There's quite a few famous faces that have graced Leeds Beckett and Uni of Leeds' campuses over the years, including Hollywood actors, politicians, musicians and more.
Whilst there's plenty more Leeds university alumni to be uncovered, we've picked 15 faces from across Leeds' universities that you might not have known spent time studying for their degrees in our city...
Image: Bastille, Facebook
Dan Smith. / Image: Wikicommons
BRIT award winner and lead singer of Bastille, Dan Smithstudied English (2007) at the University of Leeds and will be returning this year to play a set at Millennium Square to celebrate 10 years of debut album Bad Blood.
Emma Mackey. / Image: Emma Mackey, Instagram
Chris Pine. / Image: Wikicommons
Sex Education and Barbie actress Emma Mackey (2016) and Hollywood actor Chris Pine both also attended the university.
Pine completed a year abroad at the university, and recently admitted on radio that he had a go at the infamous Otley Run during his stint living on Brudenell Road, saying "I don’t remember much of it but yes I have done it.”
Keir Starmer. / Image: Wikicommons
Alastair Campbell. / Image: Wikicommons
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer also studied at the university, as well as former Government WhipAlastair Campbell, who got his PGCE in the city.
Ricky Wilson. / Image: Kaiser Chiefs
ALT-J. / Image: Wikicommons
Kaiser Chiefsfrontman Ricky Wilson completed a Graphic Arts & Design honours degree (2000) in the first few years of the band's beginning, going on to shoot to fame just five years later when I Predict A Riot became a must-download track for the nation.
Similarly, members of alt-indie band Alt-J also met whilst studying Fine Art and English Literature (2007).
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee. / Image: The Brownlee Brothers, Facebook
Sportswise, we're not short of athletes from the local area, but perhaps most notably the Brownlee brothers have become known as one of the university's most successful alumni.
Alistair Brownlee MBE studied Sports Science and Physiology (2009) and Jonny Brownlee MBE, History (2012) and both brothers received an LLD in 2013.
Michael Lawrence. / Image: Leeds Beckett University
Former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington reportedly studied Dental Technology (2013) and in the world of rugby, Leeds Beckett University saw no less than fourteen students, graduates, and members of staff taking part in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, including BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science student and Leeds Rhinos player Keara Bennett and Jamaica captain Michael Lawrence, who graduated with a degree in Sports Coaching.
Jay Rayner. / Image: Jay Rayner, Instagram
Jay Rayner studied Political Studies (1987) and recently revisited the city to review MorMor's residency at Kino as well as heading back to Leeds Kirkgate Markets to grab a mackrel sarnie from Mr Mackrel, ‘the best £5 you can spend on lunch anywhere in Leeds’ according to the food critic.
Jamie Morton, James Cooper and Alice Levine. / Image: My Dad Wrote A Porno, Twitter
Jamie Morton, James Cooper and Alice Levine, hosts of My Dad Wrote A Porno first met at the University of Leeds and came together to produce a six seasoned podcast that has been downloaded over 430 million times since first airing in 2015.
Feature Image - Wikicommons / Instagram
Which famous faces should we add to our Leeds alumni list? Let us know by sending a message to @thehootleeds on Twitter.
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
6th April 2023 
