ROB MCLOUGHLIN RECALLS MANCHESTER AIR DISASTER ON ITV 

Rob McLoughlin returned to Manchester International Airport to share his memories of the disaster which killed 55 people as a plane exploded and burnt on the runway on 22nd August 1985.

Marking the 40th anniversary he appeared live on ITV’s ‘Granada Reports’ and shared his memories as one of the first reporters on the scene in 1985.

He told Mel Barham of ITV News that it was an ‘horrific day’ as he recalled the ‘silence’ as he entered the terminal that day and saw grounded passengers and anxious relatives in shock. 

He recalled that you could see the flames on the runway from the windows of the terminal and within minutes he met a senior fire officer who told him sadly that ‘it was a national disaster’ and that ‘dozens and dozens had died’.

Asked about the lessons of the disaster, Rob said that he felt ‘many would opt for smoke hoods’ if they were available today on passenger planes as recommended by the formal inquiry. That recommendation was never introduced in the U.K.

Many victims had died in their seats from smoke inhalation and relatives of the dead are still campaigning for the availability of the hoods on holiday and other civil aircraft.

In a follow on documentary to be screened on ITVX, Rob recalls an investigation conducted by him for Granada Reports weeks after the disaster which showed that the plane’s log showed symptoms of engine problems which may not have been communicated to the pilot and crew. 

A copy of the plane’s log had been obtained by ‘The Sunday Mirror’ and shared with Granada Television. It featured on the Granada Reports special and later in a John Ware ‘World in Action’ special across ITV nationally.

The pilot thought the first explosion was a tyre burst and as he steered the plane off the runway he sadly steered into a head wind which tragically fanned the flames. Rob believes that it was ‘an avoidable disaster’.

A minutes silence across the airport marked the 40th anniversary. Rob described that day in 1985 as ‘emotional’. 

The horrors of the tragedy are etched deeply into his memory.

The date of the documentary has not yet been released.

To see the interview with Rob click here.

TREVOR GREEN

One of the most familiar and trusted faces and voices on TV and Radio news in the North of England and later with Sky, has died.

Warm tributes have been paid to Trevor Green who was a ‘stalwart’ of Granada TV and earlier Piccadilly Radio for decades.

His warm, friendly but decisive journalism was admired by colleagues and the audience.

In a tweet on X which was reprinted across the national and regional media, Rob McLoughlin, said it ‘is so sad to say goodbye’ and described him as ‘super journalist and colleague’.

Trevor was 74 years old and died on his birthday. RIP.

TRIBUTE TO TV’s STUART PREBBLE

One of the UK’s most imaginative TV journalists, editors and authors has died.

Stuart Prebble rose from editor of the ground-breaking ITV investigative series ‘World in Action’ to become Chief Executive of the network before returning to production and devising the hit ‘Grumpy Old Men’ for BBC2 and the successful ‘Landmark Artists’ series for Sky.

Rob McLoughlin first worked with Stuart on ‘Granada Reports’ (ITV) in 1982 when Prebble turned the programme into a hit with 3.6m viewers and presented by Richard and Judy as well as the late Tony Wilson. It was the first time Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan appeared together : launching their hugely popular TV partnership.

Stuart and Rob worked together again on ‘World in Action’ and on a turnaround of Granada’s news and regional output ahead of the Thatcher ITV auction of franchises which Granada TV retained in the 1990s.

In a tweet on X and reported in the national press and media magazines, Rob described Stuart as an ‘original mind’ with a ‘fabulous sense of humour’ and as ‘one of Britain’s best TV journalists’.

Stuart also wrote a series of factual and fictional books.

He was 74 years old. RIP. 

Educate North Awards – Winners Announced

DAME CAROL ANN DUFFY AND UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL CELEBRATE WITH TOP EDUCATIONAL AWARDS.

TEACHER WINS SECOND AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SUPPORT FOR CANCER CHILD.   

The Poet Laurette to Queen Elizabeth the Second; a school teacher who showed enormous care and support for a dying pupil and institutions responsible for breakthroughs, sustainability and growing standards were among the winners of the 11th ENAs – Educate North Awards (www.educatenorth.co.uk) staged in Manchester on Thursday 3rd April 2025.

