SCREAMING matches, tears and table mutiny is what you expect from Christmas Day with your in-laws – not at the Brit Awards.
But this year’s swanky ceremony in Manchester’s Co-op arena was a hotbed of misbehaving drunk stars, disgruntled execs who weren’t dished up their puddings and desperate agents who, on the night, were still begging organisers to get their A-listers into the label after-parties – with one Hollywood actor being repeatedly turned away because “they’re known for being a nightmare”.
On Saturday night, over 1,000 of the biggest names in music and entertainment descended on Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena floor to enjoy a swanky three-course meal before Harry Styles opened the Brits.
The experience, which is usually luxurious to say the least, got off to a shaky start when guests, who’d forked out over £25,000 for a table, were hastily ushered out because Robbie Williams still needed time to rehearse.
The delay in proceedings ended up causing chaos before the show had even begun, and later, angry guests were overheard moaning about the meagre portion sizes and a Manchester tart pudding, which, for hundreds of guests, failed to materialise.
One top celebrity agent moaned to me: “A table costs £25,000, but four bits of celeriac, a tiny bit of venison and no pudding is outrageous.
“Everyone on my table wanted tequila shots, but when we went to order them, the staff said they couldn’t serve them straight.
“Then, because Robbie’s rehearsal messed with timings, there wasn’t time for the puddings to come out before the show started.
“Some tables got their tarts, others got absolutely nothing – and there was no apology. We were all starving.
“The service felt like we were at a badly organised wedding.”
On the floor, music and acting royalty, including Jeff Goldblum and Oasis legend Noel Gallagher, mingled amid discontent – before acts including Harry Styles, Olivia Dean and Mark Ronson put on epic performances.
As the ceremony got started, not everyone was having fun.
Love Islander’s Toni Laites and Cach Mercer had a screaming match mid-way through the show – leaving them on the brink of a split.
Meanwhile, Maya Jama, Olivia Attwood and Lola Young broke the strict “no vaping rule” and irked their nearby table neighbours by puffing out fumes.
One well-respected publicist told me during the night: “It was like sitting next to the Flying Scotsman sitting near Lola Young.
“She was exhaling these huge plumes of vapour. It was ignorant and arrogant.
“And don’t get me started on Bez – he’d had so much to drink he looked like he was struggling to stand.
“He was dressed like a court jester, and he tried to introduce himself to Alex Warren, who looked totally baffled by the entire interaction.
“Alex was totally polite, but he didn’t have a clue who this seemingly mad man was who was trying to shake his hand.
“Eventually, someone he was with got Bez away from him so he could carry on watching the show.”
Censoring was a big point of contention on the night too, with Jack Whitehall’s funniest quips – including a gag about Peter Mandelson – and Geese drummer Max Bassin’s shout of: “I just want to say: free Palestine and f*** I.C.E,” all edited out by ITV.
“It was bizarre,” another publicist quipped to me the following day.
“Noel Gallagher shouted ‘Up the f***ing blues,’ and rather than just beeping out the swear word, they decided to lose the entire sentence – meaning anyone watching at home just suddenly heard him being booed by Manchester United fans in the arena.
“The BBC totally botched up the Baftas, so maybe ITV were scared of getting it wrong.
“But it meant that some of the editing didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
“Why are you letting one of the night’s biggest stars get loudly booed with zero context?”
It was like sitting next to the Flying Scotsman sitting near Lola Young.
As the clock ticked closer to 11pm, stars keen to get out of the arena and to after parties thrown by major labels including Warner and Sony, found themselves being blocked by security.
“People just wanted out towards the end,” one of the on-site crew explained.
“The floor usually is chaotic towards the end of the ceremony because people are drunk, but you can’t have half the tables suddenly going missing.
“Vernon Kay and Sharon Osbourne managed to evade capture, but security were trying to turn most people back to their tables.”
The rush to the after-parties made sense, given how tight the guest lists were.
I’m told one major Hollywood acting agent was ringing around organisers on the day to try and get their client, who is a household name and has been in massive films, into a bash.
“The guest list is full, that’s the party line,” one insider told me.
“But basically, if your client is a nuisance, they aren’t getting in.
“This actor is known to party hard and can be a nuisance. His agent was begging him to be allowed into the parties, but everyone kept saying no.
“In the end, he didn’t bother coming, which was a relief. But there was no way this agent would have let their Hollywood client slum it on the pavement outside.”
Out in the cold
As stars and execs jostled to get into the parties, Selling Sunset star Breana Tiesi was left shivering on the pavement outside of Warner Music’s bash after briefly stepping outside the event and being told she wasn’t allowed back in.
“Bre was furious,” one onlooker told me. “She was an invited guest and had been inside.
“But she stepped out and wasn’t allowed to get back inside again.
“They kicked up a massive stink, and it eventually got sorted. But it wasn’t a good look.
“Amber Gill then ended up in tears and was sobbing in the foyer – all while you’ve got mega A-list stars like Dua Lipa singing a cocktail just a few feet away.
“It’s scenes you just can’t make up.”