News quiz of 2025: How much do you remember from the last year?

POLITICS

1. How many jobs did Angela Rayner resign from in September over her tax affairs?

2. In May the UK signed a controversial deal to hand over sovereignty of which territory to Mauritius?

3. Why were MPs were recalled to the House of Commons in April for a rare Saturday sitting, the first since 1982?

4. Why did the then-foreign secretary David Lammy receive a formal warning after he hosted US vice-president JD Vance at his official country retreat in Chevening, Kent, in August?

5. In September, who was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to the US?

6. Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn &; Helsby by-election for Reform UK by how many votes over Labour?

7. In November, which organisation blundered by publishing its assessment of the Budget before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered it?

8. How many state visits were there in 2025?

9. In September, who was elected as the new leader of the Green Party?

10. Mark Carney was elected as Canada’s prime minister in March. What senior post did he previously hold in the UK?

SHOWBIZ

1. Which Netflix series examining so-called incel culture sparked a global conversation about social media and misogyny after it was released in March?

2. Which pop singer, known for singing about extra-terrestrials, was part of an all-female crew to reach space aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket in April?

3. Austrian singer JJ won the Eurovision Song Contest in May. What was the name of his winning song?

4. TV couple Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty announced their separation in July. In which year did they marry?

5. At which stadium did Oasis perform their first gig together in 16 years as they kicked off their hotly anticipated tour in July?

6. Which pop superstar announced her engagement to her NFL player boyfriend in August?

7. Who broke Ant and Dec’s 23-year winning streak to be named best TV presenter at the National Television Awards in September?

8. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman announced in October that they would be leaving Strictly Come Dancing. In which year did they first team up as co-hosts, making history as primetime television’s first female presenting duo?

9. Who won the 2025 Mercury Prize in October for his album People Watching?

10. Who was crowned the winner of the first series of Celebrity Traitors in November?

WHO SAID…

1. Which Friends star told an interviewer: “My mum was a divorce lawyer, and so I was the guy who would pop out of the bushes and serve you divorce papers”?

2. Who said of Israel and Iran: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”?

3. Which musician said this as they played two stadium gigs in Dublin? “This is the soberest I’ve ever been in Ireland.”

4. Name the cartoon character who said this in February: “Every day they ask me how big the baby is. When is it coming? Does it like dinosaurs and muddy puddles? It never stops.”

5. Which Royal said they posted anonymously on football forums saying: “I like going on the forums, I can be on there for ages”?

6. Who described being knighted by saying: “I am very chuffed. I am chuffed to the heavens, to the high walls of the castle. My mother is beaming like a lighthouse”?

7. Which actress said: “There’s 24 hours in a day, obviously. But I make sure that there are 26 for me”?

8. Who is actor Ewan McGregor describing meeting here: “I was so excited to meet her, but I kept swearing. I didn’t mean to, but I just kept dropping F-bombs all the time … I really let myself down”?

9. Which singer said this when asked what the best songs to have sex to were: “Anything by Marvin Gaye. Nothing by Rick Astley”?

10. Which author said she feared the plot of her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale could come true, adding: “I don’t think we’re going to get the outfits, but the rest of it seems more and more plausible”?

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS

1. Who gave birth to her 4lb 5oz baby daughter Athena several weeks prematurely on January 22?

2. Footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain on July 3. Which shirt number did the forward wear for Liverpool?

3. Which pop star and former child actress is no longer solo after marrying Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan “Jutes” Lutes in May?

4. Which former abattoir worker from Aston in Birmingham died in July aged 76?

5. When asked in April of the secret to her marriage to the King, the Queen said: “I suppose it’s just sort of friendship, really. Laughing at the same things, getting on with life.” How long have they been married?

6. Who triggered anti-tourism protests from locals in Venice over his lavish wedding which was attended by famous guests including Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio?

7. Which reality TV star described the birth of his daughter Palma as “the biggest achievement of my life”?

8. Actress Prunella Scales died aged 93 in October. Which character is she best known for playing in BBC comedy Fawlty Towers?

9. Pop star Rihanna welcomed her third child with the rapper ASAP Rocky in September. What is the girl’s name?

10. Bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, known for her Shopaholic series, died in December. What was her real name?

WORLD

1. Which Greek holiday island was placed under a state of emergency amid a swarm of earthquakes that began in January?

2. In March, Nasa astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally returned to Earth after nine months on the International Space Station. How long had they expected to stay?

3. To what high-profile position was Robert Francis Prevost elected this year?

4. What natural disaster destroyed the alpine village of Blatten in Switzerland in May?

5. An Australian jury found Erin Patterson guilty of murder and attempted murder after serving her family what type of meal?

6. A two-day livestream captured the slow progress of what large structure in August as it was moved three miles across a Swedish city?

7. Where were the bones of British explorer Dennis Bell discovered after he was last seen in 1959?

8. In which US state was the university where high-profile conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead in September?

9. Which US technology giant because the first company in the world to reach a five trillion dollar market value in October?

10. Which former French president was found guilty of criminal conspiracy relating to campaign finances and jailed?

ODDS

1. What type of musical instrument crafted from a vegetable did the King play during a music reception at Windsor Castle?

2. Why were cows that graze on commons in central Cambridge given special GPS collars?

3. What was unusual about the Bourdon Street Chippy created by artist Lucy Sparrow in London’s Mayfair in July?

4. Hayley McAuley, from Wigan, took a mere nine minutes and 33 seconds to win what practical world title?

5. Why did the organiser of the Great North Run have to apologise about the medals given to this year’s participants?

6. Sophie Lloyd was admitted to which prestigious society, more than 30 years after being kicked out when she pretended to be a man to initially gain entry?

