Sam Fender wins two BRIT Awards as viewers fume over edited coverage
sam fender collected two BRIT Awards on a night the ceremony moved to Manchester, but his victories were met with online anger after one win received only a few seconds of airtime. The wins underline a big year for the North East rock star while prompting complaints about how the broadcast handled several categories.
Two BRITs in Manchester, including Song of the Year with Olivia Dean
Fender left the ceremony having added two more BRIT Awards to his record after the event relocated to Manchester. He and Olivia Dean collected Song of the Year for their collaboration Rein Me In; the track had given Fender his maiden number one single the previous weekend after spending 35 weeks in the top 40. Olivia Dean, 26, ultimately swept four BRITs that evening.
Sam Fender kisses Rosa Collier after Song of the Year win
As the Song of the Year award was presented, Fender, 31, leaned in for a congratulatory kiss with his rarely-seen girlfriend Rosa Collier before making his way on stage. Collier, who works as an actress, met Fender while she was studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. A friend said the couple have been secretly dating since 2022, dated loosely for a few months and then became more serious in 2023; the friend added they have travelled together, recently holidayed in the Maldives, that Collier knows Fender's family and band well, and that she is now on tour with him and often cheers from the crowd.
Viewers angry after broadcaster edits Alternative/Rock Act coverage
The decision to condense Fender's later win into a highlights reel — alongside the Pop, R& B, Dance and Rap/Hip Hop and Grime category victors — left many viewers at home furious. One viewer wrote, "why the f*** didn't they show my Sam Fender winning alternative rock act, " while another wrote, "Dance act, rock act and hiphop not even live? What the f*** is going on tonight?" The artists' acceptance speech for Song of the Year was notably brief, with neither Fender nor Dean offering much to say on stage.
Questions over live-production logistics and winners' advance notice
Television viewers did catch glimpses of Fender and his band on stage, and Fender revealed he had not expected to win; winners typically receive advance warning when camera crews gather around their table, and that congregation of camera crews did not take place on Saturday. Fender's Alternative/Rock Act victory marked a hat-trick in that category: he had previously claimed the prize twice and this third triumph saw him beat challengers including Wolf Alice and Wet Leg.
Career milestones and a standout year for Fender
The BRITs crowns added to a string of achievements for Fender. He first won a BRIT in 2019 with the Critics' Choice award, the same year his debut album Hypersonic Missiles reached number one. He has since scored a third number one album with People Watching, claimed the Mercury Prize, played his biggest gig to date at London's Finsbury Park, and sold out three consecutive nights at St James' Park in Newcastle.
Other awards night and entertainment headlines on the bill
The 46th edition of the BRIT Awards took place at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena for the first time on Saturday. Olivia Dean won Best Artist, Best Album, Best Song and Best Pop Act; she became the first woman to claim the UK's No 1 single and album in the same week since Adele in 2021, with the single Man I Need and the album The Art Of Loving, both released in 2025. Lily Allen, who released her fifth studio album West End Girl last year and dominated the charts, failed to beat Dean in Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Pop Act.
Other distinct entertainment items from the same coverage included Sheridan Smith winning a Royal Television Society gong for playing Ann Ming in the drama I Fought the Law, and a local planning note that a caretaker's bungalow will be demolished as part of plans to add extra nursery capacity at a Redcar school. Elsewhere, Trachtenberg received praise for portraying Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl; the series is created by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the producers behind Into the Spider-Verse. A high-profile Super Bowl advert for Ring highlighted the company's Search Party feature — described as neighborhood surveillance — and the discussion included how to disable it. A drama titled The Drama was noted as following an engaged couple whose relationship is tested after the bride-to-be makes a dark confession. A Puerto Rican superstar delivered a performance packed with nods to Latino culture. Finally, a late-career note: O'Hara's final acting role was in 2025 when she appeared in three episodes on Season — unclear in the provided context.
