Teenage striker Michelle Agyemang has been backed to to find the strength to reach her potential “without a doubt” despite rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The 19-year-old will miss the rest of the season after suffering the injury as the Lionesses beat Australia 3-0 in Tuesday’s friendly.
Agyemang was as a surprise inclusion in Sarina Wiegman’s squad for Euro 2025 in the summer, but scored crucial goals in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals as they successfully defended their European title.
The Arsenal forward started this season well on loan at Brighton, whose manager Dario Vidosic said on Friday: “It’s not just us that are heartbroken but the whole nation, seeing her go down in that game, I think we all held our breath.
“There are no words, it’s a tough one. I spoke to her today and she said she is OK, she feels good.
“She is a very switched-on kid so her mind is already set on it (recovery), that’s the impressive thing about her that maybe not everyone gets to see.
“It’s a chance to improve. We’ll keep her engaged and learning, if not physically. We can still keep her mind growing and learning as a young player.
“She still has a lot of potential that we were seeing each week, she was growing through the experience of playing and coming up against tough opponents.
“Now we’ll find another means to do that off the pitch. We’ll help her mentally so that when she comes back it will be like she hasn’t missed a beat.”
Having suffered two ACL injuries herself during her playing career, Arsenal manager Renee Slegers knows what Agyemang is going through.
“It’s a very sad time,” she added. “When these moments happen it’s horrible because you know that it will keep them away from the game for a long time.
“Michelle has been doing so well, she was in a really good place. The timing of this isn’t great, although it’s never a good time.
“But Michelle is very strong, she’s young, she will have the strength to come back and we’ll do everything we can to support her.”
FORMER Corrie actress Michelle Keegan is being courted for her first Hollywood film role.
US screen star Reese Witherspoon is keen for the 38-year-old to play the lead in a big-budget movie adaptation of her new novel.
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Michelle Keegan is being courted for her first Hollywood film roleCredit: GettyHollywood A-lister Reese Witherspoon is keen for Michelle to play the lead in her upcoming filmCredit: Refer to sourceEx-soap star Michelle became a global success thanks to mystery drama Fool Me OnceCredit: Getty
Oscar-winner Reese, 49, wrote crime thriller Gone Before Goodbye with American author Harlan Coben, who was behind Michelle’s Netflix hit show Fool Me Once.
Harlan introduced the women to each other at the launch of the book at the London Literature Festival, held at the capital’s Festival Hall last weekend.
A source said: “Harlan has been singing Michelle’s praises to Reese and she was keen to meet her. They got on really well and it was clear Reese was really taken with Michelle.
“The plan is to turn the book into a film and Michelle is their first choice to take on the role of the lead character, Maggie McCabe.
“She is a combat surgeon and Michelle previously played an Army medic in Our Girl on the BBC, so it’s a role they know she could take on with style.
“It’s early days but Harlan and Reese think Michelle is tailor-made for this role and would love her to come on board when the time is right.”
Ex-soap star Michelle became a global success after the mystery drama Fool Me Once was released last year.
The series became one of Netflix’s most watched TV shows of 2024 — with more than 107 million people streaming it worldwide in the first 90 days.
Best-selling author Harlan said of his leading lady: “I think what Michelle has, besides tremendous talent and all the other stuff, is a genuine authenticity.
“I think the audience, loves her, people want to follow her life, because they sense that there’s a kindness and a gentleness.
“And that’s really her, she’s truly authentic.”
Speaking last year, 63-year-old Harlan insisted he would be keen to work with her again and reckoned: “If we could get Michelle, we’d love to get Michelle.”
Fans of Michelle, from Stockport — who has a daughter with Heart FM DJ husband Mark Wright — will next see her on screen in ITV crime drama The Blame.
She plays Detective Inspector Emma Crane in the six-parter, which is an adaptation of Charlotte Langley’s 2023 debut novel of the same name.
Michelle is also known for her roles in the Sky One comedy drama Brassic and BBC drama Ten Pound Poms, about Brits who migrated to Australia in the 1950s.
Michelle is also known for her role in the Sky One comedy drama BrassicCredit: Sky UK LimitedReese wrote crime thriller Gone Before Goodbye with American author Harlan Coben
“CBS Saturday Morning” co-hosts Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson are among the nearly 100 news division employees cut as part of a massive round of layoffs at parent company Paramount.
The program is getting a new format that will align it closer to the weekday show “CBS Mornings,” according to people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to comment publicly. Brian Applegate, the executive producer of the Saturday program, is out as well.
CBS has also canceled “CBS Mornings Plus,” an extension of its morning program that ran in several markets including Los Angeles. “CBS Evening News Plus,” a streaming program anchored by John Dickerson is also being shuttered. Dickerson announced Monday he is leaving the network.
Several correspondents have already been laid off, including Debora Patta, who covered the Gaza war for the network; Janet Shamlian; and Nikki Battiste. A CBS News representative declined comment.
The cuts are part of parent company Paramount’s reduction of 1,000 employees across all of its divisions. New owners Skydance Media are looking to reduce cots by $2 billion across the company, with a second round of cuts expected later this year.
Miller was a prolific correspondent for CBS News in addition to her Saturday co-host duties, contributing pieces to “CBS Sunday Morning” and “48 Hours.” She also was a frequent fill-in for Gayle King on the weekday morning program.
Miller, 52, is a Los Angeles native and the daughter of Dr. Ross Miller, a trauma surgeon who served on the city council in Compton. She worked at the Los Angeles Times in the early 1990s.
Miller covered a wide range of stories at CBS News, and paid special attention to issues or racism and social injustice. She is married to Marc Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans who is currently head of the National Urban League.
Jacobson, 52 has been with CBS News since 2015. She previously spent a decade at ESPN, where she appeared on “First Take” and “SportsCenter.”
Miller and Jacobson have served as co-hosts of “CBS Saturday Morning” since 2018 when it was called “CBS This Morning Saturday.”
England manager Sarina Wiegman is “not very positive” about the injury to forward Michelle Agyemang, who was carried off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a knee injury during England’s 3-0 win against Australia.
Agyemang, 19, went down with an off-the-ball injury just 13 minutes after being brought on as a second-half substitute before being replaced by Chloe Kelly and left Pride Park on crutches.
In her post-match news conference in Derby, Wiegman said she had not yet received any information on the injury but expressed concern.
“Of course it was an awful moment, it doesn’t look good,” she said. “We don’t know yet but I’m not very positive about what I’ve seen.”
