Sky News Daily

Over 2025, every Friday, the Sky News Daily has been profiling a figure in the news – those who are making headlines, creating conversations. During the festive period, we’re revisiting some of those standout profiles – the ones that really got us talking.

In June, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s often reclusive supreme leader, surfaced to hit back at Donald Trump’s demands for an unconditional surrender.

Khamanei first came to power as President of Iran in 1981, and he was a surprise choice for supreme leader eight years later. But since then, with the help of the Revolutionary Guard he has had almost complete control of Iran and its anti-Israel and anti-American foreign policy agenda.

Sky's Tom Cheshire speaks to Alex Vatanka, founding director of the Iran programme at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, about how Khamenei is viewed inside Iran and how his policies contributed to the current crisis.

Producer: Soila Apparicio

Editor: Wendy Parker

Over 2025, every Friday, the Sky News Daily has been profiling a figure in the news – those who are making headlines, creating conversations. During the festive period, we’re revisiting some of those standout profiles – the ones that really got us talking.

In October, the royal previously known as Prince Andrew, lost his titles over his association with convicted pedofile Jeffrey Epstein.

His ex-wife – Sarah Ferguson – was also in Epstein's network, and she was dropped as a patron of several charities at the time. But it wasn’t the first time Sarah – Duchess of York had caused the Royal family a headache.

Andrew Lownie, historian and author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall Of The House of York, joins Niall in remembering the key moments in the duchess's public life.

Producers: Soila Apparicio, Tom Gillespie

Editor: Mike Bovill

Over 2025, every Friday, the Sky News Daily has been profiling a figure in the news – those who are making headlines, creating conversations. During the festive period, we’re revisiting some of those standout profiles – the ones that really got us talking.

In July, the author of bestselling book The Salt Path was the main character in her own seismic plot twist. Was the story - based on Raynor Winn's life-affirming account of how her husband's illness and losing their money and home put them on a 630-mile coastal walk - true?

Since the initial bombshell that it wasn’t quite all that, there’s been news accusations alleging Raynor Winn took money from relatives. And the Sky Documentaries team has followed the story too, in a new film out for your festive viewing.

You can make up your own mind on the real Salt Path, for now, here’s our revisit to: What's the truth of The Salt Path?

Niall goes through the original claims with Sky News arts and entertainment Jayson Mansaray and hears from a journalist who has interviewed Raynor, Charlotte Lytton.

Producers: Emily Hulme and Soila Apparicio

Editor: Paul Stanworth

Coming soon to a lamppost near you? That was the feeling over the summer, as flags started appearing on buildings, bridges and posts – but the undertone was unclear. For some, flags were about national pride, for others, it felt like a nationalist warning. 

While patriotism and pride can be expressed in inclusive ways, the current political climate has made it a more polarised and contentious issue. So, how has the debate changed? 

In our final festive episode looking back at the biggest moments of the year, Niall is joined by director of the British Future thinktank and author of ‘How To Be A Patriot’ Sunder Katwala and our data and forensics correspondent Tom Cheshire. 

Producer: Soila Apparicio 

Editor: Mike Bovill 

Nobody expected a sit-down meeting between two world leaders to become one of the most explosive encounters of Ukraine’s war with Russia.

When President Zelenskyy walked into the Oval Office to face Donald Trump back in February, their White House meeting descended into a fiery, confrontational, openly hostile clash. But did that showdown shift the course of the conflict?

Niall is joined by military analyst Michael Clarke and Sky’s international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn to look back at the bust up, and how it impacted the push for peace in Ukraine.

Producer: Soila Apparicio

Editor: Mike Bovill