation penned by sportswriter Richard Williams. 'I thought, "No, I don't". But I looked at it and he was right. So, there are contradictory ways of thinking about this. 'On one hand, not reading reports or posts may protect you from bruising things you may not wish to be reminded of or be aware of. But, on the other hand, you can read something that is useful, a remedy for something you could put right.' Norris has taken a battering from Alan Jones, Williams's world champion from 1980. While noting that he is an Australian and a Melburnian to boot, as is Piastri, his comments from only a few days ago are pertinent in any assessment of Norris's title challenge. Jones, himself as tough as teak, noted that Norris is quick, but added: 'Mentally, he's quite a weak person. 'He's coming out with all this nonsense that he's got a bit of a mental thing. He's dwelling on some of the problems he's had rather than the positives. When they start talking all that nonsense, you know you have got them.' In contrast, Jones praised 24-year-old Piastri for exhibiting 'an old head on young shoulders.' Hill's response: 'It was brutal. Yes, Alan was upping the positives for Oscar for obvious reasons but there is certainly some truth in what he said. 'Lando has admitted to fragility and doubts, and he needs to put that behind him. It is about fine margins when you are fighting a team-mate, in a dominant car, for a world title, though Max is relentless and has the tip of a wedge between the two McLaren drivers. 'If it comes down to a state of mind, Lando would be well-advised not to express his concerns so openly but to limit it to his inner circle. 'There is pressure enough in his situation without inviting people to question his psychological make-up because he is laying it all out there. It becomes a natural and fair subject to ask him about.' There is plenty of food for thought for Norris as he looks to keep up his title challenge A final, left-field insight from Hill. 'Buddhists have what is called an "inner smile". Mary taught me this. You meditate and think of something happy. It changes your mood and brings a calmness into you.' It's all food for thought for the tortured Norris. If he cares to read it.
The National
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Kemi Badenoch calls for mass deportations of immigrants
The Tory leader said that all illegal immigrants should be deported in a bid to outflank Nigel Farage to his right. Farage has previously dismissed calls for mass deportations as impossible. Speaking on BBC 5 Live, Badenoch said: 'We need to make sure that we remove foreign criminals from our country. And we actually put down an amendment that says that we will deport. It's not going to be easy, but you've got to start from somewhere. 'If you start from the position of, oh, well, it can't be done, then you're never going to do it. We have a problem now with immigration being too high. I have acknowledged that that happened under the Conservatives' watch. I was not in charge. I am now. And that is something that we are going to fix.' READ MORE: Kneecap to receive no more public funding, says Downing Street Host Matt Chorley asked whether she was committed to 'mass deportations of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants'. The Conservative leader replied: 'Of foreign criminals? Absolutely. If people are in the country illegally, then they should be deported. That is the law. Otherwise you're rewarding people for breaking the law.' Farage (below) recently unveiled plans to create a 'minister for deportations' if he became prime minister, but has previously ruled out mass deportations. (Image: PA) In an interview with GB News last September, Farage said: 'For us, at the moment, it's a political impossibility. I'm not going to get dragged down the route of mass deportations or anything like that.' Elsewhere, Badenoch called for a statue of Margaret Thatcher to be built outside Parliament, saying it was 'odd' there was not one already. She said: 'I do think that we should have a statue of Margaret Thatcher outside Parliament. READ MORE: Labour MP pans party's broken pledges as Grangemouth refining ends 'There's one that's near the chamber of the House of Commons that's inside, but most people would never see that. I think she's such an iconic figure. It's odd that she isn't there.' The Tories face a bruising result at the upcoming local elections in England, where they are defending almost 1000 seats. A poll by Tory peer Lord Hayward predicted a devastating night for his party, estimating they will lose between 475 and 525 council seats. Their losses are expected to be Reform's gains, with Farage's party expected to win between 400 and 450 seats in local authorities across England.
The Independent
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Alex Yee enters the unknown at London Marathon and invites you with him
Even for Olympic champions, the days before running the London Marathon bring a mixture of nerves and excitement. Alex Yee is no exception. The world triathlon champion and gold medal winner in Paris last summer, his first attempt at the marathon distance will start on home turf: Lewisham's own will join line up alongside the elites at Blackheath, a few miles from the hospital where he was born and the running track in Ladywell where he started out, and which now bears his name. Yee remembers watching the marathon from a young age, leaning over the barriers to watch the fastest in the world fly through the south London streets before crossing Tower Bridge. It will be surreal to join them now, and he has hinted at feeling a sense of imposter syndrome, given that he will be starting in the strongest marathon field ever assembled, including the greatest of all time in Eliud Kipchoge. 'It feels like I've taken a wrong turn to get here,' he told BBC 5 Live this week. Yee has been open and honest about the challenge he faces. Rather than shy away from the fact that he is stepping into the unknown, Yee is fully embracing it. Of course, the 27-year-old is more accustomed to swimming and cycling before he runs, and the mechanics of a triathlon race - beyond the obvious - couldn't be more different. In the triathlon, there are natural points where momentum can switch and surge, notably displayed by Yee in his astonishing comeback to beat rival Hayden Wilde to gold in Paris. In attempting the marathon, Yee will need more of the same spirit. His target is in the range of 2:08 to 2:09, which would put him among some of the fastest British times ever recorded in the marathon. Yee's race simulation in Portugal earlier this month saw him go through 30km in 3:05/kms, exactly where he wanted to be. It is the final 10km, and the little 2.195km on the end, that for now remains untouched at race-pace, lingering at the back of Yee's mind. Even with months of marathon training behind him, no one knows what will happen then. And - perhaps aided by the fact that his adventure in London is a bit on the side, with a hugely successful career in the triathlon to go back to once this is finished - it is a process that Yee has invited his fans and followers to join him in. Yee's YouTube series ahead of the marathon, The London Detour, goes into the insecurities and doubts that come with the daunting prospect of the unknown - and yes, even double Olympic champions are not immune from those. What also comes through is the depth of Yee's support team and the thoroughness of their preparations - from the testing labs at New Balance's Boston headquarters and bespoke race-day shoes to practicing his fluid pick-ups on the simulation run. Yee has continued his sessions in the pool and on the bike - although running, which has always been his biggest strength of the three, has taken up far more of his focus than usual. Afterwards, he hopes his marathon experience will lead to growth, giving him something extra to take back into triathlon and the journey towards to LA 2028. Courage is required after stepping outside the comfort zone. 'Alex is an athlete who outperforms on race day what he does in training,' says his coach Adam Elliott. 'When I watch a triathlon I can trust Alex knows what he is doing and he's going to deliver everything he's got. On race day at the marathon I'm going to stand there not knowing what's going to happen. Do we know what's going to happen in the last 10km? We can train for it as much as we want - but without running 42km flatout, no, not really.' Yee would tell you exactly the same. 'Yeah… marathon is gonna be hard' was the Strava title of one of his long runs at the start of his block. But it is with that honesty that Yee will prepare to leave it all out there on Sunday.
