The world of showbiz was put to the test in 2020, as the film, TV, music and theatre industries faced challenges no-one could have foreseen thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Live performances were hit as the country faced lockdown in March, with theatres, cinemas and music venues closed, and TV and film productions also affected.
However, there were no signs of what was to come as the year kicked off in its usual starry way, with awards season in full swing.
Brad Pitt finally won an Oscar as he was named best supporting actor for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, while Joaquin Phoenix took home the best actor award for Joker, Renee Zellweger was best actress for Judy, and best supporting actress was Laura Dern, for Marriage Story (Jennifer Graylock/PA)Billie Eilish enjoyed success at the Brit Awards, having swept the big four prizes at the Grammy Awards and after topping the charts with her James Bond theme, No Time To Die (Isabel Infantes/PA)The Duchess of Cambridge brought a touch of royal glamour to the Baftas at the Royal Albert Hall in London in February, and enjoyed a laugh with award winner Renee Zellweger (Jeff Gilbert/The Daily Telegraph/PA)However, live theatre and music was hit hard in March as the nationwide lockdown saw venues including the Sondheim Theatre in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue forced to close their doors (Jonathan Brady/PA)Star Wars actor John Boyega gave a powerful speech at a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Hyde Park, London, in memory of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis (Victoria Jones/PA)Normal People stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones took social distancing measures into their own hands at the Bafta TV awards in July. The hit show was BBC iPlayer’s most popular series of 2020 after it was streamed more than 62 million times (Dominic Lipinski/PA)The High Court in London found itself at the centre of a media frenzy as Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard gave evidence in a libel trial (Victoria Jones/PA)Kimberley Walsh showed that the show could go on, taking a Covid test as Sleepless: A Musical Romance opened with social distancing measures at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London (Yui Mok/PA)Sam Fender showed the same can-do spirit as he performed at a pop-up venue in Gosforth Park, Newcastle. Fans in groups of up to five people watched the show from 500 separate raised metal platforms at the socially distanced gig (Owen Humphreys/PA)TV and film stars got back to work, with Jodie Comer spotted at Cahir Castle in Co Tipperary on the set of the Last Duel, a historical drama-thriller directed by Ridley Scott (Niall Carson/PA)One Night Records, the UK’s first socially distanced immersive live music venue event, opened at London Bridge (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston were snapped having a giggle on the set of the sixth series of Line Of Duty in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)Liverpool was the setting for scenes filmed by Robert Pattinson for The Batman (Peter Byrne/PA)Rebekah Vardy and dance partner Andy Buchanan are preparing for next year’s Dancing On Ice, but it was Vardy’s High Court libel case against ‘Wagatha Christie’ Coleen Rooney that made the headlines in November (Joe Giddens/PA)ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! decamped to Wales in November as coronavirus forced the show to swap the heat of the Australian jungle for the chillier ruins of Gwrych Castle. Giovanna Fletcher was crowned queen of the castle (Jacob King/PA)Young T & Bugsey put on a show at the 23rd Mobo Awards as the end of 2020 approached – here’s hoping that the stars of stage and screen will be able to put their best foot forward next year (Ian West/PA)On the day Boris Johnson announced that Tier 4 restrictions would be brought in for much of southern England, scuppering Christmas plans for millions, comedian Bill Bailey and his professional dance partner Oti Mabuse were crowned winners of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing (Guy Levy/BBC/PA)