Former Arsenal defender Jen Beattie said Wiegman’s comments to the media were not a good sign.
“Sarina’s comments said a lot because the manager will always be the first person that gets a little nod from the medical team. I think her whole demeanour spoke volumes,” Beattie said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I don’t want to speculate I just hope she’s OK.”
Agyemang, who is currently on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, played a key role for the Lionesses in their Euro 2025 triumph.
Goals from the bench in the quarter-final against Sweden and in the semi-final against Italy forced extra time and gave England a platform for victory.
Her exploits in Switzerland led to her being nominated for the Kopa trophy, an award given to world’s best under-21 female footballer.
She has featured in five of Brighton’s six Women’s Super League games this season, starting each of those matches.
MICHELLE Keegan gushed over Hollywood superstar, Reese Witherspoon, at a glitzy event in London.
The Brassic actress posed with the Academy Award winning star and they were seen getting on very well as they chatted excitedly.
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Michelle Keegan (R) gushed over Hollywood star, Reese WitherspoonCredit: Instagram/michkeeganShe met Reese at an event for the book she co-authored with Harlen Coben (L)Credit: Instagram/michkeegan
She met Reese at an event for her new book, Gone Before Goodbye, which she co-authored with best selling crime author, Harlen Coben.
Michelle recently starred in Fool Me Once, one of Harlen’s many adapted series on Netflix.
She shared a series of photos of her posing closely with Reese and another video of her chatting with Reese as Harlen watched on happily.
“When two genuises collide.. ‘Gone Before Goodbye’ is made! 📖 (I can confirm Reese Witherspoon is everything you’d imagined her to be, what a woman),” Michelle captioned the post on Instagram.
Reese later responded to her post writing, “So wonderful to meet you .. finally!”
Gone Before Goodbye is Reese’s debut novel and tells the story of surgeon Maggie who after a series of personal tragedies is offered an intriguing opportunity by a former colleague.
Michelle also shared a series of her posing at the Southbank Centre in London where the event was held.
Her brush with Hollywood royalty comes after The Sun was first to reveal how Michelle’s BBC series Ten Pound Poms had been scrapped after two series.
The show’s axe comes as the ex-Coronation Street star waves goodbye to hitcomedyBrassiconSky, just as she’s returning to work after becoming a first time mum, to daughter Palma Elizabeth.
Period drama Ten Pound Poms followed a group of British citizens who emigrated from post-war Britain to Australia in the 1950s, with Michelle playing nurse Kate Thorne.
A BBC spokesperson said: “It’s been a joy to bring the story of the Ten Pound Poms to life for BBC viewers and we are really grateful to Danny Brocklehurst, Eleven and all the cast and crew who have worked on the series.”
The gentle drama made a splash when it first aired in May 2023, with 6.37million viewers but that had halved to 3.15million by the end of series two in April this year.
She is busy on a new thriller called The Blame for ITV, though, after time off to have baby Palma with husband Mark Wright.
Michelle stunned as she posed after the star-studded eventCredit: Instagram/michkeeganMichelle starred in another of Harlen’s Netflix series, Fool Me OnceCredit: Vishal Sharma/Netflix
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has been nominated as a candidate for U.N. secretary-general, launching her bid to lead the organization in 2027. File Photo by Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA
Sept. 26 (UPI) — Chilean President Gabriel Boric has officially nominated former President Michelle Bachelet as a candidate for U.N. secretary-general, launching her bid to lead the organization in 2027.
“Michelle Bachelet is not only a widely known and respected figure on the global stage. She is a woman whose life story is deeply consistent with the values that inspire this organization. She has served twice as Chile’s president and was, of course, the first woman to do so,” Boric said In his address Tuesday to the General Assembly,
He added that in her roles as executive director of U.N. Women and U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Bachelet “has governed, negotiated, healed and listened.” Her career allows her, in “times of fragmentation and mistrust,” to be a figure capable of building bridges.
The term of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres of Portugal ends in December 2026. Only Bolivian Vice President David Choquehuanca has also been nominated, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said he wants the position.
In July, a group of 36 former Latin American foreign ministers issued a statement stressing the urgent need to renew U.N. leadership, calling for stronger regional representation and for a woman to lead the organization.
Similarly, the former diplomats warned of “a clear gap in global representation,” noting that Latin America and the Caribbean have had only one U.N. secretary-general in eight decades — Peru’s Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, who served from 1982 to 1991 — and they called on member states “to support our region in taking on this responsibility in the next cycle.”
Several women have been mentioned as potential candidates for the U.N. leadership.
Costa Rican economist Rebeca Grynspan, 69, is secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development and a former vice president of Costa Rica. She is seen as a leading contender because of her long career and close ties within the U.N. system.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has endorsed biologist and diplomat Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s environment secretary and former executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ecuadorian diplomat María Fernanda Espinosa has also been mentioned. She presided over the 73rd session of the U.N. General Assembly, becoming the first woman to hold that post. She has also served as foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations.
Mia Amor Mottley, 60, is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold either position.
“There are other very competent candidates, which is why a strong diplomatic effort and the presentation of a program for U.N. governance in difficult times will be key to standing out from the rest,” Heraldo Muñoz, former foreign minister of Chile, told UPI.
Muñoz also served as assistant secretary-general of the U.N. Development Program for Latin America and the Caribbean and as Chile’s ambassador to the United Nations.
He added that by announcing its candidate before the General Assembly, Chile “immediately positioned the former president’s bid before member states, the international press, commentators who follow world politics and civil society.”
He stressed that what comes next is hard work by Chile’s foreign ministry to deploy “its diplomatic resources to secure formal support from member states in different regions. They will have to be convinced by Michelle Bachelet’s experience in senior U.N. positions.”
Once candidates are officially nominated, the election of the next U.N. secretary-general has two stages.
All members of the Security Council must vote on a candidate. If any of the five permanent members veto the choice, that candidate is immediately out of the race. When a consensus emerges, the name is submitted to the General Assembly, which then votes to ratify or reject the appointment.
“It will be necessary to pay special attention to the 15 members of the Security Council, which proposes a name to the General Assembly. Priority work will be required with the five permanent members, who hold veto power over the candidacies,” Muñoz said.
René Jara, a political scientist and professor at the University of Santiago, said that “any alliance that can be made with other countries, particularly with the BRICS, is important.”
