LIFT@MUIRHOUSE MILLENNIUM CENTRE WINS WORKPLACE AWARD
The Forth Awards, presented by Livingston Designer Outlet, celebrated the very best of Edinburgh and the East yesterday at a stellar show which saw local heroes pick up awards alongside Scottish stars Emeli Sandé, Cammy Barnes, Craig Hill and more.
A sold out Usher Hall enjoyed a surprise line-up including a stunning performance from Emeli Sandé, dance sets from iconic voices including Kelly Llorenna, Janice Robinson and Simone Denny, entertainment from ‘Dirty Dancing’ and a rousing set from man of the moment Cammy Barnes.
Forth 1 presenters distributed awards to hometown heroes, nominated by Forth’s audience, across categories including Best Teacher, Best Workplace and the prestigious Forth Local Hero Award.
Station stars including Arlene Stuart, Steven Mill, Garry Spence, Callum Gallacher, Grant Thomson, Lynsey Gibson and more hosted the show as well as a charity auction to fundraise for Forth 1’s Cash for Kids, making a difference for kids across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and Falkirk.
10 awards were handed out across the star-studded show, recognising hometown heroes across Best Teacher, Best Restaurant, Best Workplace and the all important Forth Local Hero Award.
WINNERS:
The Forth Best Artist Award with Victor Paris – Cammy Barnes
The Forth Contribution to Music Award with The Liquid Room – Janice Robinson
The Forth Icon Award with The Edinburgh Playhouse – Emeli Sandé
The Forth Fringe Award with Watermans – Darrell Martin
The Forth Best Restaurant Award with Saltire Hospitality – Luca’s Kitchen
The Forth Cash for Kids Award with Newtown Décor – Rocco Wood
The Forth Best Teacher Award with Omni Centre – Matthew Crawford, Beath High School
The Forth Best Workplace Award with Fuse – L.I.F.T @ Muirhouse Millennium Centre
The Forth Visitor Attraction – Falkland Palace & Garden
The Forth Local Hero Award with Edinburgh’s Christmas & LNER – Lisa Petrie
The talented ensemble from ‘Dirty Dancing’, currently showing at Edinburgh Playhouse, kicked the afternoon off with an outstanding performance before Darrell Martin was presented with this year’s Forth Fringe Award.
Founder of Just the Tonic Comedy Club, which presents hundreds of shows every year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Darrell has welcomed some of comedy’s top names to his club in Nottingham over the past 30 years including Sean Lock, Jo Brand, Rob Beckett and more.
One of the UK’s most successful songwriters, Emeli Sandé was honoured with this year’s Forth Icon Award, marking a career which has seen her pick up four BRIT Awards, achieve three UK No.1 singles and sell over 6 million albums.
The Scottish star’s upcoming 2027 UK tour celebrates 15 years since the release of her hit debut album ‘Our Version of Events’ and guests at the Forth Awards were treated to her biggest hits including ‘Next To Me’ and ‘Read All About It’.
Picking up her award Emeli Sandé said, “This is awesome, Scotland is where my whole journey began so thank you for this recognition.”
Dunfermline restaurant Luca’s Kitchen picked up the Forth Best Restaurant Award for their family-friendly authentic Italian fayre, whilst L.I.F.T at Muirhouse Millennium Centre won the Best Workplace Award.
Community project based in Muirhouse Millennium Centre, Low Income Families Together (LIFT) works with individuals and families to develop new skills to improve their lives – from tackling child poverty, budgeting skills, confidence building and employability skills, the team go above and beyond for their community.
Man of the moment and local lad Cammy Barnes took home the Forth Best Artist Award after storming onto the UK’s music scene blending contemporary country songwriting with traditional Scottish music.
Hailing from Fife, Cammy shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent in 2023, supported Amy Macdonald on tour and is now set to play two huge dates at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro in 2027. The singer songwriter treated the audience to a rousing set including a song dedicated to his hometown ‘Beauty In These Streets’, ‘Whiskey Roll’ and a special cover of ‘Tennessee Whiskey’.
Picking up his award, Cammy said: “I can’t believe I’ve just won that award! A massive thank you to all the team at Forth 1 and Clyde 1 for backing me and playing my music on the radio – it has singlehandedly changed my life.
“When I started this journey I just wanted to make my wee girl proud – and now we just sold out The Hydro! Things like this don’t happen to be, so I’m buzzing.”
Matthew Crawford, a guidance teacher at Beath High School in Cowdenbeath won the Best Teacher Award for his commitment to his pupils and their parents and the Best Visitor Attraction went to Falkland Palace & Garden in Fife, recognising its staff and volunteers in a year of ongoing building works.
One of the afternoon’s most heartwarming moments came when Rocco Wood was presented with the Forth Cash for Kids Award. Born at just 28 weeks, three months premature, Rocco was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and has overcome significant challenges in his 17 years.
Cash for Kids has been able to support Rocco and his family for many years, mostly recently funding an eye-gaze communication device which has given Rocco a new way to express himself, communicate and display his cheeky sense of humour.
American singer songwriter Janice Robinson collected the Forth Contribution to Music Award, honouring a vocalist career spanning over 30 years, beginning with her global hit ‘Dreamer’ as part of ‘Livin’ Joy’. Janice went on to support the iconic Tina Turner on tour and released hit dance tracks include ‘Earthbeat’ and ‘There Must Be Love’, which she performed at this afternoon’s ceremony.
Janice said: “It feels amazing to be recognised after decades of a song that has lived in the hearts of so many people in the UK.
“Looking into the audience and realising that most of these people were really young when ‘Dreamer’ came out – I’m so blessed to have done something that brings people such joy.”
For the final award of the day, local Edinburgh woman Lisa Petrie was honoured with the Forth Local Hero Award for her extraordinary campaign for stricter retail security on knives, and the roll out of life-saving bleed kits across the local community.
After losing her son John in 2025, Lisa has campaigned tirelessly – meeting the First Minister, the King and MSPs to introduce accessible bleed kits across Edinburgh.
Lisa has assembled and distributed over 100 emergency medical bleed control kits to pubs, community centres and shops across Edinburgh and Midlothian, aimed at saving lives in all kinds of medical emergencies.
On stage, Lisa said, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Pauline and the team at L.I.F.T. – I would have turned my face to the wall and cried, but I’ve had support and an army behind me after losing John.
“It’s been hard, but knowing that there’s other families out there and we can support each other, that’s what I want. These aren’t stats, these are kids, they’re human beings. I need change and I know that we will save lives and make change for John. These awards have given me more strength to keep going.”
The 2026 Forth Awards had the Usher Hall audience on their feet with dance performances from Canadian dance and house star Simone Denny before UK trance-popstar Kelly Llorenna brought the day to a rousing end with ‘Set You Free’.
Recognising everything from small acts of kindness from teachers and care workers, to achievements in the world of entertainment, The Forth Awards were once again a celebration of inspiring stories from Forth 1’s local heroes and performances to remember.
David Robertson, Director Of Content for the Hits Radio Brand (including Forth 1), Scotland and Northern Ireland said: “In our 21st year of the Forth Awards, we continue to be inspired by the local listeners striving to make a difference and delivering, at times, life-changing work in their local communities.
“Whether it’s a teacher supporting kids in school, or individuals like Lisa Petrie campaigning on a national level, it’s Forth 1’s honour to shine a spotlight on them and say thank you.
“We send our huge congratulations to all of today’s worthy winners, and a special thanks to our outstanding performers for entertaining our sold out crowd.”
