logo
BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year 2025 winner announced

BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year 2025 winner announced

BBC News26-03-2025
BBC Radio Scotland has announced Becky Sikasa as the Scottish Act of The Year 2025, celebrating the most exciting emerging talent in Scotland's music scene.
The final took place on Tuesday 25 March at Platform in Glasgow, where the four finalists - ili, Indoor Foxes, Becky Sikasa and Valtos - delivered incredible performances in front of a live audience. Hosted by BBC Introducing's Stephanie Cheape and Phoebe Inglis-Holmes, the event showcased the very best of Scotland's up-and-coming music acts.
However, there could only be one winner and, after a standout performance, Becky claimed the prestigious title of BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year 2025.
The decision was made by an expert judging panel featuring TV presenter and radio host Shereen Cutkelvin, BBC Radio 1's Jess Iszatt, Dougie Payne from Travis and Dead Pony frontwoman Anna Shields, who faced the tough job of selecting the winner from the outstanding lineup of finalists.
Becky says: 'I am absolutely buzzing to be named BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year 2025! It's been such an amazing experience to perform alongside all these incredible artists. I'm so grateful for this amazing opportunity, especially being able to do it alongside my best friends.'
Heather Kane-Darling, Commissioning Editor at BBC Scotland, says: "Massive congratulations to Becky Sikasa for being crowned Scottish Act of the Year 2025! Every year, I'm blown away by the level of talent in Scotland and the diversity of music coming through. Our four finalists truly represent the incredible range of artists we have here and I'm so proud that BBC Introducing can shine a light on them early in their careers. I can't wait to see what's next for them all!"
The search for the Scottish Act of the Year 2025 began in January with hundreds of hopeful music acts from across the country submitting their tracks for consideration. After a rigorous selection process, eight shortlisted acts were revealed at the end of February, before the final four were announced to compete in the grand final in March.
As part of the prize, the winning act will receive two professional recording sessions with BBC Radio Scotland, a coveted slot at TRNSMT, Scotland's biggest music festival, and a bespoke PR campaign to help elevate their career.
Audiences can tune in to the final on BBC Scotland on Saturday 29 March at 10pm, with radio highlights airing on Friday 28 March at 8pm.
Watch the 2025 BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year on BBC iPlayer
Listen to BBC Introducing in Scotland on BBC Sounds
RS
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Ballad of Big Mags - a new podcast series to tell the inside story of controversial community leader and crime chief, Mags Haney
The Ballad of Big Mags - a new podcast series to tell the inside story of controversial community leader and crime chief, Mags Haney

BBC News

time13 hours ago

  • BBC News

The Ballad of Big Mags - a new podcast series to tell the inside story of controversial community leader and crime chief, Mags Haney

A new BBC Scotland podcast series - The Ballad of Big Mags - will explore the life and times of a controversial figure who rose to prominence in the late 90s. Margaret Haney from the Raploch estate in Stirling grabbed the headlines in 1997 as a self-styled anti-paedophile campaigner. The media couldn't get enough of her, and she revelled in the attention - but the high-profile coverage of 'Big Mags' as a protector of the community would eventually lead to her downfall. Dark secrets lay behind the banner headlines because Margaret Haney was in fact the head of a notorious criminal gang while claiming she "just wanted to help folk" in the community. Over 20 years later she still divides opinion, and, in this series, award-winning journalist Myles Bonnar reveals new insights as he speaks to people closely connected to her and intimately involved in the astonishing series of events that took place in the late 90s and early 2000s. He also delves deep into the BBC archives to tell the definitive story of the woman known as 'Big Mags'. Myles said: "Mags Haney's rise to prominence and her dramatic fall after revelations of her criminal activities, was a story which played out in the media over years. "The series not only examines her contradictory life but also wider issues of mob justice, community dynamics, poverty, and the creation of the so-called media personality. "Many people only partially know the story of this controversial figure and this series will give a full account of how she rose to fame and became a source of fascination to the media and public before her criminal life was exposed." The six-part series will be available on BBC Sounds from Friday 8 August JG2

The scales fall from Lisa's eyes in Corrie as she makes discovery about Kit
The scales fall from Lisa's eyes in Corrie as she makes discovery about Kit

