TalkTalk is teaming up with Heart to bring a “spooktacular” pop-up haunted to Manchester this weekend.
The free-to-attend event – which is being hosted by the connectivity provider, in collaboration with the UK’s biggest commercial radio brand – is coming to the Trafford Centre for one day only on Saturday 30 October from 12pm to 8pm.
The haunted house will feature a trio of escape rooms.
Those who fancy popping down to the event will be challenged on their speedy reactive skills, their ability to find the reliable route, and their detective talents to find hidden devices – and if you manage to complete all the tasks in time, you and your team will walk away with a TalkTalk goodie bag.
A Heart presenter will be playing live at the event, as well as hosting a fun pop-up selfie station where guests will be able to take a spooky selfie and share it on social using the hashtag #PoweredByFutureFibre to enter a prize draw and be in with a chance of winning some pretty impressive prizes.
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Some of the prizes up for grabs include a Samsung Galaxy Tab 32GB Tablet, Ring Video Doorbell, Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Wireless Earbuds, Amazon Echo Show 8 Smart Display, or a Nintendo Switch.
TalkTalk is teaming up with Heart to bring a “spooktacular” pop-up event to Manchester this weekend. / Credit: TalkTalk x Heart
The event comes as TalkTalk celebrates the launch of Future Fibre in Manchester – which uses the UK’s latest fibre technology to bring 100% full fibre directly into the home.
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If you’re unfamiliar with what Future Fibre is, it’s 45 x faster and 5 x more-reliable than standard broadband, which, according to TalkTalk, means it can “effortlessly handle” all household devices’ streaming, gaming, and video-calling at once.
Aiming to show the many benefits of Future Fibre, the pop-up event will feature three separate escape rooms – the ‘Speed’ room, where visitors will play a Batak-style light reaction game, the ‘Concurrency’ room which challenges people to find 75 hidden golden coins, and finally the ‘Reliability’ room, where one team member will be blindfolded and verbally led by their group through the most reliable route.
For the final task, challengers will need to watch out for rotten pumpkins, a broken wheelbarrow, the sinking ground, and the scary pumpkin man.
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Those who fancy popping down to the event will be challenged on their speedy reactive skills, their ability to find the reliable route, and more / Credit: TalkTalk x Heart
Speaking ahead of the pop-up’s arrival on Saturday, Becki Smith – General Manager of Ultrafast at TalkTalk – said: “”We’re excited to bring this event to the Trafford Centre to celebrate half term week, and the launch of Future Fibre in the city.
“Guests to the event will be able to work together to make it through our three escape rooms whilst experiencing all the benefits of Future Fibre.”
You can find out more about TalkTalk’s Future Fibre plans and whether it’s available on your street here.
Featured Image – TalkTalk x Heart
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Science and Industry Museum announces new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’
Emily Sergeant
A major new exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ is making its world premiere in Manchester next year.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will invite visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System when it launches at the Science and Industry Museum next February.
Fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition will encourage visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition will propel families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
Left teetering on the edge of our Solar System, explorers will then find themselves staring into the dark depths of space, on the lookout for any extra-terrestrial life that could be staring back.
Whether its sniffing astronauts’ smelly socks, dancing on an alien disco planet, feeling the tremors from a mysterious moonquake, or launching a space rocket, organisers say this new adventure will engage all the senses in a truly immersive experience.
This is the first time Horrible Science has been brought to life as a major exhibition.
The Science and Industry Museum has announced a new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ / Credit: BBC | Science Museum Group
Visitors will get to see familiar characters from the BBC series – like Dr Big Brain, in particular – on their mission to find out more about our fascinating Solar System through interactive experiments, playful challenges, and sensory exploration.
The exhibition is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum in collaboration with producers of the Horrible Science TV show, BBC Children’s and Education, and Lion Television, together with Scholastic, who are publishers of the much-loved Horrible Science book series by Nick Arnold and illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
‘Unmissable’ objects from the Science Museum Group’s world-class space collection will also be on show when the exhibition premieres.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 13 February 2026 for an 11-month run before heading down to London, and tickets are now on sale priced at £10 – with family discounts available, and under-threes going free.
Manchester Cathedral to host charity Christmas carols service to raise money for local NHS hospitals
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Cathedral will be hosting a charity Christmas carols service to raise money for our local NHS hospitals.
Organised by Manchester NHS Foundation Trust Charity and now in its twelfth year, Christmas Carols in the City will take place in the spectacular surroundings of Manchester Cathedral in a couple of weeks time, and it’s sounding set to be an enchanting experience for the whole family to be involved with this festive season.
The Grade I-listed Manchester Cathedral is one of our city’s most unique buildings, with the Gothic architecture truly being a thing to behold.
Christmas Carols in the City is being described as a ‘great way’ to start the festive season in style.
Hosted by Hits Radio’s Mike Toolan and sponsored by PG Tips, performances on the night will come from local Manchester choirs.
The event is family-friendly and festive fun for everyone, all while raising funds for the Foundation Trust’s family of NHS Manchester hospitals.
Every penny raised from this year’s event will help to build and run a MediCinema on the Oxford Road hospital campus, which will aim to bring the ‘therapeutic magic of the movies’ to patients of all ages cared for by hospitals such as Manchester Royal Infirmary, Saint Mary’s Hospital, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Manchester Cathedral is hosting a charity Christmas carols service to raise money for our local NHS hospitals / Credit: Supplied
With room for wheelchairs, hospital beds, and medical equipment, and supported by dedicated nurses and trained volunteers, the new MediCinema will offer 260 screenings a year of the latest releases, alongside much loved film favourites.
In recognition of the MediCinema Appeal, Christmas Carols in the City will feature some much-loved Christmas movie classics at this year’s concert too.
Christmas Carols in the City will return to Manchester Cathedral for 2025 on Tuesday 11 December, with doors opening from 7pm and tickets now on sale.
Emily Sergeant -
26th October 2021 