Jara added that the election will pit two forces against each other: those who support U.S. foreign policy and “those who will be a counterweight to those policies.” In his view, “that will be the big battle.”
Michelle Tsiakkas, a Latin dance champion, was partnered with Jamie Borthwick in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing but is “gutted” this term not to have a celeb match
00:43, 25 Sep 2025Updated 00:45, 25 Sep 2025
Michelle Tsiakkas addressed her Strictly Come Dancing snub
Speaking in a video she posted to her Instagram account, Michelle said: “Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well. I just wanted to make this post to acknowledge and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the lovely messages I’ve received since you’ve all seen that I don’t have a partner on Strictly this year. To those of you asking how I am. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gutted, but I think that’s a normal feeling to have.”
But Michelle, a Latin dance champion, has been able to reflect on the decision. She added: “Last year was my first year with a partner and it made me realise just how much I enjoy the process.
“I think it’s the most beautiful and rewarding part of the show. And I also feel like last year was the first time you all started to get to know me better as well.
“There is still a whole lot more of me yet to discover, so I will do my best this year to post more on here to make up for not seeing me as much on your screens.
“I’ll be sharing more about my life, my hobbies, my interests, my experiences, my opinions – just anything that you want to know about me, I want to help you to get to know me better and you will still be seeing me this year in music acts and group numbers and It Takes Two, so I’m not completely disappearing.”
Michelle, born in Cyprus, first appeared on the BBC television dance show in 2022. At the time, she called it “her dream ever since I was a little girl”.
And her co-stars have offered her encouragement despite the snub, with supportive messages flooding in on Instagram. Vito Coppola wrote: “Yes Mish. You are talented in so many different ways. Just keep being yourself.”
Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter to say that she woke up Wednesday “elated” by the news that the Rev. Raphael Warnock had won his Senate race, but that her “heart had fallen harder and faster than I can remember” as violent supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol.
“The day was a fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures,” she continued.
“It all left me with so many questions — questions about the future, questions about security, extremism, propaganda, and more. But there’s one question I just can’t shake: What if these rioters had looked like the folks who go to Ebenezer Baptist Church every Sunday? What would have been different?”
She continued: “And for those who calls others unpatriotic for simply taking a knee in silent protest, for those who wonder why we need to be reminded that Black Lives Matter at all, yesterday made it painfully clear that certain Americans are, in fact, allowed to denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation. What do all those folks have to say now?”
Collapsing to the ground, hands covering her eyes, Michelle Agyemang was overcome by the occasion. In a moment when England desperately needed a lifeline, the 19-year-old, whose surname fittingly means “saviour of the nation”, rose when it mattered the most.
A little-known teenage player just weeks ago, her name now lingers on every England football fan’s lips after her 96th-minute equalising goal against Italy dragged the team from the jaws of defeat, as the Lionesses roared back into the UEFA Women’s Euro semifinal in Geneva.
Although Chloe Kelly sealed the comeback with her extra-time winner, the spotlight belonged to Agyemang, who stepped up when no one else did, showing a composure that belied her age.
Agyemang’s goal in Tuesday’s win against Italy – a sensational double-nutmeg finish – was the second time in five days she had rescued England with a “super-sub” performance, after also coming off the bench to score a late equaliser in their quarterfinal victory over Sweden.
“Big Mich at it again!” Kelly told ITV Sport. “She’s an unbelievable player and she’s got the world at her feet. A young player with a bright future. I’m absolutely buzzing for her.”
From the stands of Stade de Geneve to the roar at Wembley Boxpark, Agyemang has stirred belief in thousands of English fans when everything seemed lost at Euro 2025. With her black braids trailing behind her blazing runs on the pitch, the striker is must-watch TV as she surges forward with a combination of power, poise and unselfish play.
“She plays beyond her years,” said Ellen White, England’s Euro 2022 winner, on BBC. “The way she holds the ball up, brings others into play… What she’s done with limited minutes, she’s turned England’s history on its head and helped them reach another final.”
With three goals in four international appearances, Agyemang has added a new scoring dimension to the Lionesses [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
A star is born
Included in the England squad as a wild card selection, Agyemang, who is of Ghanaian descent, has proven to be one of the breakout stars of the tournament, playing a crucial role in the reigning champions’ run to Sunday’s final against Spain in Basel.
She earned a call-up for the European Championships despite having played just one international match for the Lionesses, becoming the youngest player on the squad. Watching her glide through defenders and finish with such calm at Euro 2025, it’s difficult to believe Agyemang only made her international debut three months ago.
As late as 2021, she stood on the sidelines as a ball girl at the famous Wembley Stadium in London and tossed the football to some of England’s current superstars during one of Sarina Wiegman’s first games as national coach.
“Four years ago, I was a kid, throwing balls to some of these girls, but now I’m here playing with them. It’s a great opportunity and I’m so glad I’m here,” Agyemang said.
“To be doing this at this level, to be helping out this team, is more than what I could have wished for, so I’m so grateful to be here.”
Agyemang’s composure on the grandest stage has been remarkable, but not surprising.
Making her international debut in April, the 1.69-metre (5ft-6.5in) forward fired off a brilliant volley to score within 41 seconds of coming off the bench – and giving Wiegman a first glimpse of her immense talent.
“I said with the squad announcement already that she brings something special,” Wiegman recalled. “She is only 19, but she is very mature. She knows exactly what she has to do. If she continues like this, she has a very bright future.”
Agyemang, #17, who is the youngest player in England’s Euro 2025 squad, has been used as a super-sub by coach Sarina Wiegman, left, during the tournament [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
‘Crazy season’
Born in Essex to a family of Manchester United, Chelsea and West Ham United supporters, Agyemang is a lifelong Arsenal fan and joined the North London club’s academy at the age of six.
Making her senior debut for the Gunners in 2022 as a 16-year-old, Agyemang enjoyed some first-team experience before being loaned to second-tier side Watford for the 2023-24 season.
Five goals in 10 appearances at Watford earned her a first professional contract at Arsenal, and in September 2024, she joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in the top-tier Women’s Super League (WSL).
Although she scored only three goals and made as many starts, Agyemang was named the Women’s Young Player of the Season – a nod to the potential that was about to explode.
When she watched her parent club Arsenal lift the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy in Lisbon on May 24, Agyemang had no idea she would soon receive a FaceTime call from Wiegman for Euro 2025, which is the second-largest female football tournament on the planet.
The first person she told? Her dad, who ran around the house in disbelief and pride.
