Peter Kay, Michelle Keegan, and Marcus Rashford have topped the list of ideal celebrity flatmates in Manchester.
It’s been revealed thanks to a poll by Get Living of 1,000 people from Manchester.
Beloved Bolton-born comedian Kay, actress Keegan, and Manchester United and England star Rashford join other famous Manchester residents such as comedian Jason Manford, footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Jack Grealish, soap stars Gemma Atkinson and Kym Marsh, and ex-Love Island contestants Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury in the top 10 of Manchester-dwellers people most want to share a home with.
The poll was commissioned by Get Living – which operates and rents homes at the pet-friendly neighbourhood New Maker Yards at Middlewood Locks, conveniently located between Manchester and Salford city centres – to celebrate the launch of a further 500 fully-furnished new homes to rent.
There’s also an additional flexible space for residents to use for co-working – named The Lock – which is home to 92Degrees’ second coffee shop in Manchester.
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The survey hasn’t just revealed the most ideal celebrity flatmates either.
If you’re a decent cook, know how to separate your plastics from your cardboard, and have a cracking sense of humour, then you’re also in luck as that means you’re one of the most desirable flatmates in Manchester.
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The poll found that those who can work from home without making a racket, give you some of their leftover takeaway, and don’t mind throwing a house party also came out as the best traits that people in the city of Manchester look for when choosing who they live with. Other top traits include being older than 32 and taller than six feet, a Manchester United fan, not flashy with their stuff, and a dog person.
Top 10 Qualities in a Flatmate
Clean and tidy
A sense of humour
Can accurately split the bills
Recycles properly
Hard-working
A good cook
Can fix things in the flat
Good taste in TV
Is quiet when they work from home
They read
The play is celebrating the launch of a further 500 homes for rent at New Maker Yards / Credit: Get Living
The revealing of the results from the poll also comes as New Maker Yards hosts an immersive play by Ancoats’ award-winning Hope Mill Theatre across a number of brand-new flats in the neighbourhood.
Titled‘Mates’, the play will celebrate the city’s culture and lifestyle, featuring immersive mediations, comedy, a photo booth and a house party complete with techno DJTicketholders to the free play can finish off the experience by enjoying a free pint or burger at Seven Bro7thers Beerhouse.
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The play is running between 13-21 November, and you can bag free tickets
Elsewhere in the poll, three quarters (75%) said Manchester was friendlier than any other city – with 138,935 residents claiming they never want to move out of the city – the top three most popular neighbourhoods in Manchester are the Northern Quarter, Spinningfields and Salford, the latter of which are within a 10 minute walk of New Maker Yards. Almost a third (31%) thought the city’s best feature was the fact there’s so much going on, despite it being less expensive than London.
For its new homes at New Maker Yards, Get Living has partnered withideal flatmate, the match-making platform for renters, and then commenting on the results of the survey, Tom Gatzen – Co-Founder at ideal flatmate – said: “When it comes to what people look for in a flatmate, this survey showed that in Manchester, it is all about having a great time and living with people you can build a friendship with outside the barriers of a standard flatmate relationship.
“It’s clear the people of Manchester value social qualities and spending time with people that can make them laugh and bond with over the same taste in TV programmes, all while eating a home-made meal.
“That said, my advice would be to ensure that you live with people you can see yourself spending time with rather than just passing each other in the corridor.”
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Kim Quickfall – General Manager of New Maker Yards at Get Living – added: “Our residents are always up for a good time, and with 500 new homes available to rent this winter, we wanted to showcase what living at New Maker Yards is all about [and] we’re delighted to be working with the incredible Hope Mill Theatre to take this immersive play out of the theatre and into our living rooms.”
The play is celebrating the launch of a further 500 homes for rent at New Maker Yards / Credit: Get Living
Like the sounds of New Maker Yards then?
Homes are available to rent starting from £940 per month for a one bedroom apartment, £1,190 pm for a two bed, and £1,695 pm for a three bed, with flexible tenancies, no fees, and no deposits.
Homes come ready with superfast WiFi included and pets live free.
Kobbie Mainoo’s brother sends three-word message to Man United after Old Trafford stunt
Danny Jones
Kobbie Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Kwadwo Osei Mainoo-Hames, has caused quite a stir online after sending a simple but definitive three-word message to Manchester United and head coach Ruben Amorim, in the form of a publicity stunt.
In case you missed the blockbuster eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford on Monday night, the scoreline wasn’t the only headline on the night.
