Al Read (3 March 1909 – 9 September 1987) was a British radio comedian active throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Read was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire and was a sausage maker in his father's business. He became known as a popular after-dinner speaker with wry and well-observed humour in clubs. In 1950 Read made his radio début on the BBC. His comedy was based around the monologue form, but he also became known for dialogues in which he played both voices. His humour was observational and was about northern English working class people, often in a domestic situation.

The Al Read Show was one of the most popular radio comedy shows in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. Up to 35 million people listened to it each week. His catchphrases "Right Monkey" and "You'll be lucky, I say you'll be lucky!" were well known. In 1963 he headed a variety format for ITV called Life and Al Read which was apparently unscripted and was broadcast live. In 1966 another ITV series called Al Read Says What a Life! was broadcast. He also worked extensively on the variety stage. It was generally considered that sound radio was his best medium^{[citation needed]}.

Adele Emeli Sandé  /sænˈdeɪ/ san-DAY, (born 10 March 1988) known by her stage name Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish soul and R&B recording artist and songwriter. Sandé first became known to the public eye after she featured on rapper Chipmunk's third single, "Diamond Rings", which gained herself and Chipmunk a first top 10 single on the UK Singles Chart. In 2010, she appeared on Roll Deep star, Wiley's "Never Be Your Woman", which became another top ten hit. Simon Cowell called her "his favourite songwriter at the minute". She has written for a number of artists, including Cher Lloyd, Parade, Susan Boyle, Preeya Kalidas, Leona Lewis, Alesha Dixon, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah.

In 2010, she signed a publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing. She later announced that Virgin Records had given her a record deal. Sandé released her first solo single "Heaven" in August 2011, which was an instant hit around the globe. Sandé has two number-one singles across the United Kingdom and Ireland with "Read All About It" with Professor Green and "Next to Me". She released Our Version of Events, in February 2012, upon the release the album peaked number one in the UK.

Phil Rees is a Welsh writer, reporter and television producer who has specialised in international relations. He has won more than a dozen international awards for his work.

Rees graduated from Oxford University in 1982. In the same year, he joined the BBC as a trainee journalist and began his career as a reporter on television news in Northern Ireland. He has covered Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas during his career. He has written widely and presented or produced nearly fifty documentaries.

At the BBC, his reports appeared on the nightly TV news, Newsnight, Correspondent, World Service Radio, NPR and BBC World News satellite and cable channel. In 2006, Rees set up Out of Office Films, a TV production company based in London. It has made programmes for Channel 4, ZDF, Al Jazeera, ERT (Greece) and Swedish television.

His awards include two from the Royal Television Society for best foreign affairs documentary (1994 & 1998). From 1986 - 2002, Rees covered Asia, the Middle East, South and Central America for the BBC’s news and current affairs’ department.

Evgeni "Geno" Vladimirovich Malkin (Russian: Евге́ний Влади́мирович Ма́лкин; IPA: [jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈmɑlkʲɪn]; born July 31, 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Chosen second overall in the 2004 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin's career in the NHL was delayed because of an international transfer dispute until 2006–07, in which he captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. In his second season, he helped carry Pittsburgh to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final series and was a runner-up for league's MVP award, the Hart Memorial Trophy. The following season, Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the top-scorer in the NHL and again finished runner-up for the Hart Trophy while he and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup championship and Malkin the Conn Smythe Trophy. A second Art Ross Trophy was earned after the 2011–12 season, in which Malkin's 12-point margin was the largest since 1999. On April 27, 2012, he was nominated as one of three finalists for the Hart Trophy.

Álvaro "Al" Montoya (born February 13, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round (6th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft after a three-year career with the University of Michigan. Montoya is the first Cuban American to play in the NHL.

Montoya played youth hockey for the Chicago Young Americans and Loyola Academy and amateur hockey for the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League. He spent the 2000-01 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Montoya began attending the University of Michigan and playing for the Wolverines in 2002–03. He enjoyed success at Michigan, especially during his final season in 2004–05, where he posted a record of 30-7-3. Montoya twice represented the United States at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, backstopping the team to its first gold medal at the 2004 tournament in Finland; he was named to the tournament All-Star team. The 2005 tournament, hosted by the United States, was a disappointing one for Montoya and Team USA as they failed to medal, losing to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game.