“It’s been a crazy season for me being on loan and then getting the call-up at such a late time in the season. But, you know, everything happens for a reason,” Agyemang said.
“It’s easy to come here and not really be connected to a team because of the short amount of time, but they have really taken me in and I’m so grateful.”
Agyemang’s sensational 96th-minute equaliser against Italy in the Euro 2025 semifinal has turned her into a household name in England [Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters]
Michelle Khare has mastered taekwondo, muscled through police academy and conquered Houdini’s deadliest trick. But now comes a different kind of challenge for the popular daredevil: proving to the Hollywood establishment that Emmy-worthy content arises from YouTube.
The host, known for her online reality series “Challenge Accepted,” is part of a group of YouTube creators with massive followings, producing high-caliber content, who are vying for Primetime Emmy Awards this year.
Although she won’t need to enlist the help of an Olympian or train for months this time around, she’s taking the challenge head-on. But while she’s been on the awards campaign, Khare said her top priority is letting her videos speak for themselves.
To that end, she’s taken on some high-profile challenges lately, including surprising Tom Cruise at the premiere of “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” She got in by donning a mask a la the spy franchise, whipping it off for the big reveal. And she teased the process of training to take on Cruise’s infamous stunt of hanging off a plane as it’s taking off.
The video has garnered more than 800,000 views.
“My primary concern constantly is, ‘Is the show we’re making worth a nomination?’ and it needs to be, always,” she said.
Having a creator win an Emmy would be yet another milestone in YouTube’s quest for global dominance.
People now spend more time watching YouTube on TV screens than viewing subscription-based streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, according to data from Nielsen. On average, there are more than 20 million videos uploaded daily to YouTube, according to the company.
Google-owned YouTube’s revenue last year was estimated to be $54.2 billion, which would make it the second-largest media company behind Walt Disney Co., according to a recent report from research firm MoffettNathanson.
Creators self-submitted for the awards, and YouTube has been supporting their campaigns to bring awareness to their content and sway Emmy voters. The creators and YouTube are jointly contributing to the campaigns. No matter what happens when nominations are announced Tuesday, this year’s push is a long time coming.
Traditional studios and networks have substantial budgets dedicated to awards campaigns because the trophies and the glamour of awards season are not just superficial. A major nomination or award serves as a signal of high quality and legitimacy. That would be all the more meaningful for online creators, who have traditionally been seen as on the outskirts of Hollywood.
For the individual creators and their companies, the investment in the Emmys race could lead to new or more fruitful relationships with advertisers and sponsors. The prestige recognition could also open the door for different opportunities for creators, like Lilly Singh’s late-night stint or MrBeast’s competition series on Prime Video.
Khare said when she met with YouTube Chief Executive Neal Mohan shortly after he was appointed in 2023, he asked her what the company could do for her. Helping a creator earn an Emmy was her request, she said.
“If it’s not me on July 15, if it’s anybody else, if it’s this year, next year, 10 years from now, I can’t wait,” she said.
Khare, who is hoping for a nomination in the hosted nonfiction series category, is in good company with two other YouTube shows in the running for awards this year.
“Good Mythical Morning,” a daily show hosted by YouTube personalities Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, and Sean Evans’ talk show “Hot Ones,” where celebrity guests eat progressively spicier chicken wings, are also eligible for Emmys. Last year, “My Next Guest With David Letterman and John Mulaney,” an “Only Murders in the Building” aftershow and “The Daily Show” won in the respective categories these YouTubers are hoping for a spot in.
“There’s a reason traditional Hollywood cares about awards,” Khare said. “It attracts the crew who want to work on [the show]. It attracts the audience to bring viewership, and it also attracts advertisers to financially support and make the show continually sustainable, in addition to all of the other wonderful publicity things that it does to elevate us into this world against legacy television.”
Khare said she always wanted to work in television and gained experience at legacy studios before joining BuzzFeed, which she called “paid graduate school for content creation.”
(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
In a 2024 guest column for the Hollywood Reporter, Mohan wrote that YouTube creators are not just vlogging from their bedrooms. They have writers’ rooms, production teams and business strategies. Mohan wrote that the Television Academy recognizing creators wouldn’t “detract from its storied history” but rather ensure the group is forward-looking.
“In order to maintain its relevance and emerge a leader in the digital age of entertainment, the Emmys should celebrate all kinds of content, especially the creators whose storytelling is pushing culture forward,” he wrote.
A 2025 report from the Television Academy released in February shows the members skew older. About 50% of the body reported their age, and of that group, roughly 68% are age 41 or older.
Much of the challenge in these creators’ quests to get nominated for or win an Emmy Award is making sure voters are familiar with their YouTube content. Although they each attract millions of viewers, Hollywood‘s more old-school folks might not have come across their videos before the awards push began.
Khare, who said she had always wanted to work in television, started off interning at legacy studios before she took on a role as a video producer for BuzzFeed in its heyday. She said her experience making YouTube videos for the media company was like going to “paid graduate school for content creation.” At the same time, she was “moonlighting” as a professional cyclist, she said.
Creating “Challenge Accepted,” where she often undertakes incredible physical tasks, was a marriage of her love for video content and athletics. And the extreme stunts she’s able to pull off make her particularly adept at getting attention online. Training like an Olympic boxer, for example. Or learning how to take hits like a superhero stunt performer.
Beyond what creators are doing and contributing to the campaigns themselves, YouTube is supporting the push for Emmys, most visibly by hosting its first formal For Your Consideration, or FYC, event in coordination with the Television Academy.
More than a decade ago, Bernie Su won an Emmy for a YouTube series he worked on. As far as he’s aware, his 2013 win marked the first time “the word YouTube has ever appeared on the trophy,” Su said. He went on to win two more Emmys, one for another YouTube series and one for a Twitch series.
The category for his YouTube wins, recognizing creative achievement in interactive media for an original interactive program, is judged by panels of industry professionals, rather than by popular vote.
But Su said his road to win the Emmys looked very different than the creators in the race today. YouTube wasn’t even aware he and his team were submitting their series for Emmy consideration in 2013, he said.
Still, Su said he’s rooting for Khare and the other creators in the running this year, especially since he’s seen firsthand how an Emmy Award helps to legitimize digital-native work.
“My parents are very much all about the three Emmy wins when they talk about their son,” he said. “Not about anything else. It starts there. That’s the nexus of the work that I do.”