Dame Carol Ann Duffy DBE thanked family, friends as well as her peers at Manchester Metropolitan University, as Professor Mark Power, handed her The Lifetime Achievement Award at the start of a remarkable and  often emotional ceremony as the work of the North’s Universities, Higher Education and Further Education and Sixth Forms were celebrated at the annual ENAs dinner.

Professor Power, Vice Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, described her as an ‘Extraordinary poet, teacher and literary trailblazer’ who was the ‘First woman, first Scot and first openly LGBTQ+ poet to be appointed Poet Laureate’. 

During the night Durham School Teacher Susan Allinson heard tributes from the parents of Bob Theakston who tragically died of cancer at aged 6 in 2024 for the remarkable way she became almost a ‘second mother’ as he battled the disease. 

‘I don’t think of myself as special, it’s just what we should all do’ she told the audience.

Susan Allinson rose to a standing ovation as she was handed her ENA trophy after being nominated by listeners to Smooth and Heart radio across the North. She was previously appointed a winner in 2022.

Ranvir Singh from ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ brought warmth and humour to the stage as she hosted the night which saw University of Liverpool named ‘University of the Year’; Greenhead College was named ‘Further Education College of the Year’  and there were wins for Alexia Lopez of University of Central Lancashire as ‘University/PHD Student of the Year’ and later a £1000  gift for the first ever winner of the ‘Liverpool Hope Prize’ for outstanding work in the area of social mobility.

The full list of winners judged by business, academic and media specialists as well as those  nominated by radio listeners can be seen below and on www.educatenorth.co.uk as well as on the websites of Smooth NW; Smooth NE and Heart Yorkshire.

‘2025 has been an exceptional year for these awards which encourage, praise and celebrate developments and achievements in a sector which so often feels forgotten by decision makers in government and elsewhere’ said Broadcaster Rob McLoughlin OBE who founded the ENAs in 2015. ‘We have had record entries for the ENAs, for the entrepreneurs competition we stage and for our Heart and Smooth Radio Awards.’ 

‘Tonight is an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of the sector to individuals but also to the growth and success of Northern England as an economic and cutting-edge force; we always hope Whitehall is listening’.

University of Liverpool Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Jones said: “This is a huge honour for the University, and I’m delighted with this fantastic win’’.

“We are proud to have made important progress in all major international and domestic league tables over the last year and, indeed, we are the only Russell Group university to improve across all five. This, together with our strengths in education and experience, research and innovation, internationalisation, and economic impact really set us apart. Our success at these prestigious awards is testament to the incredible work by teams across the institution and I wish to extend a huge congratulations to them all.”

Four students from Newcastle, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester also competed in the University Entrepreneurs Grant (UEG) as they pitched their new business ideas to the audience of more than 420 contemporaries with the winner walking away with £1000 to write a business plan and have the option of being mentored at the award-winning Business School at the University of Chester.

Emeritus Professors Phil Harris and Ruth Ashford lead the twenty-five strong independent judging panel and official patrons are University of Manchester; Liverpool John Moores University and entrepreneur John Kennedy CBE.

Sponsors for 2025 include CCUK owners of Heart and Smooth; IT Capital; Liverpool Hope University; Mindful Education and Interact.

The ENAs are staged by RM Communications Ltd and produced by Rowan Scahill. They will return in 2026.

During the event tributes were paid to the late Professor Peter Starbuck who supported the awards initiative and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, welcomed guests from across the UK to the 11th awards praising the winners and nominees as  ‘a cause so important to everyone from the east to west coast; you have pioneered key areas of learning, developed new scientific and medical techniques and inspired the generations which will drive us forward in the future’.

Full results:

ENAS ’25:

