BBC Breakfast’s weatherman and resident drummer Owain Wyn Evans is taking on a special challenge for Children In Need this year.
He has accepted the mammoth challenge of doing a 24-hour ‘drumathon’.
Owain’s 24-hours of drumming will officially begin on BBC Breakfast on Friday 12 November at 8:35am, and will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer, before ending at the same time the following day on Saturday 13th November.
Throughout the day, Owain will be heard across the whole of the BBC on TV, radio, and online, and on the Friday evening at 6:55pm, to be exact, musicians from around the UK in every genre of music – from rock, reggae, and jazz, to funk, punk, pop, marching bands, body percussionists, and more – will join in to help spur him on by creating a wall of sound from Salford right around the rest of the country.
HERE WE GO DAHLINGS! 🥁 I’m undertaking a MAMMOTH challenge for Children in Need this year (with the percussive princess of course!) I’ll be putting my drumming skills to the test in a gargantuan 24-hour @BBCBreakfast Drumathon. My poor dainty arms! #BBCBreakfastpic.twitter.com/04tj9JPfo9
Several drum kits will be placed around MediaCity in Salford, with Owain’s main stage area in the BBC Philharmonic Studio – where members of the orchestra will join him for special performances.
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There will also be some special moments throughout the day involving celebrity drummers, amateur enthusiasts, and local children.
“I absolutely love drumming,” Owain explained.
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“Over the years it’s helped me so much, it eases my anxiety and brings me so much joy [and] that’s why I’ve accepted this mammoth challenge [as] I want to help change the perception of who can be a drummer, and support all of the amazing charities and groups that BBC Children in Need helps.
“In preparing for the BBC Breakfast Drumathon, I’ve learned first hand how BBC Children in Need helps children and young people across the UK from a range of different backgrounds and identities.”
Drumroll please… 🥁
Drumming weatherman extraordinaire @OwainWynEvans has accepted our mammoth fundraising challenge. On November 12th, he will drum, constantly, for 24 hours 👀
“This is quite literally life-changing and even life-saving stuff,” he continued.
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“I really hope that together we can raise huge amounts of money for what I think is going to be a monumental challenge.”
You can find more information on BBC Breakfast Drumathon for Children In Need here.
Featured Image – BBC / Owain Wyn Evans
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Donny Osmond books biggest-ever Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Iconic American singer and actor Donny Osmond has announced his biggest-ever Manchester concert as part of his upcoming ‘VIVA UK’ tour dates.
Bringing his famous Las Vegas residency show to Great Britain, where he has always had a fervent following, the younger Osmond brother will be making a venue debut over six decades into his career.
Famously part of the musical family who not only sang together but also saw multiple TV shows created in their name – including his very own spin-off, Donny and Marie – he’s been around longer than most in showbiz, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Confirming a whole new run of live dates across the country, Donny Osmond will be returning to Manchester early next year.
Writing on social media, the veteran entertainer said: “I’m so pleased to finally share the official 2027 UK tour dates with you.
“It always means so much to return to the UK – the audiences there have given me some of the most unforgettable moments of my career.”
As for here in our city, he last played Manchester back just a few short years ago at the AO Arena, selling out the 20,000-seater space on 29 November 2023.
Now, though, he’s upgrading to approximately 23k this time, with die-hard fans being encouraged to download his very own ‘Donny App’ to secure the earliest possible access.
Set to play Co-op Live for the very first time, we’d expect this one to sell equally well; you can see the rest of the shows listed so far down below.
Donny Osmond VIVA UK live tour dates 2027
We’ve highlighted all the Northern dates for you:
Wed, 20 Jan – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Thurs, 21 Jan – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Sat, 23 Jan – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Sun, 24 Jan 24 – Manchester, Co-op Live
Tue, 26 Jan 26 – Hull, Connexin Live
Wed, 27 Jan 27 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Fri, 29 Jan 29 – Leeds, first direct arena
Sat, 30 Jan 30 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
Mon, 1 Feb – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Wed, 3 Feb – Bournemouth BIC
Friday and Saturday, 5-6 February – London, Eventim Apollo
JUST ANNOUNCED: Donny Osmond Sunday 24 January 2027
Bringing the glamour, high-energy & excitement of his Las Vegas show. https://t.co/Y2sSdg01FV @coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 10:00 Wednesday 20 May General Sale: 10:00 Friday 22 May pic.twitter.com/i4v2ff7suA
Early access tickets for Donny Osmond’s VIVA UK tour will be available both via the app and the venue’s official Co-op membership, with the presale window opening at 10am on Wednesday, 20 May.
Meanwhile, general admission tickets will go live at the same time the following Friday (22 May), with VIP and hospitaity packages also on offer.
Noel Gallagher delivers update on Oasis Live ’25 reunion documentary
Danny Jones
In true Noel Gallagher fashion, the legendary Manchester musician has delivered an impromptu update on the upcoming Oasis reunion documentary in the middle of an off-the-cuff radio interview.
The elder Gallagher brother is no stranger to hopping on the airwaves, especially when it comes to sports and football, specifically, so plenty may have already been anticipating him giving his two cents following his much-loved Manchester City’s latest FA Cup win.
However, many definitely weren’t expecting him to casually throw in some new details about the highly anticipated Live ’25 tour documentary.
Swapping his semi-regular soapbox on talkSPORT for BBC Radio 5 Live‘s coverage this time, Noel revealed that neither he nor Liam Gallagher has yet to even seen the documentary movie.
NOEL GALLAGHER IS CURRENTLY MIXING THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE NEW OASIS DOCUMENTARY- ADMITS HE'S NOT WATCHED IT YETpic.twitter.com/tdoODokj7k
— Oasis World Fan Page (@oasisworld_) May 18, 2026
Yes, believe it or not, the Manc brothers and all-around music icons, who reunited after 15 years to give us the Live ’25 world tour last summer, haven’t actually watched the edit for the latest Oasis film.
Noting that Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and the rest of his co-directors and producers are still “tweaking” the final cut before showing it to the duo.
They are, famously, a rather opinionated pair, in fairness.
However, as you can hear straight from the horse’s mouth, it’s being described as “an emotional journey” primarily just from a fan perspective, noting that the focus is more on the people who kept this music and love for Oasis alive for all these years.
This short interview clip obviously comes after the news of a release date finally being announced, with details around the two different theatrical and digital launches now confirmed.
As Noel goes on to add, he has no worry about the audio side of things, as he is currently helping mix the live recordings of the tracks in the studio – nice to hear he is still having plenty of direct involvement.
Put simply, he says, “It’s all sounding great”, and he’s looking forward to watching it all back after the blur of experiencing it first-hand.
We’re sure Liam will only echo those sentiments; it remains unclear how much input he’s had in terms of post-production, but we’re sure he’ll have plenty of thoughts as always.
How many of you are planning to go and see it in cinemas, or are you happy waiting until it comes onto streaming platforms?
Emily Sergeant -
13th October 2021 