YouTube declined to share how much money the company has spent to support the campaigns this year. Angela Courtin, a YouTube executive who’s helming the awards push, said the company is relying on “existing commitments” like billboard space and activations at film festivals to highlight the Emmy contenders.
“When they decided that they wanted to be seen among their peers equally, then it became our responsibility and our opportunity, as well as our privilege, to collaborate with them to do so,” Courtin said. “At the end of the day, the award sits on their mantle, not ours. It will never be in my office.”
Evans, left, Khare, McLaughlin and Neal each spoke to Television Academy members about their shows at YouTube’s For Your Consideration event in May.
(Araya Doheny / Getty Images for YouTube)
Offering this kind of support to creators serves YouTube too.
Beyond the benefits of recognition as a serious player in the traditional television world, and the potential boost in advertising dollars flowing to the company, YouTube putting both monetary and figurative weight behind creators is a worthwhile investment, said Jeremy Goldman, senior director of briefings at eMarketer. After all, YouTube doesn’t want to lose more of its talent roster to Instagram Reels and TikTok.
“YouTube creators can take their ideas elsewhere,” Goldman said. “The more you support them, the more likely they are to go to YouTube for future endeavors, which has been very valuable for YouTube, because it’s basically people creating [intellectual property].”
Brian Flanagan, the president of Mythical, the studio founded by YouTubers Rhett and Link, said seeking awards recognition is not about ego but about acknowledging the many people behind “Good Mythical Morning” and the other shows Mythical makes that draw audiences in the millions.
“GMM” is eligible in the category honoring short-form comedy, drama or variety series. Recent winners include “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” and “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.”
Mythical is also acutely aware of the business implications of a major award nomination or win.
“If you want to seek premium advertising, top-flight guests and other trappings of the best of the best of Hollywood television, it could really be a distinguishing mark, and we’d be excited to have that stamp on us,” Flanagan said.
Evans, who is vying for recognition in the talk series category with the likes of Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, told The Times in June that he feels “Hot Ones” should be in the mix with these traditional television mainstays.
“I didn’t know that we’d be a part of the conversation, never dreamed of it,” he said. “But now that we are, I’ll say with my full chest that we belong.”
Khare would also be entering a storied category with legendary past winners like Anthony Bourdain and David Letterman. That prospect, perhaps unsurprisingly given her record of daunting feats, doesn’t intimidate her.
The list of past winners in this category and other television stars who have inspired Khare’s work are mostly men. “I would love to inspire young women to go out and be great too,” she said.
Despite the tough odds of securing not only a nomination but shooting for a win in a competitive field, Khare remains optimistic about her chances.
Michelle Ryan has been spotted back filming on the EastEnders set for the first time just weeks after her character Zoe Slater made a surprise return to the soap
11:43, 28 Jun 2025Updated 11:48, 28 Jun 2025
Michelle Ryan pictured back on EastEnders set for first time(Image: ISOIMAGES LTD)
Michelle Ryan has been spotted back on the set of EastEnders for the first time since making her surprise return to the BBC soap just weeks ago.
Viewers were left in shock when Zoe made her return to the soap after 20 years, although she scarpered once again after a close run in with her mother Kat. During her brief stint earlier this month, Zoe was seen away from the Square in Stacey Slater’s (Lacey Turner‘s) flat as Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) came to help.
Zoe then fled to Barcelona after a close run in with her mother Kat, as she revealed she was hiding a big secret that everyone would “hate her” for if they found out. Currently, Alfie is in Barcelona to try and bring Zoe back. It’s known Zoe will be returning to the Square later this year, with the first pictures of the star on set released.
Michelle has been pictured filming for Zoe’s return later in the summer(Image: ISOIMAGES LTD)
In the pictures, Michelle could be seen filming on set with Sonny Kendall, who plays Kat Slater’s (Jessie Wallace) son, Tommy Moon. Zoe has never met her half-brother Tommy, but from the pictures, it looks like their first meeting could be happening very soon. As well as Tommy, Zoe also has half brothers Bert and Ernie, who she’s also yet to meet.
Fans can expect drama to go down when Zoe eventually does reunite with her mum Kat. The pair had a turbulent relationship, with which included revelations about Kat’s past and the truth about Zoe’s parentage. Despite a reconciliation, the pair’s relationship became fractured again and they now remained estranged.
Michelle was pictured filming alongside Sonny Kendall who plays Zoe’s half brother Tommy Moon(Image: ISOIMAGES LTD)
However, Alfie hopes to bring the two back together by bringing Zoe back from Barcelona, although we could see dramatic scenes if his plan backfires. Keeping Zoe’s return a secret from his wife, Alfie told Kat he was off to Australia, as his brother Spencer needed help.
Kat is already becoming suspicious, as she was heard telling Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) that she hadn’t spoken to Alfie since he left – and Spencer had been acting weird when she called.
Zoe will be back onscreen later this summer(Image: ISOIMAGES LTD)
Prior to Alfie leaving, Kat was heard telling him that their relationship would be over for good if she found out he was lying about his whereabouts. Will Kat be able to forgive him? And how will her reunion with her daughter Zoe go down?
Zoe’s return marked the first episode for new Executive producer Ben Wadey, but it’s not the only legendary return we’ll be seeing. This week, it was announced that Karen Henthorn would be reprising her role as Julie Bates, as Nigel’s dementia gets progressively worse.
Zoe is expected to have a dramatic reunion with her estranged mother Kat(Image: ISOIMAGES LTD)
Speaking on Michelle Ryan’s return to the soap, Wadey said: “Before I even stepped into the role, Zoe Slater was on my wish-list of returnees as although we haven’t seen her on screen for twenty years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.
“I was absolutely delighted when Michelle agreed to return, and I’m thrilled to welcome her back to Walford. Whilst I can’t say too much at this stage, Zoe’s return is just one of the many exciting storylines we have planned.”
Former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan gave birth to her first child in March of this year alongside husband Mark Wright, with the happy couple raking it in during the new mum’s maternity leave
22:58, 19 Jun 2025Updated 23:08, 19 Jun 2025
Michelle has been making money while on maternity leave(Image: Getty Images)
Michelle Keegan is reportedly raking in six figures while on she’s maternity leave as she’s able to make £8,000 a week. The actress gave birth to her first daughter Palma back in March but it’s thought that she can still make money while not taking on new acting projects.