Metro

timea day ago

  • Metro

The scales fall from Lisa's eyes in Corrie as she makes discovery about Kit

Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) has had a lot on her mind recently on Coronation Street as the recent death of a colleague brought up a lot of feelings for her about her late wife, Becky. Becky was also a police officer and she was killed while chasing a suspect. She was run over and killed by a getaway car in a tragic incident that has haunted Lisa ever since as it was veiled in a certain amount of mystery. Becky had been under investigation for corruption at the time of her death, something which meant that she and Lisa had argued on the morning she died. It also meant that Becky was denied the kind of funeral that would have seen her honoured by her fellow officers. There's also the possibility that her death might not have been an accident at all, but could have been a deliberate act arising from whatever she was involved in. Lisa has never been able to get answers to her many questions concerning Becky's death as a wall of silence seems to block all her attempts to get to the truth. In upcoming episodes she's feeling the pain of her grief even more acutely because it's the eve of her and Becky's anniversary. She skips her therapy session and goes to visit Becky's grave instead. On the anniversary itself, Carla (Alison King) and Betsy (Sydney Martin) are worried about how Lisa's coping. She insists she's fine and goes off to her therapy session. Finally she allows herself to open up to the therapist and talk about her wife. She says that she's sure there was more to Becky's death than she was ever told and worries that it was something to do with the corruption investigation. Meanwhile Carla has secretly been visiting Logan Radcliffe (Harry Lowbridge) in prison, trying to find out more about what happened to Becky. He and his brother Matty (Seamus McGoff) were involved in the incident that led to Becky's death. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! After her therapy session Lisa decides to do some digging herself and she sneaks into her boss Costello (Daon Broni)'s office, searching his email to see if there's any mention of Becky. More Trending She's disturbed to see something else, though – a request on the computer asking for access to Becky's file. It's from DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts). Lisa is puzzled about why Kit would do such a thing and why he's apparently delving into Becky's background behind her back. She tells Carla that she no longer trusts Kit and she can't work with him any more. What is Kit up to? And will Lisa ever uncover the truth about what happened to her wife? View More » MORE: All 31 Coronation Street pictures for next week as major characters search for answers MORE: All Coronation Street spoilers as major secrets are exposed MORE: Fresh torment for Lisa as Carla takes action in Coronation Street – and it could backfire

Kneecap describe decision to ban them from Hungary as ‘political distraction'
Kneecap describe decision to ban them from Hungary as ‘political distraction'

South Wales Guardian

timea day ago

  • South Wales Guardian

Kneecap describe decision to ban them from Hungary as ‘political distraction'

The trio, who are outspoken supporters of Palestine, were due to perform at Sziget Festival on August 11 and remain on the line-up on its website. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote on social media platform X that the decision to ban Kneecap was because the group's 'members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups'. But in a statement posted on Instagram, Kneecap described the decision to bar them from entry as 'political distraction' and pointed out that none of the group has any criminal convictions. A spokeswoman for Sziget Festival also described the move as 'unnecessary and regrettable'. 'Cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution,' she added. The statement from Kneecap said: 'To the tens of thousands of fans who we were buzzing to see in person at Sziget, we're sorry we won't be with you. 'The authoritarian government of Viktor Orban say we 'pose a national security threat'. 'Which is f****** outrageous coming from a man who welcomed Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, like a hero just a few weeks ago. 'There is no legal basis for his actions, no member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of any crime in any country. We stand against all hate crimes and Kneecap champions love and solidarity as well as calling out injustices whenever we see it. 'It's clear that this is political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.' Kneecap have had several shows cancelled in recent months, including TRNSMT festival in Glasgow and at the Eden Project in Cornwall. They claim this is part of a smear campaign against them because of their vocal support for Palestine and criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, which they say is a genocide. The statement posted earlier on Thursday by Mr Kovacs said: 'Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form. 'Their planned performance posed a national security threat, and for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years. 'If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.' The spokeswoman for Sziget Festival said: 'Following concerns raised by government and pressure groups across Hungary over the past weeks at the prospect of Kneecap performing, we have liaised closely with the band and they reassured us that their performance would not contravene either Sziget's values or Hungarian law. 'Over the past 30 years, Sziget has served as a free and safe place for different cultures, hosting artists and visitors from around the world, earning significant recognition in the international community and enhancing Hungary's reputation. 'We fear that the government's decision announced today to ban Kneecap may not only damage the reputation of Sziget, but also negatively affect Hungary's standing worldwide.' Kneecap – comprised of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain, and JJ O Dochartaigh – were formed in Belfast and released their first single in 2017. They hit the headlines recently after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence relating to allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah. In May, the Metropolitan Police said the group were being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing them shouting 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah' and 'Kill your local MP'. The group apologised to the families of murdered MPs and said they have 'never supported' Hamas or Hezbollah, which are banned in the UK. They were also investigated over their set at Glastonbury Festival in June, but last week Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they would be taking no further action.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store