Tom Parker has been posthumously shortlisted for a National Television Award (NTA) for his groundbreaking brain tumour documentary.
The award nomination for the 33-year-old Bolton-born singer – who was known for being one fifth of the popular British boyband, The Wanted, since 2009 – comes after he sadly passed away on 30 March following being diagnosed with an inoperable terminal brain tumour known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) back in October 2020.
Tom had been undergoing a number of treatments in an attempt to prolong his life following the devastating diagnosis, and chose to make a documentary, titled Tom Parker: Inside My Head, about his journey living with the illness – which aired on Channel 4 in October 2021.
The moving documentary followed Tom as he organised a star-studded concert, also called Inside My Head, at the Royal Albert Hall last September, all with the aim of raising worthy funds for charities Stand Up To Cancer and The National Brain Appeal.
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The hour-long programme also helped Tom’s mission to campaign for brain tumour awareness.
Tom Parker has been posthumously shortlisted for a National Television Award (NTA) for his groundbreaking brain tumour documentary / Credit: Channel 4
In the documentary, Tom spoke openly about how he believes a “massive improvement” is needed in treatment and research funding for brain tumours.
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According to leading charity Brain Tumour Research, GBM is the most common type of brain tumour and is also one of the most aggressive, but there is currently no cure, and it often resists treatment, with the average survival time from diagnosis being 12 to 18 months.
The amount of money spent annually in the UK on brain cancer research has increased from £4 million in 2009-10 to £15 million in 2019-20, but Brain Tumour Research says that figure must increase to £35 million to address the “chronic lack of funding”.
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‘Tom Parker: Inside My Head’ aired on Channel 4 in October 2021 / Credit: Channel 4
Tom Parker: Inside My Head has now been nominated for a National Television Award, and is in the running up against Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, who presented the documentary Caring For Derek about her family’s life after her husband – former political adviser Derek Draper – spent a year in hospital being treated for COVID-19.
Katie Price’s What Harvey Did Next, Julia Bradbury’s Breast Cancer And Me, and Paddy and Christine McGuinness’s Our Family And Autism are also in the running for the award.
The 2022 National Television Awards are to air on ITV on 15 September.
Featured Image – Channel 4
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8 million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year, new research finds
Emily Sergeant
Millions of Brits are predicted to use AI to help them write their Christmas cards this year.
According to some new Royal Mail research, AI is most likely to be used for researching gifts (19%), festive party ideas (13%), and decoration inspiration (13%) throughout this festive season, but in what is a revelation many will find surprising – and even alarming – it’ll even be used for the timeless tradition of sending Christmas cards.
2,000 UK adults who celebrate Christmas were surveyed by the postal service early last month on how they plan to make use of technology this festive season.
The new research found that 11% of respondents will be using AI to help write the messages for their Christmas cards, which works out to be around eight million people.
It’s the under-55s who are driving the trend, as you can probably imagine – with 57% of this age group planning to lean on AI for guidance, compared to just 14% of those over 55.
Oh, and you’ll want to keep an extra eye on the Christmas cards that come from the men in your life too, as men are 67% more likely than women to use AI to help them.
Eight million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year / Credit: KoolShooters
Although it may be largely frowned upon, it’s fairly easy to see why people are turning to tech to find the right words, as the Royal Mail’s research found that nearly one in five (19%) Brits say they don’t know what to write in cards, and this figure rises even further to 31% when it comes to 18-24-year-olds.
Despite the use of AI as a helping hand, three quarters of Brits (74%) do still think it’s important to keep the tradition of sending handwritten Christmas cards alive.
“AI is becoming part of everyday life for many people,” says technology journalist and broadcaster, Georgie Barrat. “So it’s natural we’ll see it used during the festive season. When it comes to writing cards, it can help you go beyond a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ and choose words that feel more unique.
“Often, people know what they want to say – they just need a little help expressing it.”
Richard Travers, who is the Managing Director of Letters at Royal Mail, concluded: “No matter what you include in your card, or how you choose to write your message, cards are truly a way of spreading festive cheer.”
Featured Image – Richard Bell (via Unsplash)
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Manchester’s 2025 Christmas Parade in pictures as tens of thousands turn out for festive event
Emily Sergeant
Tens of thousands of residents flocked to the city centre this past weekend for Manchester’s annual Christmas Parade.
Over the past few years since it first took place in 2022, Manchester Christmas Parade has become a festive favourite with both locals and visitors alike, and with more than 400 participants and performers gracing the city’s main shopping streets this year, it’s really not hard to see why it’s a much-loved fixture in the city’s countdown to Christmas.
Seen by many as the heartwarming event of the festive season, Manchester Christmas Parade was even ‘bigger and better’ than last year’s fantastic crowdpleaser.
Even a drop of the classic Manchester rain didn’t stop play on the day, as the fabulous festive Parade made its way through the packed city streets to the smiles and cheers of all those watching.
Despite the Manchester weather, tens of thousands of you turned out to make Sunday’s Christmas Parade truly magical. 🎅 👼 🥁
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the heart-warming event of the season.
“I remember thinking at the end of our fabulous Manchester Christmas Parade last year that we would never be able to top it,” commented Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester City Council’s Christmas spokesperson. “But this year’s parade has been off-the-scale brilliant – it was so much fun and you could see how much all the children loved it.
“The city centre was heaving, it felt like millions of Mancs had turned out for the parade, and what a performance we put on for them.”
The streets were filled with music and laughter this year, as well as the return of Manchester’s very-own Elf Express, complete with VIP passenger Santa hitching a ride on his way to the North Pole, together with his trusty team of elves.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for Manchester Christmas Parade 2025 this past weekend / Credit: Manchester City Council
Not only that, but Nutcracker-inspired toy soldiers also sweept their way through the Parade on segways, alongside a roaming Christmas tree, a pair of gentle giant-sized reindeer, a stunning arctic fox, and Jack Frost himself.
Brand-new for this year will be the fantastic Festive Fantasy Candyland Castle, which stood over three-meters tall and truly was the stuff of fairytales.
“Manchester once again helped make the magic and the memories for a whole generation of families from across the city and beyond,” Cllr Karney concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
24th August 2022 
