Latest news with #FishermansFriend
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Marsden and Harding make Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Singers Gerry Marsden and Sarah Harding have been included in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which remembers the lives of influential people in the and the Pacemakers were one of the biggest bands in the Merseybeat era of the late 1950s and early 60s. Their version of You'll Never Walk Alone became an anthem for Marsden's beloved Liverpool Aloud's Harding, from Stockport, was part of Britain's biggest-selling girl group of the 21st Century after appearing on ITV's Popstars: The Friend tycoon Doreen Lofthouse, of Fleetwood in Lancashire, and Manx businessman Trevor Hemmings, who owned Preston North End, are also in the dictionary's 2021 list. Gerry and the Pacemakers recorded a string of number one Cross The Mersey, written by Marsden in honour of his home city, reached number eight in 1964.A passionate supporter of the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, Marsden was made an MBE in 2003 for services to 78-year-old died in January 2021. Harding shot to fame in 2002 when she secured her spot in Girls Aloud alongside Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Cheryl Cole (then Tweedy).She also starred in Coronation Street and was a runner-up in BBC One's Tumble show, which saw celebrities take a leap into the world of professional who had breast cancer, died in September 2021 aged total, there are 238 new additions to the include Liverpool-born Janice Long, who was the first woman to present a daily music show on BBC Radio who died on Christmas Day in 2021 aged 66, was also the first regular female presenter on Top of the Pops. Also honoured is the late actress, model and "trans trailblazer" activist April Vogue model, from Liverpool, in 1960 became only the second Briton to undergo male-to-female gender reassignment was appointed MBE in 2012 for her campaigning work for the transgender died at the age of 86 in December 2021. 'Community projects' Mrs Lofthouse, known as "the mother of Fleetwood", grew the Fisherman's Friend cough sweets business into a global pioneering businesswoman was awarded an OBE for her charity and her family were credited with transforming Fleetwood after donating millions of pounds to fund community projects in the left the Lofthouse Foundation, which she set up in 1994, £41m when she died aged 91 in March 2021. Hemmings, who was also a leading racehorse owner and won the Grand National three times, bought a controlling interest in Preston North End in 2010 after the struggling club received a winding-up list also includes two footballers who died in Liverpool and England striker Roger Hunt set the Reds' scoring record at 244 goals until it was surpassed by Ian Bell, known as the "King of Manchester City", made 394 appearances for the club between1966 and distance runner Ron Hill, from Accrington, Lancashire, also has his biography in the European and Commonwealth marathon champion died aged 82 in May 2021. Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
Independent Singapore
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
Psychology student Georgina Dobson wins Mediacorp 987 STAR 2025
SINGAPORE: Georgina Pattarida Dobson, who's actually in her final year studying psychology at Temasek Polytechnic, just won Mediacorp's 987 STAR 2025 competition, as reported by CNA. Courtesy of press release Dobson beat Lex Whitlock, Nicollete Callie Wee, and Shaniah Kiew at the two-hour grand finale last Saturday. Because she won, she gets a contract with Mediacorp 987 and a cool S$5,000 cash prize thanks to Fisherman's Friend. Interestingly, if you check out her LinkedIn, Dobson is also the president of the emcees club at her polytechnic. Thankful for incredible mentors 'Seriously, can you even imagine? Going from that first scary audition to actually winning – it must feel totally unreal! It's amazing to think about how much you must have grown through it all. I'm just so thankful for our incredible mentors who believed in me and helped me every step of the way,' she exclaimed. 'And honestly, the friendships I've made with all the other super-talented people here mean the world to me. I'm so excited to see what fun things I'll get to do next with Mediacorp 987!' See also TREASURE sells out all four shows in Thailand So, the whole hunt for the next Mediacorp 987 STAR started back in early April, and guess who were the main people kicking things off? None other than the super familiar voices of Sonia Chew and Joakim Gomez from 987 FM. Discover fresh new talent And the whole idea, just like it was for previous winners who've become popular radio personalities like Ann Nicole, Kimberly Wang, and Sonia Chew herself, is to discover fresh new talent and give them a launchpad into the entertainment world. On Saturday, the finale was held live at 313@Somerset, where the final four competed in a set of tasks intended to highlight their charisma, spontaneity, singing ability, and stage presence. In the Wheel of Flavours competition, for instance, each competitor rotated a wheel with eight different Fisherman's Friend flavours. A 'would you rather' question was revealed for each flavour, and the finalists