The new mum reportedly raked in a huge £441,082 while she was pregnant which brings her net worth to more than £4million in total. Michelle’s performing arts firm Rosie Promotions’ filings show that Michelle was raking the money in while she was off on maternity leave.
Accounts filed at Companies House show that she made the equivalent of £8,482 per week for the year up to September 30, 2024. This increases the net worth of the company to £4,032,277 after bills.
Michelle gave birth in March(Image: michkeegan/Instagram)
The Sun reports that the firm has £3,473,623 in cash and £610,370 in property which includes a flat in Altrincham which was bought in 2022. Michelle made £280,000 in her firm’s first year of trading and she exceeded £2 million in 2021 before £3 million in 2023.
Another way Michelle makes money is by co-directing clothing business Mysa Active with her husband Mark Wright. Michelle has reportedly landed a six-figure deal to become the new face of Sky.
It’s thought that the star will film promo clips alongside fellow British actor Luther star Idris Elba. She managed to bag the deal after she has been a Sky staple in her comedy Brassic which is one of the most popular series on the channel.
Michelle is married to Mark Wright(Image: INSTAGRAM)
A source said: “Michelle has really been enjoying maternity leave with Palma, but she’ll be back to work soon to film these new adverts for Sky. She has signed a six-figure deal for the job and is thrilled to have been chosen to appear alongside Idris, who has been their ‘face’.
“Brassic is ending after the seventh series and Michelle is keen to still be a part of the Sky brand. Landing this ad is huge for Michelle, as she’s fast becoming a brand in her own right. Everything she touches seems to turn to gold.”
Michelle has found fame over the years through her acting career. She is best known for her roles on Coronation Street and Our Girl.
Michelle and Mark live a lavish lifestyle together(Image: PA)
However, being a famous actress wasn’t always on the cards for Michelle. She didn’t have any plans when she first left school and found herself working at Selfridges in the Trafford Centre on a make-up counter and at Manchester Airport as a check-in agent.
But this didn’t last for long as she them turned her hand to acting and she found success soon after. She secured first acting appearance on Coronation Street when she was offered the role of Tina McIntyre after just her second audition as an actress.
EastEnders viewers will be treated to huge episodes in the coming weeks, with Zoe Slater actress Michelle Ryan promising ‘high stakes’ after a big night shoot this week
12:09, 17 Jun 2025Updated 12:09, 17 Jun 2025
EastEnders viewers will be treated to huge episodes in the coming weeks, with Zoe Slater actress Michelle Ryan promising ‘high stakes’ (Image: BBC)
Zoe Slater will feature in “high stakes” scenes on EastEnders in a couple of months time.
Michelle Ryan returned to the BBC soap on Monday night, reprising the role after 20 years. Zoe is in “a mess” with more set to be revealed about her return and what’s gone on with her in the past two decades.
But with her on screen for a few episodes this week it’s been revealed that she will be back full-time in the summer. Now, we’ve got a glimpse at some of the big scenes ahead for the character when she heads back to the show.
Michelle took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to confirm that on Monday evening she and the cast filmed a night shoot. Most night shoots seem to be around huge and dramatic episodes.
While she gave nothing away, she did tease fans can expect big scenes ahead and “high stakes”. She addressed the “new block of episodes” filmed this week, that will likely air in six to eight weeks time, as she returns in the summer.
She spilled in a post online: “Ahh coffee, much needed after the night shoot last night. So excited for this new block of episodes, I can’t reveal anything but wow.
Zoe Slater will feature in ‘high stakes’ scenes on EastEnders in a couple of months(Image: BBC)
“High stakes. I’m carrying around the scripts to prep, new lilac pages. Well done to the writers, who have knocked it out of the park!” Viewers were left reacting to the post, excited for what was ahead.
Commenting under the post, one fan said: “Getting so excited! You and Jessie in them scenes are going to be amazing can’t wait!” Another wrote: “Can’t wait for what’s in store in the months ahead!!!”
A third fan said: “So excited to see what’s going to happen so happy your back!” while a fourth commented: “I am literally so excited for what’s to come for Zoe and I’m equally excited for you Michelle.” It comes amid the mystery surrounding Zoe’s return with her seemingly hiding something.
Michelle took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to confirm that on Monday evening she and the cast filmed a night shoot(Image: BBC)
Michelle teased what fans could expect from the return, hinting that Zoe could be in a bad way. She spilled: “I can’t say too much as there is a lot of drama to come, but Zoe is a mess. She’s not the girl that left Walford twenty years ago, and she’s been really struggling on her own.
“She has her defences up, but this week you will see that she needs help, but whether she is willing to accept it is another story.” So what help does Zoe need, and can her family help her?
According to the soap, Zoe carries twenty years of deep-rooted resentment towards her mum. She’s not even met her other siblings including Tommy and the twins, while it’s not known if her own twin brother Dermott will be addressed.
Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United.
Midfielders: Ella Toone (Manchester United), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Keira Walsh (Manchester City), Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Jess Park (Manchester City).
Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal on loan from Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Michelle Agyemang (Brighton on loan from Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea).
Michelle Collins has opened up about her upcoming break from playing Cindy Beale on EastEnders and even admitted that playing the character was ‘exhausting’
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
08:28, 05 Jun 2025
Michelle Collins has revealed that playing infamous Cindy Beale is “exhausting”. The actress left EastEnders fans gobsmacked when she returned from the dead in 2023, and since heading back to Walford, she’s left no stone unturned in her plan of destruction.
Since returning, Cindy has certainly made her mark – reuniting with her former husband, George Knight, and their children, Anna and Gina, after completely vanishing from their bar in Marbella, and even leaving her mother-in-law, Kathy Beale, speechless when she first appeared in her kitchen.
Cindy also found herself having an affair with George’s son, Junior, leaving the Knights’ and Beales’ in a state of disbelief when the bombshell was announced. Over Christmas, she was almost killed when Kathy hit her around the head with a shovel, leaving her for dead in the middle of the square.
Michelle Collins admits playing Cindy Beale is ‘exhausting’(Image: GMB)
Now, she’s opened up about playing the controversial character and admits she finds Cindy “exhausting.” Speaking to Ed Balls and Kate Garraway on Good Morning Britain, Michelle said: “I am loving it, Cindy has taken over The Prince Albert which is really fantastic, so we’re kind of seeing another side to Cindy, a lighter side – which I think, Cindy can be exhausting for people to watch and exhausting for me to play.
