What was your highlight of 2025?
Looking back at 2025 makes me proud to have the privilege to lead DCMS. The department has achieved a huge amount and it is impossible to pick just one highlight from the DCMS agenda so instead here are two from the long list…
A real highlight for me has to be on the sport side of our agenda. This year, didn’t we have a brilliant summer of women’s sport? Watching the Lionesses and Red Roses draw record-breaking crowds was extraordinary. Their achievements will change lives across the UK in terms of the inspiration that they provide, particularly to women and girls.
And secondly, 2025 will be remembered by many for the poignant events to mark the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan. DCMS facilitated events up and down the country, bringing together thousands of members of the public, the Armed Forces and our arms’ length bodies for street parties, concerts, remembrance services and military processions. I particularly enjoyed the way in which the events struck a balance in terms of remembering the past but also telling a story for the future, such as through the Imperial War Museum’s “Letters to Loved Ones” which helped young people think about what these events were like.
What was the hardest part of being a leader in 2025?
One of the most significant things for all departments in 2025 was the multi-year Spending Review. We are now setting out our budgets for the next three years and thinking carefully with our ministers about how to prioritise the department’s resources in support of the government’s agenda and how to ensure we are as productive as we can be, tech enabled and that, like all departments, we get smaller. We know there is increasing pressure on cultural and sporting infrastructure, which is why the Arts Everywhere Fund and our £900m investment in major events and grassroots sport will be so important in helping these local assets to flourish.
What are the main challenges facing your department in the coming year?
I am focused on transforming the department to make sure we are as efficient and agile as we can be. This includes making sure everyone feels confident and capable using AI and tech tools. Our agenda is always engaging, fulfilling and busy – whether it’s the work we are doing for young people in our youth strategy, or our work on all the things the department does across sport, arts, culture, media, creative industries, tourism and charities. So our challenge as a department is to give the best support we can to this government and those sectors.
Which celebrity or historical figure would you choose to turn on the Christmas lights in your town – and why?
In DCMS sectors it’s hard to know where to start! But consistent with the 2025 highlights, I would choose Lauren Hemp. She has been such a bright spark in the Lionesses’ incredible summer and brings such a sense of joy that feels perfect for a celebration such as this. Her brilliant performances have inspired so many girls to get involved in sport, and I can just imagine the excitement in the crowd if she were to count us down to the lights coming on.