Oxford News
KSI apologises for Mr Cherry performance on BGT semi-final
Tonight’s semi-final began with a performance from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical.
Eight more acts are set to take to the stage tonight, battling it out for a place in this year’s live final next Saturday (May 30):
- Baron & Vesper – Stunt act
- Celestial – Drone art
- The Hawkstone Farmers Choir – Choir group
- Jake Banfield – Magician
- James Miller – Singer
- Juan Carlos – Dancer
- Mr. Cherry – Stunt act
- SOS! – Boyband
KSI apologises for “rubbish” semi-final act
The fifth BGT 2026 semi-final began with a performance from dancer Juan Carlos, followed by a magic act from Jake Banfield that had judges “lost for words”.
But the third performance from Mr Cherry had KSI apologising, after awarding him a golden buzzer during the audition stages.
Amanda Holden labelled his semi-final performance as “rubbish”, while Simon Cowell said it looked like he had drunk too much coffee before the show.
Viewers agreed that Mr Cherry was “hard to watch”.
One person, posting on Instagram, said: “I’ve never been so clueless about an act before.
“I wasn’t sure whether I liked his audition or not, and after tonight’s performance, I’ve decided that I don’t like the act.
“That was genuinely hard to watch. I don’t know what KSI was thinking hitting his golden buzzer for him! At least he apologised to the nation.”
Who is in the BGT 2026 final?
There have been four semi-finals so far of the 2026 series of BGT, with eight acts confirmed for next Saturday’s (May 30) final:
- Matty Juniosa (singer) – golden buzzer from semi-final one
- Anastasiia and Salsa (dog act) – winner of semi-final one
- LMA (dance group) – golden buzzer from semi-final two
- Fabian Fox (magician) – winner of semi-final two
- Liwei Yang (fire-juggler) – golden buzzer from semi-final three
- Ted Hill (comedian) – winner of semi-final three
- Sonny Green (poet) – golden buzzer in semi-final four
- Rafferty Coope (magician) – winner of semi-final four
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What does the winner of BGT 2026 get?
There have been 18 winners of BGT since its first series in 2007, with magician Harry Moulding winning last year.
The winner of BGT 2026 will take home a prize of £250,000 and will also be given the chance to perform in front of the royal family at the Royal Variety Performance.
What did you think of Mr Cherry’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent tonight? Let us know in the comments below.
Oxford News
Oxford to screen Gentle, Angry Women film this weekend
Gentle, Angry Women, directed by Barbara Santi, tells the story of three young women retracing the historic march to Greenham Common – 40 years after the first Women’s Peace Protests.
It will be screened at The Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford on Sunday, May 24, at 5pm.
The documentary is the latest release from award-winning Cornish production company Awen Productions and is part of the film’s 2026 UK tour, with stops including Gloucester, Cardiff, Bristol, Reading, and Cornwall.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with peace activists Marie Walsh, Nuala Young, and Di McDonald.
The event is being held to mark International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament and will celebrate women’s global leadership in advocating for peace and disarmament.
Barbara Santi, director of Gentle, Angry Women, said: “I belong to the generation that should have inherited and passed on these stories, yet failed to do so.
“I’m working to repair that broken chain of women’s collective memory.
“Every woman deserves to know her own history – yet an entire generation has been robbed of the knowledge that thousands of women once lived for years in makeshift camps, facing arrest and ridicule to prevent nuclear war.”
Ms Santi said the film’s message is especially timely in light of current global events.
She said: “In a time when young people are grappling with climate crisis, global conflicts, and technological isolation, they need to see how previous generations of ‘gentle, angry women’ faced seemingly impossible odds and refused to give up.”
The Greenham Common protest lasted 19 years and became one of the largest women’s movements in British history, although many – including the film’s protagonists – were unaware of it.
The documentary follows 19-year-old Evie from Cornwall, and her friends Xanthe, 17, and Poppy, 16, on a 110-mile march to Greenham Common to rediscover its legacy.
Along their journey, the trio meet women who spent years living at the peace camp and share intergenerational conversations on activism and the state of the world today.
The young women highlight contemporary issues, including climate change, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, and animal activism.
She said: “The film champions small acts of defiance and community building as powerful forms of resistance.”
Audience members have described the film as ‘a really humbling story of collective women’s activism’ and ‘powerful, poetic, and unapologetically bold’.
Tickets and more information are available at the Folklife Films website.
Oxford News
Olives on sale at market is our camera club winner
That was their latest weekly theme and they posted plenty of photos of market stalls in Oxford, including those in the Covered Market and at Gloucester Green and Broad Street.
Some photographers also sent in photos of markets from outside the county and beyond.
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Gloucester Green and the Covered Market offer plenty of good opportunities for colourful photos as there are often food stalls open, while Broad Street hosts a popular market over the festive period.
It was tricky to choose a winner for photo of the week, but Georgina Elliott-Dew was selected for an eye-catching selection of photos, including the one above of a market trader selling olives.
Ann Faulkner’s snap of Applegate market in Covent Garden also stood out.
A market at Covent Garden (Image: Ann Faulkner)
Camera club members have drawn up their own list of weekly themes and the next one is ‘Oxfordshire stone’.
Oxford News
Aylesbury prison absconder wanted in public appeal
John Baker, 44, left the facility of HMP Springhill, an open prison near Grendon Underwood, without permission.
The incident took place at about 7pm on Saturday, May 23.
He is 5ft 9ins tall, of medium build, and has links to Northwood, near Watford.
Detective sergeant Jon Muldoon said: “We are appealing for the help of the public to trace John Baker, who is unlawfully at large after escaping from HMP Springhill.
“If you see Baker, do not approach him and call 999 instead.”
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