“Which is why it’s nice to go off and do something nice. Years ago, they didn’t let people go off and do many things – maybe the odd panto or something but we have a very new lovely producer and I was very quiet.” Speaking about taking a break to pursue another project, Michelle said: “When I broached the idea, he said ‘Maybe we can make it work’ and he has made it work, which is really exciting.
The actress is taking a break from her role on EastEnders(Image: GMB)
“You go off and I am going back, you go back and feel re-engergised, you bring something else to the table.” Michelle added: “You’re doing a continuing drama, continuing throughout the year, it’s good for the soul. It’s good to go and do something else.”
But now, the actress, 63, is heading towards taking a break from the BBC One soap opera and will be turning her hand to a live stage production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Michelle will be taking part in a one-woman show, which she says is “exciting.”
Michelle will be performing in Motorhome Marilyn, a dark comedy following Denise, an aspiring actress, who had an obsessive relationship with the late Hollywood pin-up.
The show has been inspired by Michelle’s real-life encounter with a woman known in Hollywood as Motorhome Marilyn, who is often spotted on Hollywood Boulevard cosplaying as the movie icon.
But Michelle admits she “wasn’t obsessed” with Marilyn. Speaking about her break, Michelle told the Mirror at the British Soap Awards: “Well I’m going off in the summer. I’m doing my one woman show at the Edinburgh festival, called Motorhome Marilyn.
“I don’t think she’s anything like Cindy. It’s a play about a woman impersonator lookalike who lives in a trailer and dresses as Marilyn Monroe. But she’s 60, it’s kind of strange. It’s about failure, lost dreams, and feeling like life has passed you by. She’s an interesting character. I’m really excited to play it. EastEnders have let me have a month off so I’m very excited.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX. EastEnders airs at 7.30pm each weekday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Michelle Mone started Ultimo with her then husband in 1996
Michelle Mone spent 25 years building her business empire and public profile through the British media.
A brilliant self-publicist, she was regularly described as one of the UK’s most successful businesswomen.
She was the plucky underdog who, through sheer grit and a knack for a good headline, pushed her Ultimo bra concept onto the marketplace and into the high street’s biggest shops.
She even claimed to have given Hollywood star Julia Roberts a cleavage.
The story she told time and time again to a grateful media brought her fame, riches, and even a peerage.
But Baroness Mone of Mayfair has now been stripped of the Conservative whip, is on leave from the House of Lords and a business connected to her is under investigation by the National Crime Agency.
The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone begins in 1999 as the then 28-year-old talks her way into Selfridges in London, and a deal to sell her gel-filled Ultimo bra.
Born in her own words “into nothing”, Mone was raised in the Dennistoun area of Glasgow. She left school at 15 with no qualifications but a determination “to make something of myself”.
Friends from the time describe her hard work ethic, energy and “bubbly” nature. “No matter where you’re from, look at me, you can do it,” she would later say.
She worked as a model and “ring girl” at boxing matches and moved into promotions and sales before setting up MJM International with husband Michael.
They re-mortgaged their house and went £70,000 into debt developing the Ultimo Bra, which is when Mone turned up unannounced at Selfridges.
Virginia Marcolin was the shop’s lingerie buyer, and the person Mone had travelled to London to see.
“I thought: ‘This girl is not what I’m used to dealing with’. She was kind of country bumpkin and a little bit like not overly refined, just very authentic. And this was just such a fresh, new product,” she says.
“That was the start of it. It was her persistence.”
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Doug Barrowman and Michelle Mone have been married since 2020
Mone’s natural knack for promotion got them the deal but the cash-poor company needed funds to fulfil the order. They found an investor in Tom Hunter, who in 1998 had just sold his sportswear company JJB Sports for £280m.
The man who made that introduction was Jack Irvine, former newspaper editor turned successful PR executive. He became a key figure in building Mone’s early media profile.
The newspapers and broadcasters were hungry for stories about her, and she was very happy to help.
“She had two driving forces,” Irvine says. “One was to be very rich and one was to be very famous.”
Coverage from that time stressed her humble roots, battle to succeed, new-found wealth, and the global success of her bra.
Magnus Llewellin, now editor of the Times newspapers in Scotland, remembers one infamous story from the time.
“Stories would circulate around Michelle Mone. One of those was that her bra was used in the film Erin Brockovich, that Julia Roberts wore one of her bras,” he says.
“If you actually bother to check, somebody involved in the actual making of the film came out and said an Ultimo bra wasn’t used in the production.”
The truth is that the media, especially the Scottish media, helped create the Michelle Mone myth. And she had a gift for using that.
“The story was almost too good to debunk. A young woman fighting in a male-dominated business world, making a way for herself. That was a great story to tell,” Llewellin says.
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Mone said her Ultimo bra was used in the film Erin Brockovich, a claim denied by the filmmakers
After more than 20 years together as a couple and more than a decade in business, the Mones very publicly separated, divorcing in 2011.
Michelle bought Michael out of the business and became the face and body of the brand, modelling her own lingerie.
Behind the scenes at the company there were a number of employment tribunals, including one high-profile case in which a member of staff found a recording device in his office.
Despite her legal challenges, Mone remained in the public eye, a regular feature on television programmes. And her knack for publicity led to her next move – into the world of politics.
She had been a Labour supporter but defected to the Conservatives in 2010. Four years later she was a prominent voice in favour of the union during the independence referendum, going so far as to say she would leave Scotland in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote.
In 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron made her his government’s “entrepreneurship tsar”. Within weeks it was announced she was to become a Conservative peer, as Baroness Mone of Mayfair.
PA Media
Michelle Mone became Baroness Mone in October 2015
By then she had sold her interests in the company she had built. But her new roles brought increased scrutiny over her business record.
Magnus Llewellin points out that MJM International never turned over more than £10.1m a year, and in 2012 lost more than half a million pounds.
“By that time the company was in real trouble,” he says.
Businessman Donald Anderson runs the Gap Group, a plant hire company which in 2024 had a turnover of £302.3m, employed more than 2,000 people, and made a pre-tax profit of £43.9m.
He wrote to the prime minister at the time of Mone’s appointment.
“Miss Mone is not a successful entrepreneur, she is a small time businesswoman with a PR exposure far in excess of any actual success,” he wrote.
He now says: “If the only thing she achieved was self-publicity, I don’t think that’s a very good reason to put you into the House of Lords. If you follow that logic then the House of Lords will be full of influencers in the next 10 years.”
