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The most-read Manchester stories of 2025, from Primark Home to Peter Kay’s sass

You lot LOVE cows

Daisy Jackson - 18th December 2025

It’s been another one of those years in Manchester where a lot of weird stuff has happened – big closures no one saw coming, celebs getting in spats online, and major new openings.

Here at The Manc we’ve done our best to bring you the biggest stories from the North West, and you’ve all lapped it up.

As we come to end of 2025 we’ve been looking back at the stories that caught everyone’s attention this year, from beautiful properties to crazy shopping trends.

Did you remember all of these?

10. Olly Murs says no

Olly Murs was back on tour this year, selling out arenas (I know, who’d have thunk it?!) across the country.

But poor Olly got off to a bit a rough start and had to walk off stage after just six shows in Glasgow, then going on to cancel his Manchester gig too.

He did look pretty bereft about the whole thing, to be fair to him.

9. Tommy Robinson getting ‘kicked out’ of Hawksmoor

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A post shared by Hawksmoor (@hawksmoorrestaurants)

Back in the summer, acclaimed steak house Hawksmoor had to publicly address a quite viral video which showed far-right activist Tommy Robinson being asked to leave one of its restaurants because staff felt ‘uncomfortable’ serving him.

After the video went viral on X, Hawksmoor went on to share a statement in response, saying that guests and staff had complained but that it is ‘not a political organisation, but a group of restaurants’.

Its CEO wrote: “We’re not trying to engage in a public debate. The team has had to deal with a huge amount of fallout from this, some of which is quite concerning. We would like to get back to focussing on looking after those people, and our guests. Thank you to them, and the many of you who have been so supportive.”

Who do you think was in the right here?

8. Drama Call’s tram-inspired trainers

Streetwear brands take their inspiration from a lot of different sources, but we were in no way prepared for Manchester-based label Drama Call’s spring drop.

The popular brand teamed up with adidas to release a shoe inspired by… a tram.

The Superstar II ‘Drama’ featured teal accents that paid homage to the city’s classic tram design – long before the yellow of the modern era, and Mancs went nuts for them.

7. The Victorian Villa

This Manchester house is so fancy, it actually appeared twice on our list of the top stories of 2025 – once when it first went on sale, then when it got re-listed later in the year.

And it’s not hard to see why. This Whalley Range home has some of the most beautiful interiors we’ve ever laid eyes on – we’re talking rich colours, vintage cinema seats, loads of gold, and a show-stopper of a kitchen.

What seemed to keep Mancs reading though was the fact that the house in Whalley Range could go for a whopping £1.75m.

6. The capybara keeper

New jobs simply didn’t come cuter than this in 2025, and when Chester Zoo posted an advert looking for a new keeper for its capybaras, you lot couldn’t get enough.

Responsibilities of the role included caring for the meerkats and capybaras as well as rodents, Xenarthra, Macropods, small carnivores, and the zoo’s free flight bat habitat.

Realistically, only a handful of people locally would have actually been qualified for this job, but that didn’t stop. us all having a nosey at the job description anyway.

5. Peter Kay’s sass

Peter Kay is a famously very private man and has rarely even been spotted in public in recent years, plus his social media presence has almost entirely been dedicated to promoting his record-breaking tour.

But the Bolton comedian had plenty to say after a ‘humiliated’ woman was kicked out of his gig at the AO Arena in Manchester.

Addressing the ribbing he gave the lady during the gig, where he compared her to Lisa Riley, Peter Kay’s statement said: “The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult.”

You can see more on that here.

4. Almost Famous closure

It’s no surprise that this was one of the biggest stories in Manchester in 2025, because we simply could not believe our eyes when Almost Famous announced its closure.

The burger craze of the mid-2010s may have died down, but this spot had always felt like a Northern Quarter OG with a loyal enough following to stand the test of time.

Alas, it closed its doors very suddenly back in January, shortly followed by its sister smash burger brand Super Awesome Deluxe, with a staggering outcry and a lot of fall-out locally.

Thankfully, a short while later it was rescued by the team behind PINS Social Club.

3. Primark Home arrived

Did anyone really doubt that the arrival of a new ENORMOUS Primark store totally dedicated to homeware was going to go a little bonkers?

We practically had people banging down the doors to the massive Trafford Palazzo retailer (the first in Britain) when we were allowed in for a sneak peek before its official launch.

It’s a pretty impressive space – get a load of it HERE.

2. Big Night of Musicals

This event takes place basically every year and yet the lure of free tickets seems to catch everyone’s attention year-in, year-out.

The Big Night of Musicals sees the world’s biggest musicals all joining together on one stage at the AO Arena for a bumper night of live entertainment.

Tickets are free for National Lottery players and although the first batch are all gone, they usually release some more in the new year… watch this space.

1. Highland cows

One very adorable story ended up comfortably on top for The Manc audience this year – a lovely little feature on a Peak District farm where you can cuddle and groom Highland cows (sorry, coos).

Highland Cows of the Peak Experiences at Whirlow Hall Farm has loads of activities for all ages, from Highland Cow safaris to cow cuddling.

It’s an absolutely adorable experience and we’ll definitely be back next summer for more – read all about it HERE.

Featured image: The Manc Group