were challenged to answer with confidence, humour, and inventiveness. Captivating dialogues In an additional job that assessed their hosting abilities, from clever openings to captivating dialogues and rapport-building, each competitor was required to conduct live interviews with local musicians WhyLucas and Shazza, showcasing their capacity to engage both the performers and the audience. The panel of judges for all the challenges included some pretty big names: Doreen Neo, who's the Chief Talent Officer at Mediacorp; Vernon A and Justin Ang, who you probably know as The Muttons from Mediacorp Class 95; Janice Lim, the Program Director for Mediacorp 987; and even the local celeb Xiao Ming from SGAG! Mediacorp also mentioned in their announcement on Saturday night that the judges were looking at a few key things when deciding who would win. They were checking out how the contestants sounded, how creative and original they were, and how well they connected with the audience. It sounds like the judges really connected with how genuine and graceful Dobson was, which is why they picked her as the Mediacorp 987 STAR 2025. And Simone Lum, who's in charge at Mediacorp in growth and audio, was absolutely thrilled for her. She said Dobson's performance was just incredible and totally captured what it means to be a Mediacorp 987 STAR – being imaginative, staying true to yourself, and really connecting with the listeners. 'Additionally, we are really proud of each and every finalist! Each one of them brought their own unique spark to the competition, and it's been wonderful to see how much they've grown throughout this whole experience. We really hope they've found it rewarding, and we can't wait to see all the amazing things they'll go on to do in the media world,' Lum added. So, if you're keen to watch the Mediacorp 987 STAR episodes, you can find them on the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube channel or stream them on mewatch. Plus, you can catch all the best bits on Mediacorp 987's TikTok.
CNA
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Final-year polytechnic student Georgina Dobson wins Mediacorp's 987 STAR competition
A new voice may soon grace the airwaves: The winner of Mediacorp's 987 STAR 2025 competition, final-year psychology studies student from Temasek Polytechnic Georgina Pattarida Dobson. Dobson on Saturday (May 31) beat out the other three finalists – Lex Whitlock, Nicolette Callie Wee and Shaniah Kiew – in a two-hour grand finale to win the S$5,000 cash prize, courtesy of Fisherman's Friend, and a contract with Mediacorp 987. According to Dobson's LinkedIn profile, she is also president of her polytechnic's emcees club. "Winning still feels so surreal – someone please pinch me! I've grown tremendously since the very day I first stepped into the audition booth. I'm incredibly grateful for the unwavering support and guidance from our amazing mentors throughout this journey," she said. "I'm also especially thankful for the friendships I've built with so many insanely talented contestants. Can't wait to see what exciting adventures await with Mediacorp 987!' Hosted by 987 DJs Sonia Chew and Joakim Gomez, the search for the next big audio personality kicked off at the start of April. The competition sought to uncover budding talent, serving as a launchpad for their future careers in the entertainment industry, like what similar contests did for past winners and radio DJs Ann Nicole, Kimberly Wang and Chew herself. In the finale held live at 313@Somerset on Saturday, the top four finalists competed in a series of challenges designed to bring out their stage presence, vocal prowess, spontaneity and charisma. For example, in the Wheel Of Flavours challenge, each contestant spun a wheel featuring eight Fisherman's Friend flavours. Each flavour unlocked a "would you rather" question, challenging finalists to respond with creativity, humour and confidence. In another challenge testing their hosting skills – from witty introductions to compelling conversations and rapport-building – each contestant was tasked to interview local musicians WhyLucas and Shazza live, demonstrating their ability to connect with both the artistes and audience. Judging the series of challenges were local personality SGAG's Xiao Ming, Mediacorp's Chief Talent Officer Doreen Neo, Mediacorp Class 95's Muttons - Justin Ang and Vernon A, and Mediacorp 987's Programme Director Janice Lim. Contestants were evaluated based on their "vocal delivery, creativity, originality and audience engagement", said Mediacorp in a media release on Saturday night. "After careful deliberation, the judges awarded the title of Mediacorp 987 STAR 2025 to Georgina for her authenticity and poise." Mediacorp's head of growth and audio, Simone Lum, congratulated Dobson for "a truly standout performance that embodied what Mediacorp 987 STAR is all about – creativity, authenticity, and strong audience connection". "We're also incredibly proud of all our finalists – each of them brought something special to this competition, and it's been a joy to witness their growth over the course of this journey. We hope this experience has been rewarding for them, and we look forward to seeing where their talents will take them in the media industry," she said.