Ken Gaff
Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman made their home in the Isle of Man
In 2016, Mone announced she was in a new relationship with Doug Barrowman, a billionaire businessman. They settled in the Isle of Man, and worked together in the booming crypto-currency sector.
In 2020, the Covid pandemic struck. As the death toll rose, UK ministers sought out firms to urgently supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), even setting up a VIP lane to give priority to some suppliers.
A company called PPE Medpro made it onto the VIP list. This caught the eye of campaigners who were concerned that firms on the list were run by people with connections to the Conservative Party.
It emerged that PPE Medpro was controlled by people connected to Doug Barrowman.
Mone, a Conservative peer, repeatedly denied any involvement in the business, the deal or the subsequent profits.
The paper’s David Conn says: “We did our own freedom of information request, and we got the emails that she’d sent to Michael Gove and Lord Agnew saying that she was offering to supply PPE through ‘my team in Hong Kong’ and that it had gone through the VIP lane.
“And we also got some WhatsApp messages which Michelle Mone had sent about the PPE deals and she said she was sitting on the jet and it was about to take off, which we assumed was their jet, their private plane.”
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Getting PPE quickly and efficiently to medical workers became a priority during the 2020 Covid outbreak
The National Crime Agency (NCA) launched an investigation into PPE Medpro. Several of the couple’s properties were raided.
Two years into his investigation, David Conn received a leaked document showing Barrowman made at least £65m from the deals, with £29m of this paid into a trust of which Mone and her three adult children are beneficiaries.
Throughout this time, Mone was uncharacteristically quiet.
But that changed at the end of 2023 when she and Barrowman – by then married – released a PPE Medpro-funded documentary in which she admitted being a “conduit” between the company and ministers.
They also agreed to appear on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. On camera, Mone admitted she could one day benefit from the trust, and said they had done nothing wrong.
When asked about lying to the press, she replied: “That’s not a crime.
“Saying to the press I’m not involved, to protect my family, can I just make it clear, it’s not a crime.”
Laura Kuenssberg says: “That’s a phrase that will always stick with me.
“When she said that, I thought: ‘There’s a thing. There’s a headline’.”
Rogan Productions
The Guardian’s David Conn led the paper’s investigation into Michelle Mone and the PPE contracts
Michelle Mone lost the Conservative whip and has taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords. She has made no further media appearances.
PPE Medpro is still under investigation by the NCA and the government is suing the company for £122m plus costs, claiming the medical gowns the company supplied “did not comply with the specification in the contract”.
The peer declined the offer to be interviewed for The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone.
In response to the programme, a statement said the couple had provided “full and detailed statements to the NCA and cooperated with the investigation throughout”.
It said they had never been arrested and no charges had been brought against them.
The statement also defended PPE Medpro’s delivery of PPE equipment to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
It continued: “Baroness Mone, along with the whole of the Mone/Barrowman family, were beneficiaries of trusts… never direct recipients of PPE Medpro profits.
“The DHSC was fully aware of their involvement from the outset. It was a mistake to have misled the press.”
After the documentary was released, Mone’s PR company gave a statement saying she was “deeply disappointed” in the BBC’s decision to broadcast the programme, which she said used “misleading and one-sided” accounts of her life and career.
Alamy
Michelle Mone remains on leave from the House of Lords
Michelle Mone’s public life was a self-created fairy story which many in business, politics, and especially the media, bought into.
For Magnus Llewellin, there’s a clear moral to this tale.
“What it does tell us about modern Britain is, we still like fairy tales. We want to believe those rags to riches tales.
“But once you step into the world of politics, things can get a bit trickier.
“It’s a parable of excess, hubris, and then eventually nemesis.”
Laura Kuenssberg says: “For Michelle Mone, public attention, knowing how to grab public attention, is an ability that she obviously always had in spades during her business career.
“But things went wrong for her and you can’t turn that attention off.”
The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone is available on iPlayer and is on BBC Scotland at 22:00 on Monday 26 May and BBC Two at 21:00 on Wednesday 28 May.
BBC host Laura Kuenssberg has revealed the interview that “sticks” with her the most is when Michelle Mone confessed to being a liar.
Scots bra tycoon Mone spent two years fiercely denying through an army of lawyers any involvement with the firm PPE Medro, which had earned over £200million worth of Government contracts to supply face masks and surgical gowns during the Covid pandemic.
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Lady Mone of Mayfair taking her place in the House of Lords as a Tory life peer.
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Married couple Doug Barrowman and Michelle Mone has been accused of wrongdoing.
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BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg says her interview with Mone is one that “sticks” with her.
But in 2023 it was revealed that the Tory life peer and her three adult children had received £29million from the company via her second husband Doug Barrowman.
That led to a “Prince Andrew-style” TV showdown with the politics presenter on her weekly show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Appearing alongside Barrowman, 60, Baroness Mone, 53, made the jaw-dropping confession: “I can’t see what we’ve done wrong. Lying to the press is not a crime.”
Now in a two-part BBC documentary The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone to be shown next week, Laura, 48, said: “In the end they were bizarrely quite honest about not having told the truth. Which is quite a strange experience.
“Then as she so memorably said, ‘But Laura, it’s not a crime to lie’ That’s a phrase that will always stick with me.”
The controversy started when Lady Mone had used her government links to access a VIP Lane for fast track PPE procurement.
But the former owner of bra company Ultimo then aggressively denied for three years that she and Barrowman had any connections to the company PPE Medro.
When it was revealed that Mone and her family had personally benefitted from the contracts she announced she was stepping down from the House of Lords.
Questions were then asked in parliament by the then leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer about how nearly £30million had ended up in the bank account of the Scottish businesswoman.
Recalling before the build-up to the car-crash interview, Laura said: “They obviously knew they had been lying at the beginning of it. So they felt they were in this trap.
Carol Vorderman finally reveals real reason she ended friendship with Michelle Mone
“On the day (of the interview) the whole experience was eerily calm. There’s no question Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman became the pantomime villains in the story of the huge shambles of what went wrong with PPE.
“For Michelle, being able to grab public attention was always something she had in spades during her business career but things went wrong for her and you can’t turn that attention off.”
Mone and Barrowman are currently being investigated by the National Crime Agency.
The couple continue to deny any wrongdoing.
*The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone begins on BBC Scotland on Monday May 26 at 10pm and BBC Two on May 28 at 9pm. Both episodes are available on BBC iPlayer from Monday.
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Michelle Mone during one of her Ultimo bra launches.