Man United managed to give up their one-nil lead right on two separate occasions, and despite clawing their way back to 4-3 with just over 10 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, ultimately went on to concede an equaliser in the 84th minute.
Despite Kobbie Mainoo’s receiving a rapturous round of cheers and applause when he was subbed on in the second half, not to mention adding some real dynamism in the middle of the park, any notion of his contribution has now been overshadowed by his sibling.
As you can see, Jordan Mainoo-Hames – who found fame after appearing on series five of reality TV show Love Island (2019) – took the opportunity to capitalise on the ongoing narrative regarding Kobbie and his relationship with the current United boss.
For months now, there has been much speculation around whether the Stockport-born youth product will stay at his boyhood club or leave in the next couple of transfer windows, given that he’s only been afforded limited minutes under the Portuguese manager.
Amorim, who has collected just 24 Premier League points since arriving last November, maintains that he recognises Mainoo’s but, crucially, sees him as competing for the same position as Bruno Fernandes.
Now a model for a number of big brands, he’s no stranger to posing in clothes, but in this case, it all centred around a simple black t-shirt simply reading ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ in plain white text, seemingly imitating Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ font.
Safe to say that despite catching the eye of plenty in and around the stadium, as well as countless more online, it hasn’t gone down particularly well with a good chunk of the supporters.
Even neutrals have hopped on social media to label the stunt everything from “embarrassing” and causing an “unnecessary” distraction to urging the 20-year-old to distance himself from the stunt and/or his half-brother.
Utter nonsense. His brother turning up at Old Trafford in a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ tee is pure embarrassment. Clout-chasing disguised as support, when the player’s interests should be the priority. We’ve seen this playbook from families before… https://t.co/9p5uognVsX
For many fans, the incident was reminiscent of the Alejandro Garnacho situation: another promising youngster whose family’s outspoken nature on social media, along with his own, ultimately soured his relationship with Amorim to the point of leaving the club this past summer.
Rather notably, Garnacho ruffled even more feathers earlier this month after responding to a question about any potential regrets over how his time at the club ended…
As for his former fellow academy graduate, it is looking increasingly likely that he may at least leave on loan this January in search of more regular football, especially with the 2026 World Cup looming.
Whether you’re a Red or not, we’re interested to hear what you make of the whole mess. Let us know down in the comments.
You can see the highlights from the frankly bonkers game against Bournemouth down below.
Manchester favourites hosting a heartwarming festive social for those alone this Christmas
Danny Jones
Beloved Manchester bar and cafe, Haunt, have announced that they will be hosting a special social to spread some much-needed seasonal cheer to those who are spending Christmas apart from their families and/or friends this year.
Wholesome stuff from a wholesome bunch.
That’s right, friendly neighbourhood ghosts Haunt will be putting on a little free shindig for the 2025 festive period in an effort not only to share the typical kindness with locals based in and around the city centre but to help create “a sense of community, no matter what your situation”.
Announcing the completely open-to-the-public Christmas Eve party over the weekend, the team are looking to provide those who might otherwise be lonely or struggle during the holidays with a warm, arms-wide welcome, plus plenty more.
Writing on their social media account this past Sunday, bar manager JJ said: “People, it’s time to connect this Christmas! We will be providing free coffee and sweet treats from 12-5pm on Christmas Eve, as well as some games and workshops.
“We’ve put a lot of work into this, so it would be amazing to see as many of you there as possible! Also need this to reach the people that need an event like this most, so please share and repost.
“As always, look out for your people, I wouldn’t be anywhere without mine – JJ xoxo”
Come on, who doesn’t love seeing heartwarming stuff like this on their feed, especially when it comes to a time of year where so many suffer quietly amid the majority having a good time?
This isn’t the first time they’ve held a pop-up that’s caught our attention in 2025, either; it was only last month that we were surprised to stumble on a mini padel court in the middle of the room.
Once again, there’ll be brews and fresh bakes, as well as plenty of other activities to keep people entertained on the night.
As described in their post, Christmas can be tough for a lot of people, and if they can make even just one person looking for some kindness and companionship feel better for a few hours this year, then they’ll have done above and beyond their job.
It goes without saying that we love seeing local businesses taking the social and community side of their work like this to heart and putting in serious effort to make a difference.
Well done to JJ, the Chosen Family support group, and everyone at Haunt for setting this up; if you know anyone who might be interested in coming along, please do pass on the information.
You can grab your free tickets via Eventbrite right HERE, and maybe we’ll see some of you there.
Emily Sergeant -
17th November 2021 
