Brit Awards 2026: Pink Pantheress makes history as Producer of the Year at Manchester ceremony
pink pantheress has been named Producer of the Year ahead of the BRIT Awards ceremony in Manchester, a landmark outcome that makes the 24-year-old the first woman to receive the prize since its inception in 1977 and the youngest-ever recipient.
Pink Pantheress and the historic Producer of the Year win
The award will be handed to Victoria Beverley Walker—better known as Pink Pantheress—at the BRITs event taking place at Co-op Live on Saturday (February 28). The ceremony marks the first time the event has been held in Manchester and outside London in its 49-year history. Organisers have already announced that this Producer of the Year selection is the fourth award winner revealed so far for 2026, alongside Jacob Alon for the Critics' Choice Award, Mark Ronson for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and Noel Gallagher as Songwriter of the Year.
Why the Producer of the Year choice matters for pink pantheress
The decision is notable on multiple fronts: it breaks a decades-long absence of female winners in the category, names the youngest recipient ever, and highlights a producer whose work was built from unconventional beginnings. The winner said being the first woman to receive the prize felt bittersweet and a little surreal, acknowledging she does not yet feel 'legendary' but that she would accept the honour. She has also described the lack of former female winners as "crazy. "
Pink Pantheress's trajectory: breakout tracks, mixtapes and streaming milestones
Pink Pantheress first broke out after GarageBand-produced songs were uploaded online in 2020 and became popular on short-form social platforms. The Producer of the Year award comes five years after she posted the lo-fi breakout tracks "Break it Off" and "Pain" on those platforms. Her debut mixtape arrived in 2021, followed two years later by a debut album titled Heaven Knows. Last year she released a second mixtape, Fancy That, which became her first top 10 album, earned two Grammy nominations and was shortlisted for the 2025 Mercury Prize. She has also amassed over one billion streams and scored a major worldwide hit with 2023's "Boy's a Liar, Pt. 2. " Other songs released by the artist include "Boy's A Liar, " "Stateside, " "Illegal" and "Nice to Meet You. "
Production style, DIY origins and influences
Her production approach is unusually self-taught, characterised in context as skittering breakbeats and finely woven melodies. The musician learned the basics by watching online tutorials and cites female artists who made her feel it was possible—named influences include Nia Archives, Tinashe and WondaGurl. As a teenager, while at a girls' school, she took on a friend's request for production work and developed her craft from there.
Limited resources led to resourceful solutions: she once tried to use a karaoke microphone from a Nintendo Wii by plugging its USB connection in, and even now records many vocals at home, often using a sock stretched over the microphone to prevent popping and sibilance.
Context at the BRITs: ceremony details, nominations and reactions
At this year’s BRIT Awards, Pink Pantheress is also nominated for Best Dance Act and British Artist of the Year. The ceremony will be hosted by Jack Whitehall and features an award created by Matthew Williamson inspired by Manchester’s worker bee mascot. Planned performances include Harry Styles, Sombr, Rosalia and Wolf Alice. The show will be broadcast live on national television and available online on Saturday evening from 8. 15pm.
Stacey Tang, Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Records at Sony Music UK, praised Pink Pantheress as an inventive and instinctive voice in British pop, describing her production as precise and playful, building boundary-expanding sounds that travel beyond the UK and opening the door for a new wave of female producers. The artist herself expressed gratitude for the recognition, saying she is proud of her production work, has worked hard at it, and hopes the honour will inspire others to pursue their passions.
Legacy and precedent: where the Producer of the Year award sits
The Producer of the Year prize has previously gone to notable figures including the Beatles' producer Sir George Martin, Trevor Horn, Brian Eno, the Eurythmics' David Stewart, Calvin Harris and Chase & Status. Until now, Kate Bush was the only other female producer to have been nominated for the award for her 1989 album The Sensual World.
This announcement cements a rapid rise for a producer who started from DIY beginnings and now occupies a historic place in the award's lineage. Details emerging around performances, broadcast windows and on-the-night moments are subject to change.