  • Lifetime Achievement Award – Dame Carol Ann Duffy DBE
  • Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Award – Hull College – Silent Voices, Vivid Stories
  • Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Initiative Award – Northumbria University & Woodhorn Mining Museum – STEM Communities
  • Liverpool Hope Prize; Outstanding Achievement for Social Mobility – Northern College in Yorkshire – The North’s only adult residential education college
  • Community Engagement Award – HE/FE Sector – Education Partnership North East & Northumbria Police – Trainee Detective Programme
  • Community Engagement Award – University Sector – York St John University – Converge
  • Business Engagement, Employer Award – HE/FE Sector – Franklin Sixth Form College – Emma Swinburn, Jaime Hansen, Honor Walton – Meet the Future
  • Business Engagement, Employer Award – University Sector – University of Central Lancashire – Centre for SME and Enterprise Development (CSMEED) and the Institute for Research into Work and Employment (iROWE)
  • Heart Creative Arts Award – Sunderland College – Creative Arts ‘Thread of Life’ – A response to the August 2024 Northeast riots
  • Apprenticeship Award – York St John University – Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship – Improving the Standard of Policing
  • College or FE Student Achievement of the Year – Eshan Bilal, Burnley College
  • University/PHD Student Achievement of the Year – Alexia Lopez, University of Central Lancashire
  • Digital Education and Development Award – University of Huddersfield – Graduate Career Explorer
  • Innovation Award – The Christie Hospital – Teenage & Young Adult Service
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing Award – Hopwood Hall College – Addressing Emotionally Based Non-Attendance in Rochdale
  • The Sustainable Green Initiative – Hull College – Rising Tides, Rising Minds
  • Third Sector Award – HMT St Hughs Hospital & Humber Health Partnership, Diana Princess of Wales Hospital – Sepsis, Together We Can Succeed Conference
  • Student Experience Award – HE/FE Sector – The Sixth Form Bolton – Women into Leadership Programme
  • Student Experience Award – University Sector – University of Central Lancashire – Transforming Interprofessional Education
  • Student Experience Award – University Sector – University of Chester – Academic Skills Team, The Skills Pod
  • Campaign of the Year – Northumbria University – NU ALLSTARS
  • Business School of the Year – Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Business School
  • Leadership and Innovation Award – Aline Miller, The University of Manchester
  • Law School of the Year – Manchester Law School
  • Further Education College of the Year – Greenhead College
  • University of the Year – University of Liverpool

UEG (UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURS GRANT) :  

  • Alex & Tom Banner, TAB Customs – Newcastle University
  • HEART AND SMOOTH RADIO AWARDS: 
  • Outstanding School, College or University – Royal Northern College of Music
  • Outstanding Head Teacher – Scott Cordon, King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool
  • Outstanding Teacher – Susan Allinson, Woodham Burn Community Primary Schoo,Durham.

ITV’s Ranvir Singh to host Educate North Awards 2025
ITV journalist Ranvir Singh, presenter of the ENA 2025

ITV’s popular presenter Ranvir Singh is to return north to host the 11th Educate North Awards on Thursday 3rd April 2025 at The Hilton Hotel in Manchester.

The special night celebrates the world class achievements of the north’s university and higher education sectors as well as the advancement and achievements of sixth form and further education colleges from the west to east coast. 

The names of 3 winners nominated by the listeners of Smooth and Heart will also be unveiled, and 4 students or graduates will compete in the University Entrepreneurs Grant (UEG) pitching their new business ideas with the winner walking away with a £1000 prize and the chance to be mentored at an award-winning  business school.    

‘This year the judges from across the north and UK have a really tough challenge’ said creator Rob McLoughlin OBE, ‘the quality and depth of the entries are more and more impressive year-on-year and the prestige of the event has seen the competition become much harder. All of that against a backdrop of challenges and even insecurity across the sector’.

He continued; ‘It’s a real night to celebrate and we are delighted to welcome Ranvir to the ENAs, she not only launched her tremendous career in the north but was also educated at 2 of our most successful  universities and  has been entwined in the sector since 2017 when she became Chancellor of UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire)’.   

The ‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter said, ‘I can’t wait to meet the entrants and the winners of this prestigious and exciting event, I know first-hand, the commitment of so many academics, students and the business teams which face the challenges of the sector every day and yet produce superb results and outstanding breakthroughs‘.

‘I wish all entrants good luck and as for the independent judges – they’ll be having some sleepless nights before their deliberations’.

Click here for further details.

The 2025 event is supported by CommunicorpUK owners of Smooth North West: Smooth North East and Heart Yorkshire. Official Patrons are University of Manchester, Liverpool John Moores University and John Kennedy CBE. Sponsors include Interact, IT Capital and Mindful Education as well as Liverpool Hope University. 

The 2025 UEG will be presented by Actor Jesscia Pardoe.

The event is staged by RM Communications and produced by Rowan Scahill. The judging is led by Emeritus Professor Phil Harris and Emeritus Professor Ruth Ashford.