7. An alleged crocodile sighting in a canal in Derbyshire turned out to be what?

8. Scottish taxi driver Callum Maclean braved Storm Eowyn in what distinctive outfit despite winds of up to 100mph?

9. How did the Met Office explain a large glowing spiral visible in the night sky over the UK in March?

10. The hour hand of a chapel clock that was taken in a student prank and replaced with a cardboard copy 100 years ago was returned to which Cambridge University college?

ROYAL

1. The Duchess of Edinburgh celebrated which milestone birthday on January 20?

2. Who took a photograph of the Princess of Wales which was released to mark World Cancer Day in February?

3. The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard was renamed to what in February?

4. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his Prince and Duke of York titles in 2025. Name the Windsor home that he was also told to leave.

5. The Prince of Wales used his first message delivered in Welsh to say what?

6. In March the Duke of Sussex resigned from a charity he set up 20 years ago, saying he was “heartbroken”. Name the charity.

7. Which royal couple made it onto Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential philanthropists?

8. Which European leader enjoyed a state visit hosted in Windsor in July?

9. The first ever official UK coin to honour which royal was unveiled in celebration of their 75th birthday on August 15?

10. What was the venue in September for the first face-to-face meeting in 19 months between the King and the Duke of Sussex?

SPORT

1. Who became the Premier League’s most expensive player with a record £125 million transfer in summer 2025?

2. England’s Ashes defeat to Australia in the first test at Perth was the quickest since 1921 – how many days did the match last?

3. Rory McIlroy became the first European to win a modern career grand slam with victory at which tournament in 2025?

4. Who was England’s penalty shoot-out hero in the final of the 2025 European Championships, saving two of Spain’s efforts to secure victory for the Lionesses?

5. How many medals did Great Britain win at the 2025 World Athletics Championships?

6. Which nation did England’s Red Roses defeat in the final of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup?

7. Who became the first player to win the World Snooker Championship while competing as an amateur, as well as the first champion from China, in the 2025 tournament?

8. Who won the 2025 BetMGM Premier League Darts final, defeating defending champion Luke Littler?

9. Which team triumphed in the women’s The Hundred in 2025?

10. Ben Johnson became the head coach of which NFL team in 2025?

ANSWERS

POLITICS

1. Three – deputy prime minister, housing, communities and local government secretary and Labour Party deputy leader.

2. The Chagos Islands.

3. To discuss the future of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.

4. Because he took Mr Vance fishing without a licence – he reported himself to the Environment Agency and received a formal warning.

5. Lord Peter Mandelson, over his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

6. Six.

7. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

8. Three – France, United States and Germany. This is the most in a year since 1988, when there were also three.

9. Zack Polanski.

10. He was governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

SHOWBIZ

1. Adolescence.

2. Katy Perry.

3. Wasted Love.

4. 2012.

5. Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

6. Taylor Swift (to Travis Kelce).

7. Gary Lineker. 8. 2014.

9. Sam Fender.

10. Alan Carr.

WHO SAID

1. David Schwimmer.

2. US president Donald Trump.

3. Liam Gallagher.

4. Mummy Pig, from Peppa Pig, after she revealed she was pregnant with her third child.

5. William, the Prince of Wales.

6. Sir Stephen Fry.

7. Sydney Sweeney.

8. Celebrity cook Delia Smith.

9. Rick Astley.

10. Margaret Atwood.

BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES

1. Princess Beatrice.

2. 20.

3. Demi Lovato.

4. Ozzy Osbourne.

5. 20 years.

6. Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

7. Former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright.

8. Sybil, the long-suffering wife of bumbling hotelier Basil Fawlty.

9. Rocki Irish Mayers.

10. Madeleine Sophie Wickham.

WORLD

1. Santorini.

2. One week.

3. He became Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church.

4. It was buried in a glacial landslide.

5. A beef Wellington made with poisonous mushrooms.

6. The 100-year-old 672-tonne Kiruna church, which was at risk from ground subsidence.

7. Antarctica.

8. Utah.

9. US computer chip maker Nvidia.

10. Nicolas Sarkozy.

ODDS

1. A recorder made out of a carrot.

2. To stop them falling in the River Cam by using virtual fence technology.

3. Everything, including the food, was sewn from felt.

4. She built a bedside table in the quickest time to be named the first Flatpack World Champion.

5. They featured the wrong river and city – Sunderland and the Wear instead of Newcastle and the Tyne.

6. The Magic Circle.

7. The animal was a stuffed taxidermy model that had been dumped in the water.

8. He wore a full suit of armour as his alter ego the Falkirk Knight.

9. It was likely produced by a frozen plume of fuel from a SpaceX rocket launch in the US.

10. Gonville and Caius.

ROYAL

1. 60th birthday.

2. Her son Prince Louis.

3. As Ever.

4. Royal Lodge.

5. Happy St David’s Day.

6. Sentebale.

7. The Prince and Princess of Wales.

8. French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

9. Anne, the Princess Royal.

10. Clarence House.

SPORT 1

. Alexander Isak.

2. Two.

3. The Masters.

4. Hannah Hampton.

5. Five.

6. Canada.

7. Zhao Xintong.

8. Luke Humphries.

9. Northern Superchargers.

10 Chicago Bears.