Nihal Arthanayake has told of an encounter he had with a “racist man” outside a pub in Altrincham over the weekend.
The TV and radio DJ – who is best known for presenting the weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 5 Live since 2016 – took to Twitter and Instagram on Saturday night to share with his over 115,000 followers what happened when he was out with his wife at an undisclosed pub in the Trafford town over the bank holiday weekend.
The 51-year-old explained that he was outside the establishment waiting for his wife, and asked if he could sit with a drunk man to talk and pass the time.
The presenter said the pair were chatting and exchanging anecdotes, before the man went on to ask him if he was a doctor, which Nihal said is “the kind of question as an Asian you might get asked” – but after initially laughing the question off, he queried the man as to “why would you ask that?”.
In response to the question, the man then used a four-letter slur referring to people of Pakistani origin, before acknowledging that he knows he “can’t say that” and subsequently deciding to follow up with the n-word instead.
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Nihal admitted that he was “still trying to process the weirdness” of the encounter, and “didn’t really know what had happened”.
So, last night this happened to me and I am still trying to process the weirdness of it. Warning that there is bad language. pic.twitter.com/yvszsEsnqm
Recounting the incident in the video shared to Twitter, Nihal said: “I don’t really know what just happened. I was in a place called Altrincham… and I was outside this pub, which I’d been in with my wife, dancing around, it was fun, there was a covers band and they were very good.
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“I saw this man sitting outside, and I was waiting for my wife to come out so I said ‘can I come and sit with you, can we talk?’ and he was like ‘yeah, yeah absolutely’.
“He was a little, kind of drunk man [and] we got talking and he said ‘oh are you a doctor?’ So I started laughing because it’s a question as an Asian you might get asked, and I went ‘well why would you ask that?’
“And he said ‘well, because you’re a p***.”
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Nihal then explained that after the man used the initial slur, he went on to apologise and question if the presenter was offended by the term, before referring to himself as a “massive c-word” for using it.
Nihal and his wife Eesha / Credit: Nihal Arthanayake (via Instagram)
“It was so weird,” Nihal continued in his video.
“But you know when you come to some of these areas, I think there’s just some people who still feel they can say that word.”
The presenter stated in a later tweet that he won’t be revealing the name of the pub as he “had a great time in there before encountering that racist man”, and explained that his decision not to do so is due to pubs finding it “hard enough as it is” to stay open post pandemic and amid the rising cost of living crisis without “being stained unfairly”.
He also said that he hadn’t initially intended to report the incident to the police, but his “mate said that I should and now I have”.
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I wont be mentioning the name of the pub because I had a great time in there before encountering that racist man and pubs are finding it hard enough as it is to stay open without being stained unfairly.
He also then confirmed in another follow-up tweet that, after sharing the video to social media and recounting what had happened, he was “impressed” that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had already been in touch with him.
Nihal said officers are looking investigate the incident as a Racially Aggravated Public Order Offence.
Several media outlets have reported that GMP has been contacted for a comment on the incident, but is yet to respond.
Manchester poet Lemn Sissay, former The Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, singer Beverley Knight, and TV personality and influencer Vicky Pattinson are just some of the famous names to offer messages of support to Nihal on social media.
Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd May 2023 
